A season that had promise before it began now has FAU desperately searching for its first win of the 2011 season, with only five games left to play.
The Owls (0-7, 0-4) are knocking on the door of 0-12, which would be the worst record of head coach Howard Schnellenberger’s career. The next opponent for FAU is the Red Wolves of Arkansas State.
The Owls, fresh off of their disappointing 38-14 loss to Middle Tennessee State, seem to find a new low point in each loss. Against the Blue Raiders, FAU turned the ball over six times, five via fumbles, which set a team record.
After facing opponents that stood close to the Owls in the standings, FAU is now forced to seek out a victory against the team sitting atop the standings.
It’s Homecoming week for the Owls, but the game against the Red Wolves may not be anything close to fan friendly.
The Red Wolves pose threats on every level for the Owls.
ASU quarterback Ryan Aplin, a Tampa native, is a dual-threat quarterback able to run as well as he can throw. Aplin can sometimes be wildly inaccurate, but at the same time, he is as dangerous a quarterback as they come.
Against FIU, Aplin ran for 164 yards and passed for 147, with three total touchdowns. Two were scored with his feet, one with his arm.
Aplin is also the team’s leader in total rushing yards from scrimmage.
Stopping Aplin should be FAU’s entire focus on defense. Against Middle Tennessee State, the Owls gave up a season-high 479 total yards. MTSU quarterback Logan Kilgore completed his first 19 passes against the Owls in the first quarter.
The Red Wolves have several threats on offense. The ball-carrying duties are split between Frankie Johnson and Derek Lawson. Compared to running backs in the conference, these two are in the middle of the pack.
The Gameplan
On offense, the Owls will need to sustain drives. They have slowly gotten better at moving the ball with Graham Wilbert as quarterback, but drives tend to stall in opponent territory.
Alfred Morris had 153 yards on the ground against MTSU on only 18 carries, for an average of almost 9 yards a carry. The problem was that Morris fumbled twice. Even with the uncharacteristic fumbling against the Blue Raiders, Morris’ numbers continue to stand.
Morris has had games this season of 153, 162, 85 and 80 rushing yards, but offensive coordinator Darryl Jackson continues to give Morris fewer touches with the ball than he gives Wilbert, whom head coach Howard Schnellenberger seems to be losing patience with.
After the loss to Western Kentucky, Schnellenberger pointed out that the team does not have a “tried-and-true quarterback.”
So the question needs to be asked — Why not use Alfred Morris more?
On defense, the Owls will need to contain Aplin. Arkansas State will live or die based on his performance.
Third downs will be critical, and the Red Wolves will role Aplin out of the pocket to give him the option of passing or running for the first down.
It’s desperation time for FAU. They need to open up the playbook. Anything and everything goes for the Owls in terms of trying to squeeze out a victory in the 2011 season.
Attendance went from over 29,000 in the first home game to just slightly above 16,000 against MTSU. If the Owls don’t do something quickly, there could be less than 10,000 people at the remaining two home games in November.
If FAU wants to beat ASU, they must play mistake-free football against the Red Wolves, but there hasn’t been a single game this season where the Owls have come close to that.
Look for Arkansas State to use Aplin and his weapons around him to turn down the Owls and extend the losing streak to 11 games.
When: Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011
Time: 4 p.m.
Where: FAU Stadium (30,000)
TV: TBA
Radio: 760 AM
Series: Tied at 3-3
Last Meeting: Oct. 23, 2010 – ASU 37-16
Prediction:
Arkansas State 34, Florida Atlantic 17
