2011 Florida Atlantic Owls Football Preview

It’s one thing to become a big deal in the college football world. It’s another matter to stay at the top and retain relevance in the college football world. That’s the challenge facing a football force from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a program that has regressed in recent seasons after scoring a pair of bowl wins.

Head coach Howard Schnellenberger, the architect of the Miami Hurricanes’ rise to power in the early 1980s and the savior of Louisville football in the early 1990s, built a Sun Belt program from scratch over the past decade. The Florida Atlantic Owls are a member of the Division I football family and the Sun Belt Conference as a result of his hard work and dedication. It has been just seven years since the Owls made the jump into the FBS. During that time Florida Atlantic has won a pair of bowl games and finished above .500 three times. The program’s ascendancy was nothing less than meteoric because it was guided by the mustachioed visionary who has made a career out of building something that lasts. Schnellenberger has left a lasting imprint on three different places in the college football world, and FAU hit the jackpot in the sense that it was able to be molded by the hands (and mind) of a master builder.

Now, though, the enormity of the challenge of winning at Florida Atlantic is beginning to sink in. Yes, FAU captured the 2007 New Orleans Bowl and the 2008 Motor City Bowl, but over the last two years, the Owls missed out on the postseason because of quarterback issues and a general inability to maintain any week-to-week consistency. FAU seemed primed for a full-fledged takeoff after its 2008 conquest of a formidable Central Michigan team in the Motor City Bowl, but the Owls’ wings got clipped in 2009 and 2010. Schnellenberger, at 77, is not as old as Joe Paterno, but the fact remains that as the wise old Owl ages a little more, the sense of urgency surrounding this program is increasing.

In 2011, the Owls return a total of 14 starters, seven from each side of the ball, and should compete well in conference as a result. This does mean that expectations should rightfully remain high for FAU. What adds to the sense of excitement – and pressure – surrounding the upcoming campaign is that the Owls, thanks to Schnellenberger, are opening a brand-new, 30,000-seat on-campus stadium during the upcoming season. Unfortunately, the Owls will be nearly halfway through the season before they play a game there. Florida Atlantic has one of the most difficult out-of-conference schedules in the nation; the Owls travel to Florida, Michigan State, and Auburn in consecutive weeks to open the season. To make matters worse, the Owls will travel to two Sun Belt Conference destinations before they finally play a home game in mid-October. Five home games in a period of seven weeks will do wonders for what will surely be a beat up and travel-weary football team. The key will be for FAU to stay the course in September, find an identity, and at least split the two Sun Belt roadies before the home-heavy second half of the season. Schnellenberger will need to keep his team fresh and insist on shortening games if the Owls are going to have a lot of fuel in the tank for their stretch run.

Senior running back Alfred Morris was just 72 yards shy of becoming the first FAU back to amass back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons. Look for the Owls to rely on him even more this year – an effective running game is exactly how FAU can shorten games, rest its defense, and maximize its resources in the first half of the season. The Owls return all five starters on the offensive line, another reason why they will need to lean on the ground game in September and early October. Florida Atlantic will utilize a new 3-4 scheme on defense this season, and the team’s ability to adjust to that look will naturally say a lot about the way in which this consequential season unfolds.

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