September 2007 Archives

The Owls where a bit outman yesterday against a pretty good team, the Cats are ranked #14 for a reason and possess a very accurate passers in Woodson who made the Owls defender pay for the lack of pressure by the front four.  Even when the Owls blitzed and seem to get good pressure on Woodson, he found a way to make the plays needed to keep drives going.  With his 5 TD performance he literally carried the Cats to a victory and their best start (5-0) in 30 years.

On Defense, the Owls downfall was the lack of creating any type of pressure on the opposing QB and when you give an accurate passer time, he will shred your secondary apart, which he did.  The defense just couldn't come up with a big stop on third downs to slow down the very efficient offensive attack of the Wildcats.  Losing your defensive leader did not help in those situations, but the players need to dig deep in these types of situations and make the breaks for themselves.

On offense, the Owls proved they can move the ball if they don't stop themselves and still need to learn to finish drive.  We still need to find a way to run the ball more effectively inside the twenty, which leads to drives stalling with nothing to show for.

Overall, this was the biggest game to date for the Owls and next week will prove to be  even bigger and should give the players a good indication how to prepare and for what is needed to play at the highest of level.  The players will have to find a way to elevate their play and make a few big plays, once they do, it will become contagious and good things will follow.  You have to create your own breaks by out working and hitting your opponent.  It's great to think you can beat a team like Kentucky, now the players understand what is needed to do just that, it is not a stretch of the imagination, just involves hard work, focus and persistence to make it happen. 

The players are doing what they need to and keeping the dream alive, not the easier of ways, managing to give this Owl fans a few more grays and losing a few more strand of hair I have left, at least I can avoid a trip to Dr. Phil a little longer.

We saw how Rusty & Polo both handled themselves after receiving some national honors last week, with some solid performances and there was no doubts about the energy level either, there was a bit too much adrenaline and once the team settled down they took care of business to remain perfect in conference play, sitting on top at 2-0.

This team still has to learn how to play two solid half of football and help themselves; they continue having to work way too hard to earn these victories.  I did notice at the beginning of the game where the defense called an all out blitz, good timing, but got burned on the play, which seemed to effect how they played the rest of the half.  They got caught flat footed and played too conservative allowing the Mean Green to do whatever they wanted on offense.  You can't allow one play to define a game and the players made the proper adjustments and played much more aggressive in the second half.  Polo proved that last week was no fluke and made plays again to help turn the tide in this game.  I like when the defense plays aggressive, sure you will get burn once in a while, but the pressure they create with the aggressive style of play helps generate turnovers that become game changers.

Special team made-up for not being so special as of late, with huge plays that shifted momentum the Owls way with two block punts, both coming at critical times, the first giving the team a much needed boost and the second helping to seal the victory.  There is still plenty of work to be done, we can't allow so many return yards on punt and kick-offs returns. 

This team continues to improve, especially on offense and once they settle down they continue to prove just how explosive this unit can be.

 This has been a big week for Florida Atlantic, a big win over Minnesota, followed with the approval of the Open-Air on-Campus stadium.  Both are big stories on their own and when you combine these two events in the same week, it's enough to make you feel like you can walk on water. 

Schnellenberger has been talking about his vision of an on-campus stadium since the inception of the FAU football program, hard to separate the two really, college football was meant to be played on campus.  The process of getting this project approved by the Board of Trustee's might seem to fans, players and many in the Athletic department, feel as though they may have ran a marathon with hurdles set-up every hundred yards. And I'm sure two people that have fought very hard to get us to this point, felt a little lighter and surely had more bounce in their steps, after Tuesdays approval of the stadium,  in Schnellenberger and Angelos. 

Hurray, to the Board for seeing the importance of having an on-campus stadium in tandem with the innovation village and what it will do to help bridge a gap that currently exist in making this a traditional type of campus, which hopefully will encourage some (many) Alumni's to re-establish their roots and support their Alma Mater.  Hopefully, this will be the start of building strong traditions that will help build pride in one's Alma Mater and support it no matter the results on any given Saturdays.  Students are part of this equation and will benefit from a strong presence of school pride in an institution that will give them the social avenues required in establishing a community that supports student activities and lifestyle while they earn their degrees. 

This one commitment by the Board of Trustees, long overdue, will have a resounding effect and no doubt have a major impact on where the University is headed.  This was definitely not the shortest nor the straightest road taken to get to a destination of approval, yet it remains the right one for the future of this program and fulfilling the vision of the University, in transforming it from a commuter to a traditional campus.

In three short years this campus will have transformed into a Village, all Owl fans will call - Owl Country.

I will have to deviate from my normal post game thoughts segment, for I got coheres into helping a friend today, where a trip to the dentist would have been more pleasant.   There are some that say I take FAU football a bit too serious and yesterday did provide a few of those pacing and many moments of jubilation that got me high-fiving and hugging anybody within reach. 

This game adds to the other signature win for this program, 2003 MTSU 2004 Hawaii, where each one of those wins, still holds a certain significant and merit, marking a growth in our program continued development.  This win over our first BCS team from the Big 10 has a certain noble feel to it; it was a victory at home, where diehard Owl fans where part of the triumph. 

These signature wins are part of the building process of this program and what better way to show how they are part of that building process, then by having a "Red Shovel" for each of these signature victories on displayed at the Oxley Center, the symbolism of the foundation that is being build - just a thought.

A game like this was needed for many different reasons, but the biggest, recruiting.  This win offsets the lack of having an on-campus stadium something that our opponents surely use against us, one thing they can not take away, is the magnitude of what this victory means for a young program.  Recruits want to part of a winning program and we are clearly showing the direction of where the program is headed.

Now, it the Board of Trustees turn to hit a home run and give final approval for our on-campus stadium, the players have shown they deserve it, the fans that have followed this program from it's inception deserve it and the sacrifice the students have made deserve it.

Let's keep the momentum going and give Coach and the Original Owls the recognition they deserve for starting something very special with a place they can call home.

What a wild ride it was, I never felt so exhausted after an Owl games that provided plenty of excitements through out the game, which included some agitating moments along the way, but what a great win for the Owls.  I must give credit to the Gophers who despite having seven, yup, seven turnovers still fought to the end, that alone should brings about a  lesson that our players can learn from, to never give-up and continue to fight through any adversities.  I must give the coaches their dues for putting a great game plan together on offense and to the players for execution.  The second half showed what the Big 10 has and what the Owls need, size up front; part of the reason why the Gopher found success on the offensive side of the ball in the half. 

This was a great team effort with so many different players contributing to help secure this victory.  I will have to cut this short for now, more to come later today.