FAU Football was able capitalize on what it did wrong against Navy and Wisconsin and play outstanding defense in its 45-0 win over Bethune-Cookman Saturday.

Along with that, senior running back Greg Howell and redshirt sophomore Devin Singletary rushed for over 100 yards each and Howell also rushed for 175 yards for a career high.

Buffalo (1-2) is currently coming off a 33-10 win over Colgate last week. FAU lost the first ever matchup between the two teams 33-15 in 2015.

If FAU wants to pick up the win, there are several things it must do in order to get their second straight victory. Here are some of the key factors that FAU must do to get to .500:

Contain Tyreke Jackson:

Buffalo’s Jackson is as good as any quarterback FAU has seen this year and will be one of the biggest threats for Buffalo’s offense. Jackson has thrown 588 yards and three touchdowns and has also rushed for 189 yards and two touchdowns this season.

Jackson is definitely a dual threat quarterback, being able to make plays with both his throws and his runs. Against Army, he was 9-of-16 for 195 yards of passing and 75 yards of rushing.

If FAU wants to win, they need to keep their eyes on this versatile quarterback.

Play good defense:

FAU’s defense forced Bethune Cookman to punt 11 times in the 45-0 shutout. It also forced a fumble for a touchdown and had two interceptions.

FAU will need a repeat performance against Buffalo. Getting solid play out of both their linebackers and secondary will make the difference in containing the Bulls.  

Establish a run game:

The Owls were able to get the ball moving on the ground versus the Wildcats. While Howell has rushed for 206 yards on the year, Singletary is not far behind with 203 yards.

A major part of that is the increase in carries both have had. Howell had 13 carries for 175 yards while Singletary had 11 carries for 109 yards during last week, while against Navy, Howell only had one carry for 8 yards and Singletary had six carries for 26 yards.  

Like they did against Bethune-Cookman with both getting over 100 yards, the Owls will need to see this production again out of the pair. If they can get the ball to them more, it will help the backs get more opportunities to succeed.

Zach Evans is a contributing writer with the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him at @zackevanstweets.