From the first couple drives of the game, it was easy to tell what type of night it would be for the Owls against Georgia Southern - the defense would being playing bend don't break versus a tricky triple-option attack, and the offense would continue their struggles.
The game ended up playing out exactly like that in a 20-3 loss to the Eagles, a team who has now won 27 in a row out of the conference at home.
Here are five takeaway's from last night's action:
Posey is Not Ready - Despite the great athleticism Javion Posey has struggled mightily under center for the Owls in his three starts. Posey is only completing 50.8 if his passes with two touchdowns in the air and has turned it over five times. Everything from misreading safeties, feeling the pressure that is not there, and not protecting the ball while running has plagued him. Nick Tronti (pictured above) moved the ball better when he was in and probably would have given the Owls a better chance to win if put in earlier in the game. Tronti should be the starter for Southern Miss and whatever Bowl game the Owls may land in as he has only one turnover in 262 snaps this year.
The Play-Calling Debate - It is common for fans to be upset about "play-calling" whenever a team struggles scoring points. That may be true in some cases, but it has not been evident in the Owls' struggles yet. During the Owls' second to last drive of the game, they faced a third one after a nine-yard Tronti run. They lined up and ran standard read option to running back James Charles to the left side, which was stuffed. On the next play, they then ran QB power, which was taken for a loss. Both are standard plays that good teams should execute 9 out of 10 times. Fans also showed frustration with some of the attempted long passes, but when teams play eight or nine in the box, you have to take those shots and trust your quarterback can read a single high safety and rely on a wideout to make a play in one on one. Execution always trumps playing calling, and the Owls are simply not executing.
Paper Running Back Room - It is no secret heading into the season, the Owls' deepest position was running back, and the offense could hope to lean on them when moving the ball became difficult. The depth of the running back room has evaporated this season. The talent of the room becomes meaningless when no one can stay healthy. This issue continued last night when Owls came into the game already down BJ Emmons and got worse when Malcolm Davidson limped off after only eight snaps. Running back is a position that gets better with feel and reps over a game and a season, but no FAU back has carried the ball more than 60 times this year, making it hard to create consistency. I would expect younger backs to play a larger role earlier with the 2021 Owls if the staff can't rely on the vets to stay out of the trainer's room.
Mountain Man - The Owls defense did everything you can ask for against a difficult triple offense attack, and it has a lot to do with true freshman Evan Anderson, who has been excellent this year. At 6-3', 355 lbs, he has figuratively and literally filled a significant hole on the Owls' defensive line. According to the Pro Football Focus grading models, Anderson has been the highest-rated FAU defender this season with a 90.3 rating. The sky is the limit for the big man, who has not even seen a full college offseason strength program.
Portal Mania - The quarterback issues make it apparent that Willie Taggart his staff will have to bring in immediate competition going into the 2021 season. With a one-time free transfer rule most likely coming and players getting the ability to apply for a one year "Covid wavier." The infamous transfer portal will be more loaded than with players looking to make a change. There have already been 35 quarterbacks enter for 2021 cycle, with four finding new homes so far. Expect that number to grow exponentially as the season closes. The story of the 2021 Owls likely will come down to who they land in the coming months.
FAU will now quickly turn their attention to Southern Miss, who they will take on in a rare Thursday night contest to close out the 2020 regular season.
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Comments
Keep em coming Shane!!!
All of this talk about Posey getting better like Robison did is really getting crazy.
What about Tronti getting better next year?
All we talk about is Posey theoretically getting better. Well isn’t it true that Tronti could get better if he was the starter.
Even more worrying than the int’s is the fumbling by Posey. It’s going to be really hard for him to stop fumbling and keep running so hard. There can be either one or the other.
Thanks as always for the support.
Yea, at the very least Tronti can manage a game.
You can still include Posey in some packages and keep the D off balance.
The statment above has a problem. IMO the Gun Option is not tricky and you really dont see a lot of Triple Option run grom it. You see mostly the QB keep or pitch portion of the option to the outside.
AS I stated in another thread
I personally dont like the Gun Option. I am however a Flex Triple Option fan. Many on the gsufans.com board would disagree with me. I just believe the running game, in the Gun Option, is to easy to read for the opposing defenses LBs, Safties and corners for a running team. I'm use to GSUs Flex Triple Option rushing for 350-400 ypg and scoring between 35-45ppg. Havent seen that in a long time using the Gun Option. IMO our defense has kept us in the game for most of the year.
Tronti has a completion to Merrill his first drive. Posey isn’t capable of making that throw. For how much praise Posey has gotten for his running, he doesn’t have particularly good awareness and obviously has a fumble problem which I doubt will ever get corrected.
I think it’s time to have Tronti be the guy for this year and next year. That’s unless of course a transfer QB comes. I’m very worried the way Taggart talks about Posey like he’s the long term option.
Think about it. Posey turned it over 3 times with a safe gameplan. Imagine how many turnovers he would have if the play calling was more advanced.
If you analyze Posey’s throwing motion it’s very concerning. That there’s any consideration of him being the starter in future seasons is very troubling.
IF we want to win games Tronti has to be the go to guy, yes he is not very explosive but the minute they put him in we had instant offense, he can make throws that Posey can't make. I fully believe that this staff will go out and get a transfer QB if not you can kiss next season goodbye because we cannot win 8-9 games without a decent pocket passer QB the defense can only do so much. Also the O-Line is very disappointing.
We need a battle tested QB to push the offense.
I may be stuck in the past, but I'd open the door back up for a Robison comeback if it's possible.
Like I’ve said, college football is so soft that there are very successful 1 read QB’s. But they don’t have a ridiculously bad throwing motion and aren’t turnover machines.