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grayowl said

Looks like the NYT blog will have the Owls at No. 68:

Who is No. 68?: This university is the fastest start-up program to earn an F.B.S. victory, a bowl berth and a bowl victory.

Yep, FAU is No.68

From: http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/the-quad-countdown-no-68-florida-atlantic/#more-940


The Quad Countdown: No. 68 Florida Atlantic
By Paul Myerberg

Tags: Florida Atlantic, football

Location: Boca Raton, Fla.

Nickname: Owls. The third, and last, team on the Countdown with an Owl mascot, joining No. 104 Rice and No. 105 Temple.

Quick facts: Last fall was a dream season for the Owls, who continued their unexpected – and ahead of schedule – climb to the top of the Sun Belt. The Florida Atlantic football program was born in 2001, and after only four years in Division I-AA and one year as a transitional member of the F.B.S. began its current incarnation as a full-fledged F.B.S team in 2006. Under the guidance of Howard Schnellenberger – yes, the Howard Schnellenberger – F.A.U. holds a number of illustrious N.C.A.A. records: quickest program to reach the I-AA playoffs, earn an F.B.S. victory, reach a bowl game and win a bowl game. The Owls achieved the latter pair last fall, winning a conference championship and the New Orleans Bowl, 44-27, over Memphis. In doing so, the Owls provided a blueprint for all future start-up programs (and new F.B.S. member Western Kentucky) to follow.

Tidbit: Florida Atlantic returns 82 percent of its lettermen (55 of 67) from last fall, a statistic that should make its fellow Sun Belt denizens very nervous about F.A.U.’s potential in 2008 and beyond.

Tidbit (recruiting edition): Florida Atlantic has taken full advantage of the fertile recruiting ground in its backyard. Of the 58 players taken in their last three recruiting classes (2006-08), the Owls have taken 54 players from in-state – the four other players came from Arkansas, Texas, Kansas and California.

Former players in the N.F.L.: None.
Famous alumni (non-football related): R. David Paulison, the administrator of FEMA; the comedian Carrot Top; Theresa LePore, the former Supervisor of Elections in Palm Beach County, Fla., whose butterfly ballot design created plenty of havoc during the presidential election in 2000.
Team Information

Conference: Sun Belt.

Head coach: Howard Schnellenberger (’56 Kentucky), the first and only head coach in F.A.U. history and 2007 Sun Belt coach of the year. Schnellenberger, 41-42 with the Owls, had been out of football for three years when he was approached by F.A.U. in 1998 with a peculiar opportunity: build a football program from the ground up. The choice seemed odd at the time. Schnellenberger was 64 when hired, seemingly too old to take on such an endeavor, and hadn’t stalked the sidelines since 1995. But Schnellenberger’s hiring has been an inspired decision, as the Owls have burst onto the scene as one of the nation’s up-and-coming programs. Probably should have seen it coming: Schnellenberger is the father of the Miami program, leading the Hurricanes to their first national title in 1983 and a 41-16 record over all from 1979-1983. Schnellenberger has a thing for rebuilding jobs; in addition to his time at F.A.U. and Miami – the ‘Canes had two winning seasons in the decade prior to his arrival – Schnellenberger took over a dismal Louisville program in 1985 and tried his hand at resurrecting Oklahoma in 1995 before being fired after one season. Schnellenberger, entering the twilight of his career, is writing a fitting coda to a legendary and unorthodox coaching career.

2007 record: 8-5 (6-1). Picked sixth in the preseason Sun Belt coaches poll, F.A.U. won the Sun Belt in only its third season in the conference and second season as a full-fledged member of the F.B.S. Though the running game was pedestrian (126 yards per game), the junior quarterback Rusty Smith carried the offense all season, throwing for 3,688 yards and 32 touchdowns. However, if Florida Atlantic is going to take another step forward in 2008 the defense must improve; the unit allowed 33.2 points and 415.6 yards per game. Nevertheless, the vast majority of F.A.U.’s two-deep is underclassmen, so the future is extremely bright in Boca Raton. Sending notice to the rest of the Florida universities, F.A.U. was the only team in state to win its bowl game.

High point: A 42-39 victory over Minnesota was the program’s first over a B.C.S.-conference team. Yes, Minnesota is still part of the Big Ten, despite Tim Brewster’s best efforts. The season ended with a three-game winning streak: a 55-23 humiliation of rival Florida International in the Shula Bowl, a 38-32 win over Troy to win the Sun Belt and the 44-27 defeat of Memphis in the New Orleans Bowl.

Low point: Florida Atlantic’s only Sun Belt defeat, a 33-30 triple-overtime loss to Louisiana-Monroe in late October.

Returning starters: 18 (10 offense, 8 defense).

