The Owls (1-1, 1-1 C-USA) are looking to bounce back on Saturday at home against UTSA (4-3, 2-1 C-USA), where FAU leads the all-time series 2-0. 

Last week they traveled to Huntington, WV for their first road game of the season to play No. 19 Marshall, which resulted in a 20-9 loss. 

This will be the first time the Owls play in back-to-back weeks this season.

“We need to be able to play,” head coach Willie Taggart said. “We haven’t been able to play consistently, so it’s kind of hard to judge a team when you don’t play consistently.”

Taggart felt that practice was different this week after they didn’t play a game for three weeks and multiple people were out due to COVID-19.

“[Quarterback Nick Tronti] plays better when everyone else plays better,” Taggart said. “Everybody’s taking pride in getting better offensively this week.”

UTSA has played all seven of their games this season, which gives them more experience. They will provide a tough test for the Owls on Saturday.

 “They play really hard,” head coach Willie Taggart said. “When you turn on the film you see how hard they play on both sides of the ball.” 

UTSA will look to keep their record above .500 this week. They were able to beat LA Tech last week 27-26, breaking a three-game losing streak. 

The Roadrunners trailed for most of the game but were able to score 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to win the game. 

Redshirt junior quarterback Frank Harris went 18 of 33 passing for 189 yards and two interceptions. 

Although the passing game was subpar for the Roadrunners, they were able to get the run game going. Sophomore running back Sincere McCormick had 37 carries for 165 yards and three touchdowns. 

FAU will try to contain McCormick this week, as they are only allowing 108 rushing yards per game, as the Owls’ defense was the reason they had a chance to win last week.

FAU will need to improve this week on offense. They are only averaging 15 points per game, while UTSA is averaging 26.9 points per game. 

Last week Marshall scored a touchdown in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead, while junior running back Malcolm Davidson scored on a 12-yard rushing touchdown for FAU to make the score 7-6.

FAU got off to a quick start in the second half, as they were able to drive downfield for a 43-yard field goal by redshirt junior Vladimir Rivas. The score gave the Owls their first and only lead. 

FAU was not able to get the run game going last week totaling just 86 yards, including negative 45 yards from Tronti. Davidson led the team in rushing, as he carried the ball eight times for 62 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore running back Larry McCammon III had 11 carries for 36 yards. 

“We have to run the ball better than we have,” Co-Offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer said. “We have not run the ball great to this point in the season.” 

McCammon was seen limping off the field last week, and Taggart said he will not play on Saturday. Senior running back BJ Emmons is questionable for Saturday after missing last week’s game.

Kickoff is set for noon on Saturday, Oct. 31 at FAU Stadium. The game will be broadcast on the streaming service Stadium.

Bryce Totz is a contributing writer for the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @brycetotz.