Tag: Florida Atlantic Owls

Florida Atlantic Owls Preview 2022: Season Prediction, Breakdown, Key Games, Players

Florida Atlantic College Football Preview 2022: Team breakdown, season prediction, keys to the campaign, and what you need to know

Florida Atlantic Owls Preview 2022: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Florida Atlantic season with what you need to know and keys to the season.

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Florida Atlantic Owls Preview
Head Coach: Willie Taggart, 3rd year at Florida Atlantic, 10-11
13th year overall, 66-73: 2021 Preview
2021 Record: Overall: 5-7, Conference: 3-5
Keys To The Season | Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Florida Atlantic Top 10 Players | FAU Schedule

Florida Atlantic Owls Preview 2022

It all needs to kick in for Willie Taggart and Florida Atlantic.

There was a misfire season in the mix, but Lane Kiffin came up with a few monster seasons, and it wasn’t supposed to be a big pivot to Taggart, a terrific builder of programs who didn’t get any semblance of a break or time to operate at Florida State.

But FAU didn’t need any rebuilding or a whole lot of work two years ago, and a collapse of a final month in 2021 was a problem.

Everything was rolling along with an okay 5-3 season and four games to go to get bowl eligible, but the offense flopped in November, the defense struggled, and four double-digit losses – hurt most by the 27-17 home season finale against Middle Tennessee – made it three losing seasons in the last four for Taggart since leaving Oregon.

Fortunately, the 2022 Owls are loaded with veterans, a few nice parts from the transfer portal beefed up the depth, and with all the changes in Conference USA, the opportunity is there to fill the void and become the league’s powerhouse again.

Florida Atlantic Owls Preview 2022: Offense

The offense died when it needed to kick in. Overall, there wasn’t a problem moving the chains – the Owls were great on third downs, but the style of attack means they only had the ball for around 27 minutes a game – but the pass protection wasn’t there and the running game was painfully inconsistent. But …

The offensive line is loaded with veterans. It wasn’t a great group last year, but four starters are back, there’s decent depth and Brendan Bordner is coming in from Rutgers to work on the left side – that allows some shuffling to get the five best players up front. Now they need to do more for the ground game.

Johnny Ford averaged over six yards per carry with a team-high 831 yards, and Nebraska transfer Marvin Scott comes in to add even more speed.

Former Miami Hurricane N’Kosi Perry was fine as the starting quarterback. He threw for close to 2,800 yards with 20 touchdowns and seven picks, and now he knows the offense and should settle in. The receivers are there to help.

LaJohntay Wester led the way with 65 catches, but junior Je’Quan Burton is the explosive playmaker averaging over 18 yards per grab. More options have to emerge, but there are plenty of good-sized targets looking to get more work.

Florida Atlantic Owls Preview 2022: Defense

The defense might have struggled late, but it had its moments. It was the best in Conference USA on third downs, it did a great job of bending but not breaking, and it only allowed more than 165 rushing yards against Florida and Air Force.

There should be a good improvement with a whole lot of experience back up front and the transfer portal providing plenty of instant help, starting with …

The linebacking corps got a boost with Jamie Pettway coming in from Missouri and Tennessee’s Morven Joseph playing in a hybrid role in the rotation. They’ll go along with veteran Eddie Williams – a safety-sized outside defender – and 245-pound Chris Jones adding some thump.

The pass rush has to show up from somewhere. There were just 17 sacks with four to them coming in the finale against Middle Tennessee State. Jaylen Joyner only came up with four sacks, but that was enough to lead the team. He’s back at one end, and big 356-pound Evan Anderson managed to come up with a team high eight tackles for loss on the nose.

The secondary is the biggest problem with the loss of New York Giant Zyon Gilbert at one corner and several other key parts gone.

On the plus side, Teja Young is one of the best safeties in Conference USA – third on the team with 59 tackles and with a team-high three picks – and all the really, really young players from last year should be ready to fill in.

Keys To The Season | Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Florida Atlantic Top 10 Players | FAU Schedule

Florida Atlantic Owls: Keys To The Season, Top Game, Top Transfer, Fun Stats NEXT

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Florida Atlantic Owls Top 10 Players: College Football Preview 2022

Who are the top 10 Florida Atlantic players going into the 2022 college football season?

Florida Atlantic Owls Preview 2022: Who are the top 10 players going into the season?

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

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Florida Atlantic Owls Preview 
Offense, Defense Breakdown | Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen | FAU Schedule 

The Good, Bad and Ugly: The aftermath of Florida vs. FAU

Here is a look at our retrospective takes from the Florida Gators’ win over the Florida Atlantic Owls Saturday night.  