Key losses:
On offense, the only starter lost was guard Jarrid Smith, a multi-year starter and an all-conference selection for the Owls. In addition to his sterling play, Smith was a finalist for a national sportsmanship award. For the Countdown’s younger readers, it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.
On defense, two of the three lost starters for the Owls were all-conference selections, led by linebacker Cergile Sincere, a first-team all-Sun Belt pick. Sincere finished second on the team with 117 tackles (9 for loss) while adding 2 sacks and 6 forced fumbles. Cornerback Kris Bartels was an all-conference honorable mention pick. Taheem Acevado was a solid playmaker from his free safety spot, finishing fourth on the team with 80 tackles while tying for second with five interceptions.

Players to watch: Rusty Smith, the reigning Sun Belt player of the year, is an under-the-radar player to keep an eye on. Smith set every single-season and game records for the Owls in 2007: passing yards (3,688, 463 vs. Minnesota), touchdowns (32, 5 vs. Minnesota) and completions (281, 35 vs. Louisiana-Monroe). While not a Heisman contender, is it that far out of the realm of possibility that, with another strong individual and team season in 2008, he could be a dark-horse candidate in 2009? Smith’s top two targets – the junior receiver Cortez Gent and the senior tight end Jason Harmon – each received first-team all-conference honors. Gent led the team with 64 receptions, 1,082 yards and 9 touchdowns, while Harmon, a converted wideout, added 63 receptions for 825 yards and 5 touchdowns. Talent abounds on defense. The senior linebacker Frantz Joseph is a monster in the middle, setting a team record with 131 tackles in 2007. Joseph added three sacks and two picks, and is a leading contender for Sun Belt defensive player of the year. Cornerback is a major strength, with the sophomore Tavious Polo (a team-record seven interceptions) and the senior Corey Small (103 tackles, 5 interceptions) forming the conference’s best duo. With a plethora of talent, another up-and-down season in 2008 would be inexcusable.

Position battle to watch: Not many spots are open to competition, so a position battle to watch is at running back, where a pair of potential starters are staking their claim to the No. 1 spot. The most likely starter is the senior Charles Pierre, a somewhat undersized back (5-9, 195 pounds) but the leading returning rusher for the Owls (782 yards, 7 touchdowns). The do-everything senior DiIvory Edgecomb added 190 yards rushing, 24 receptions for 416 yards (a team-leading 17.3 average) and a 24.1 yard kick return average. While Edgecomb may get some additional touches this fall, the duo complimented each other well in 2007, and the coaching staff may be hesitant to alter with a winning formula.

2008 schedule:
Aug. 30 @ Texas
Sept. 6 U.A.B.
Sept. 13 @ Michigan State
Sept. 20 @ Minnesota
Oct. 7 Troy
Oct. 18 @ Western Kentucky
Oct.25 @ Louisiana-Monroe
Nov. 8 North Texas
Nov. 15 Louisiana-Lafayette
Nov. 22 @ Arkansas State
Nov. 29 F.I.U. (at Dolphin Stadium)

Game to watch: The Oct. 7 home date with Troy. It’s a must-win for both teams, each which believes it is the class of the Sun Belt.

Season breakdown & prediction: The Owls are the most talented team in the Sun Belt, and if they can get similar production from Smith and the rest of the offense are the favorites to repeat as conference champs. It is likely that the offense will actually get better in 2008 – 10 returning starters will do that – so the only question mark for the Owls will be their defense. Looking at their talent, I find it hard to believe they were as subpar as they were in 2007; a marginal improvement seems almost guaranteed due to added experience. The big game is Troy, as we mentioned in the Trojan preview. The winner of that game will be the Sun Belt champion and get the resulting bid in the New Orleans Bowl. I think the Owls take that game, partly because of the home-field advantage (overrated anyway in the Sun Belt), but also because F.A.U. is deeper and more talented at important skill positions. While a difficult non-conference schedule may keep F.A.U. from improving upon last fall’s 8-5 mark, I predict a second-straight Sun Belt crown – another step forward for a program on the fast track to conference supremacy.

Dream season: F.A.U. follows up 2007 with another Sun Belt crown, beating U.A.B. and Minnesota out-of-conference to finish 10-2.

Nightmare season: F.A.U. fans are still glowing from last fall, so the only result that could possibly wipe the collective smiles from their faces would be a disastrous 3-9 or 4-8 season.

Where F.A.U. fans congregate: Fans should visit FightingOwls.com, the F.A.U. Rivals site.

Who is No. 67?: In ancient times, the last name of this university’s coach would have been a unit of measurement based on the length of the arm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger.

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Re: Ranking Blog...

Nice writeup
Florida Atlantic University Owls
2007 Sun Belt Football Champions 2007 New Orleans Bowl Champions 2008 Motor City Bowl Champions 2011 Sun Belt Basketball Champions No Bowls without Owls
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I agree nice writeup except for where the fans congregate.
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Lago said

I agree nice writeup except for where the fans congregate.

Hey, look!  They're congregating!

WHO'S ONLINE: 3 FAU fans online, including 3 guests.
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