The Owls football team was shutout on Saturday, but FAU students were big winners.

Despite the outcome of the game, the brand new on-campus stadium created a sense of unity and pride for the sea of red and blue fans who made up the student section in the end zone.

“This new stadium is going to turn our program around,” said junior political science major Alberto Leal, who had his chest painted blue. “I guarantee in the next 5 years we will be beasts and a BCS level team.”

Most students were on their feet, cheering with blue and red pom-poms throughout the first half. Stadium seats were ignored — except by students standing on them to root for the Owls.

“That’s another Owls first down!” bellowed a group of three male students who spelled out “F-A-U” on their chests after a big play.

“I love the stadium, it’s awesome for the students,” said junior Ocean Engineering major Ian English, the “A” of the group. “I didn’t go to a single game last year because Lockhart [Stadium] was so far away, but now that it’s on campus it’s much more convenient.”

The giant 50-by-30-foot scoreboard behind the end zone left the students in awe.

“The screen is huge,” said freshman Neuroscience Behavior major Darly Duroscar. “And it’s really cool to be able to look at the replays after each down.”

Chants of “Defense” and “Let’s go Owls” echoed loudly throughout the stands as students clapped and stomped at crucial moments of the game.

When head coach Howard Schnellenberger was shown on the scoreboard before the game, a chant of “Schnelly” broke out for the man who brought on-campus football to FAU. Thousands of blue shirts that read “The House that Howard Built” were handed out to students as they entered.

In the second quarter “the wave” broke out and students enthusiastically joined in.

“The Bon-Fire and tailgating really warmed us up for the game,” said freshman Marine Biology major Lexie Maunz. “As a freshman, this is exciting. It’s a lot of fun to hang out and catch a game at school.”

“This place is frickin’ amazing!” said sophomore Biology major Roger Gerard. “Life as a student at FAU will never be the same. We can finally say now that we’re a legit school.”