The dust has finally settled from this weekend’s gridiron action and now that we have had a day to process what we saw on Saturday night, it is time for the Gators Wire staff to present its Good, Bad and Ugly from the Florida vs. Florida Atlantic game. The season opener went pretty much as we had expected — plenty of excitement plus a lot of rust — and presented more questions than it answered.

With that said, here is a look at our retrospective takes from the Gators’ win over the Owls Saturday night.

Florida’s DE Zachary Carter not disappointed, not satisfied with defensive performance

Carter totaled three sacks in Saturday’s game after leading the team with five in 2020.

After sporting one of the SEC’s weakest defenses during the 2020 season, a lot of eyes were on defensive coordinator Todd Grantham’s unit in the season opener against Florida Atlantic. And largely, the group played quite well. Some garbage time scoring (including a touchdown in the fourth quarter that may have affected those with, shall we say, vested interests) made FAU’s offensive performance look better than it actually was.

The Owls finished with 353 yards of offense, but when you actually watch the tape, they weren’t able to do much at all when it mattered. And the reason for that is, above all else, the pass rush.

The Gators brought down Florida Atlantic quarterback N’Kosi Perry six times, and three of those came from redshirt senior defensive end Zachary Carter. A year ago, Carter led the defense with five sacks. He’s already more than halfway to beating that after just one outing.

“I have to give credit to my backend,” Carter said after the game. “They did a great job covering the line and helping me get back there. I want to give credit to my guys inside for giving me that push. It was just one of those games and I was feeling it tonight. I’m excited for this year. I’m planning on having a big year.”

The play of the interior defensive linemen was certainly an important story to watch heading into the game. UF had severe deficiencies there heading into the offseason, and it added a pair of defensive tackles in Daquan Newkirk and Antonio Valentino who both have Power Five experience.

Carter said their addition has been invaluable.

“Those guys are doing great on and off the field, even with little things like leadership,” he said. “Just having those older guys around helping me with this young group. We have three seniors, but we still have a pretty young group. So, I think they’ve done a great job. You’ve seen tonight a sneak peek of what they can do. I’m looking forward to them balling out all season.”

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Overall, however, Carter sees some things the defensive unit could clean up. The Gators didn’t exactly struggle against the run, but they did allow Johnny Ford to break off a 20-yard run (though FAU as a team was held under 100 yards on the ground). The secondary also allowed Owls receivers to get open, but the pressure on Perry kept them from capitalizing.

“I would say just filling blocks better and not back on the line of scrimmage to stop some of those runs from happening,” he said. “I mean, they didn’t bust a lot of long runs but we’re trying to be the best defense in the SEC, and if we want to do that, we have to correct all the little things. It starts up front. We need to correct some things in the backend, but that’s about it.”

Florida’s defense gave up 428 yards per game last year, and while the FAU offense found some success, it was an overall defensive performance that showed signs of improving. UF fans are likely pleased with the way the unit played.

But Carter isn’t.

“I’m not disappointed, but I am just not satisfied because I know what this group is capable of,” he said. “We had a solid performance, but I just know we can take it to another level. We’ve got to continue to keep improving on tonight.”

Considering the team travels to Raymond James Stadium next week to take on a USF squad that was blanked in its season opener against NC State, the defense has another great opportunity to deliver a strong performance.

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Sunday Hash: Florida’s season-opening win over FAU

Florida football opened up its 2021 schedule with a 34-14 win over the Florida Atlantic Owls on Saturday night. Here are Pat Dooley’s five hash marks looking back on the action.

A weekly look back at Saturday’s college football action from Pat Dooley. Also look for his history lesson and game preview every week at GatorsWire.

Florida football opened up its 2021 schedule with a 34-14 win over the Florida Atlantic Owls on Saturday night. Here are Pat Dooley’s five hash marks looking back on the action.

5 takeaways from Florida’s 35-14 season opening win over FAU

Florida rolled in its season opener, but the victory raised more questions than it answered.

With the Florida faithful back in the stands of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, the Gators took care of business against the Florida Atlantic Owls in the season opener on Saturday night. FAU, led by second-year coach Willie Taggart, made a handful of defensive plays to sour the starting debut of quarterback Emory Jones, but it wasn’t enough to counter a high-powered Florida rushing attack (words I haven’t written about this team in quite a while).

The Gators walked away with a decisive 35-14 victory that was largely aided by a solid defensive performance, but UF’s first outing of the 2021 season also left a lot of unanswered questions as the team prepares for a road game against South Florida next week.

Here are five takeaways from the season-opening victory.

Check out the pregame hype for the Florida vs FAU game

The Gator Nation is getting pumped up as college football returns to Gainesville Saturday evening against the Florida Atlantic Owls.

Florida football is back Gator fans!

