By Rob Shumay
The FAU Owls kicked off their eagerly awaited 2023 season last night in Boca Raton, Florida. The arrival of Coach Tom Herman and his staff instantly changed the perception of FAU football. Last night, perception was reality.
During practice leading up to the game against Monmouth, FAU players and support staff were unanimous that the culture around the program changed…dramatically. Everything the staff did had a purpose. Every drill was tightly organized. Players moved quickly from session to session. The focus was clear: FAU was serious about winning.
The FAU Owls: Dominating From the Start
It was clear from the start that the FAU Owls were ready to go. FAU showed a physicality and intensity not seen for several years. Players engaged in some pushing and shoving on the first kick off and first play from scrimmage, which set the stage for the game: Take the Owls lightly at your own risk.
While the Owls have speed and playmakers, its strength starts ing the trenches.
The Owls strong defensive line immediately set the tone by pressuring Monmouth’s quarterback Marques McCray, disrupting passing plays and forcing hurried decisions. FAU’s D-line gave Monmouth no choice but to resort to quick passes and rushes to try to exploit gaps in FAU’s defense. The Owls held Shirden Jaden, the nation’s returning rusher to just 66 net yards.
FAU’s offense offered more of the same. The Owls’ outstanding O-line controlled the line of scrimmage. The game was effectively over in the first half. So dominant was the line that on six first half drives, the Owls faced only four 3rd down plays. The Owls balanced attack kept Monmouth on its heels
Quarterback Casey Thompson played a near perfect first half, going 14-16 for 144 yards, 3 TDs and no interceptions. Thompson’s final stat line was an impressive 20 of his 25 passes for 280 yards and five touchdowns, the most by an Owl in his debut.
Thompson said after the victory “It was good just to come back from an injury, the long days of rehab and doing treatments, waking up and doing treatments three times a day for the last 10 months. Tonight was really good to get back into that game environment. When I took a few hits, that is when I knew that I felt good and comfortable and able to settle down and just play ball. I was really excited to be back out there and it was a good win…Our job was to spread out and distribute the football and be a point guard for the team and make good decisions. I felt for the most part, I did a good job of that. I didn’t realize and lost track toward the end of the game and they were each counting touchdowns they had apiece…I try to focus on one play at a time, but I am really happy for the guys. We have a really talented receiving core and a really good running back room as well. I’m happy to get the win, but I’m happy for the guys too.”
Thompson had help as the Owls ran a nearly equal number of time for an almost identical 140 yards with an 8.2 yards per rush average. Larry McCammon lead the Owls with 125 yards on just 13 carries.
Four Owls players racked up 50+ receiving yards: Tony Johnson (91), Larry McCammon (59), Je’Quan Burton (56), and LaJohntay Wester (55)
Complete Game Box Score
The Play of the Game
Though the outcome was all but guaranteed in the first half, the play of the game was Tony Johnson’s 72-yard touchdown reception from Casey Thompson to put FAU up 42-14 late in the third quarter. Johnson’s run was a beauty as he weaved his way through defense breaking several tackles along the way.
No Defensive Let Down
Another big difference from Owls’ teams of the last several years was how the play was set up: by defense. Monmouth got the ball on one of FAU’s 2 turnovers, an interception by linebacker Jake Brown, set Monmouth up at the FAU 37-yard-line. Last year, the defense would likely have caved…but that was last year. This year, the Owl’s defense rose to the occasion, getting a turnover on downs when Marquez McCray’s fourth-and-one pass fell incomplete. Johnson scored on the next play.
FAU’s defense was far more aggressive than last year. As an example, FAU’s DB’s were much improved in run support.
The stats were skewed as Monmouth added 139 of its 361 total yards in a meaningless 4th quarter.
Coach Hermans post game quote:
“The way we started, I was really happy with. I felt we took the last nine months and really applied everything that we have been teaching and everything that the young men have learned. And then the last few drives in the first half were 5-7 drives. We could not convert the third-and-one, third-and-two on offense, and then we give up the two minute drive for a touchdown [on defense]. I told our team at halftime that this is not last year. If you get up 28-7 at home, metaphorically, you firmly have your hands on their throat. What we did at the end of the half, we relaxed and when you relax on a good football team, regardless of where they are from or what conference they are in, if you give them life and the ability to breathe, they are going to breathe. And now you have to start all over again. That is what we did in the third quarter and I was happy with the way we responded in that third quarter. And then as the game was decided in the fourth, we have to do a better job when we get our rotational players in there of finishing games out. Having done this over 25 years and now eight years as a head coach, the difference in terms of teams getting better from week one to week two, you just cannot simulate the four hours that we went through tonight. We have a lot of film that we can learn from and there is no doubt in my mind that these guys will be better for having gone through a bit of a rollercoaster of a game like this.”
Winning in Paradise is off to a great start.
The current state of FAU football has a number of similarities to the Houston team Herman took over after the 2014 season. Houston was an average team, must like the past few versions od the Owls. Herman’s impact was immediate and remarkable.
Coach Herman led the Cougars to a 13-1 record, including a 38-24 victory over Florida State in the Peach Bowl and a final ranking of number 8.
Up Next
The Ohio Bobcats (1-1) come to South Florida September 9th. The Bobcats will give the Owls offense a far stiffer test as they held Liberty to 206 yards.