After an excruciating long layoff, college gridiron action returns to the Swamp on Saturday when the Florida Atlantic Owls pay a visit to open up the 2021 campaign. Following a season that saw limited fan attendance as well as a reduced schedule due to the COVID pandemic, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is sure to be packed with rabid fans of the Orange and Blue.

Ahead of the game, many members of the Gator Nation logged on to their social media accounts to let the world know how they feel about their beloved Florida Gators. Below is a healthy sampling of the many tweets sent out in the 24 hours preceding game time as the fanbase gets hyped.

Florida Football 2021 Opponent History: Florida Atlantic Owls

Florida football releases Week 1 depth chart vs. Florida Atlantic

The Gators’ last meeting with Florida Atlantic was a wild one

10 interesting tidbits ahead of Florida football’s game against FAU

A look at 10 Florida football players to keep an eye on against FAU

Florida Football Opponent Report: Scouting the Florida Atlantic Owls

Gators Wire’s staff predictions for Florida football vs. FAU

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Gators Wire’s staff predictions for Florida football vs. FAU

Gators Wire weighs in with its predictions ahead of Saturday night’s affair. Here is a look at how we think things will go down tonight. 

College football returns to Gainesville today when the Florida Atlantic Owls visits Ben Hill Griffin Stadium for the first game of Florida’s 2021 schedule. It has been a long wait since the end of the Cotton Bowl for Gators fans and an even longer stretch since the team’s last victory.

This fall’s lineup once again includes non-conference games after a pandemic-altered 2020 that restricted teams to competition within their respective conferences. Now that the schedule has returned to some sense of normalcy, Florida can go back to beating up on its inferior competition.

On that note, the staff here at Gators Wire weighed in with their takes and predictions ahead of Saturday night’s affair in the Swamp. Here is a look at how we think things will go down tonight.

Everything you need to know about Florida football vs. FAU

We have everything you need to know about today’s game, from how to follow the action to the history between the two teams to scouting reports. #GoGators!

Gameday is finally here! Tonight, the Florida Gators will once again take the field on the hallowed grounds of the Swamp to kick off the 2021 season against the visiting Florida Atlantic Owls. Expectations of the Orange and Blue have been a bit tempered coming into the fall after losing a handful of starters to the NFL draft.

However, Dan Mullen and staff have worked hard this offseason making the adjustments necessary to bridge last season’s squad with this one behind quarterback Emory Jones on offense and Kaiir Elam on defense. Saturday’s night game will hopefully provide the warm-up game that the Gators need before embarking on their Southeastern Conference schedule.

And speaking of schedules, the matchup with FAU also represents a return to some sense of normalcy after a 2020 season that was limited to just in-conference foes due to the coronavirus pandemic. With a stadium full of fans and an easy non-conference game to start things off, it sure does feel like things are back to normal.

Below, we have everything you need to know about today’s game, from how to follow the action to the history between the two teams to scouting reports. Go Gators!

How to watch Florida football vs. Florida Atlantic Owls on Saturday

Everything you need to know to follow Florida football vs. the Florida Atlantic Owls on television, live stream and radio.

College football finally returns to the Swamp on Saturday when the Florida Atlantic Owls travel to Gainesville to face the Florida Gators in the 2021 season opener. It has been a long wait since the final seconds of the Cotton Bowl ticked off the clock and finally, the Gator Nation’s thirst for gridiron action will be quenched.

The last time the two schools faced off back in 2015 ended up in a wild overtime finish, in which UF seized victory from the jaws of defeat, 20-14. While this game is not expected to be quite as exciting as that one with the Gators heavily favored, that Florida team was favored even more heading into the game. You never quite know what is going to happen in live sports.

Below, we have everything you need to know to follow Saturday night’s action from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Florida Football 2021 Opponent History: Florida Atlantic Owls

Florida football releases Week 1 depth chart vs. Florida Atlantic

The Gators’ last meeting with Florida Atlantic was a wild one

10 interesting tidbits ahead of Florida football’s game against FAU

A look at 10 Florida football players to keep an eye on against FAU

Florida Football Opponent Report: Scouting the Florida Atlantic Owls

Television: SEC Network

Play-by-Play: Tom Hart

Analyst: Jordan Rodgers

Reporter: Cole Cubelic

Stream: ESPN App

Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network

Play-by-Play: Mick Hubert

Analyst: Lee McGriff

Reporter: Tate Casey

Score Track:  FloridaGators.com, ESPN app

Game Notes:  FloridaGators.com

Follow the Action:  Follow Gators Wire (@GatorsWire) and college sports reporter Tyler Nettuno (@TylerNettuno) on Twitter for live updates.

Prediction: Florida 34, FAU 17

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