FAU’s second road game of the season is almost upon us as the Owls head upon to face UConn in a pivotal matchup for both squads, as FAU is looking to roll with momentum and the Huskies are looking for their first FBS win of 2024.
The biggest question over the past 3 weeks was how FAU was going to be able to get the offense rolling, now having found success on the ground both with Cam Fancher (pictured above via Christian Proscia) and their backs, the attention turns to whether or not the run game is the focal point of the unit or if this week sees the passing game take the next-step.
On the defensive side of the ball, last week was about proving the struggles against Army’s run game were a thing of the past and the Owls did their part against FIU, holding the Panthers under 100 yards rushing, and forcing 2 fumbles in the run game as well.
This week will be about FAU finding a way to build upon their success on both sides of the ball, while dealing with a few key injuries and it is also an opportunity for the Owls to prove themselves against a team that Herman believes is AAC quality.
What to watch for
How do the Owls overcome injuries on both sides of the ball
Following a physical battle against FIU, FAU has walked away with injuries on both sides of the ball that have left them with some question marks heading into their matchup with UConn.
Cam Fancher
Cam Fancher has been dealing with an injury to his hand since having it stepped on during the Michigan State game and although he has been managing the injury it is something that has been bothering him during games, something Tom Herman has noticed as well.
“It is his throwing hand, you know, there are some throws that you see, he kind of looks at me like (Shaking finger), I’m like, Okay, I got it, you know, and so you deal with it, but he’s managing it,” Herman said.
With their QB dealing with pain in his throwing hand, that can partially explain some of the inaccurate throws we have seen from Fancher and the offense’s lack of consistency to stretch the field. Fancher hasn’t had much rest on his finger, however the Owls still believe he is the best option to lead the team and they have found ways to keep improving the pass-game, while managing his injury.
With Fancher dealing with this injury and powering through it there isn’t a question of his status, but something to monitor is his improvement as we hit 3 weeks removed from MSU, and if the Owls have an expanded ability to stretch the field against UConn, or if they continue to stick with a shorter pass game.
Daughtry Richardson
The Owls starting right tackle suffered a broken hand pre-game against FIU, having it get caught in a teammate’s face mask during warmups. Despite the loss of their FSU transfer lineman, the Owls were able to find their run-game and keep Fancher upright with veteran utility lineman Alex Atcavage filling in on the blindside.
It wasn’t a totally new position for Atcavage, as he came to FAU as a tackle, however this season he has served as a backup guard and center, but with backup tackle Scarlee Jean still recovering from a preseason knee injury FAU decided to roll with Atcavage. The Owls not seeing a drop off with him was important, and part of that according to starting RG Andre Lamas is the chemistry the two longtime teammates have developed.
“Alex actually came here as a tackle and he played right tackle and I was playing right guard and me and him have been playing next to each other for our whole career, whether if I was at center and he was at guard, if I was at guard and he was at tackle, or when he was at center, and I was at guard…so Alex and I have always had great chemistry, and I have great chemistry with Daughtry as well, so I feel like no matter where someone may go down the O line, the ball will keep rolling,” Lamas said.
Having a long-time veteran serving as a backup is a huge benefit for the Owls and although Atcavage is missing some of the size Richardson has, his chemistry with Lamas and experience have allowed him to step in effectively.
Tom Herman mentioned that they are trying to get Richardson to a point where he can play with a cast that gives him some access to his fingers compared to a club, but should they be unable to look for Atcavage to fill in, however with UConn having a better edge presence than FIU this game will be a bit more challenging at tackle.
Daedae Hill
The Owls extremely athletic boundary corner suffered an ankle sprain against FIU, which Herman originally thought to be a low ankle, however after further evaluation turned into a high ankle sprain, which is the more unfortunate one of the two, as a high-ankle sprain can potentially cause Hill to miss more time.
Hill has combined with Buggs Brown to be a lockdown duo at CB for the Owls as his athleticism combined with Brown’s height have left opposing WR corps struggling to find winnable matchups. The success Hill has had this season is why Tom Herman believes despite his backup CBs being more than capable of filling in, there will be inevitable drop off.
“Yes, and that is no knock on Mike Antoine, that’s no knock on Cam Goggins, that’s no knock on whoever else would fill in there, But Daedae is having a heck of a really year since the off season, and so to be very blunt, yeah, there will be drop off. But that’s why one guy’s a starter and plays 70 snaps and one guy’s not and plays 10. So we hope to limit that drop off, if you’re going to have a guy get hurt, you’d rather them get hurt at the end of the game and in a win and now you have the week to get the guy ready,” Herman said.
Uconn has struggled a bit to pass the ball through 3 games, as backup QB Joe Fagano found success vs Merrimack, but Nick Evers has been inconsistent in his 2 starts and an injury at CB could be a chance for him to find success.
Should Hill miss this matchup, he still wants to be involved and no matter who is out there he wants to help his teammates succeed and knows they are more than capable.
“I’m going to be on the sideline, at practice, coaching them up, motivating them, giving them what I got if I am not able to play, I’m trying to get right and go back, if anything I’m going to motivate them as much as I can,” Hill said.
Can the Owls spark the run again
No matter how they do it, they have to do it, both Zuberi Mobley and CJ Campbell JR. found major success against FIU and it allowed the offense to look comfortable for the first time this season.
FAU powered through the injury to Richardson and to make it even better, they punched a 72 yard run with Mobley which was started by a block from Atcavage. But it wasn’t just that big run, the Owls had a season high in team yards per carry, averaging 5.0 yards per carry which helped set up Fancher and the offense in manageable passing situations a lot of the time.
UConn’s run defense has been porous this season, allowing 150+ yards rushing against every team they’ve played including FCS Merrimack, so this is another opportunity for the Owls to find their mojo.
Mobley found the most success on the day with 134 yards and 3 TDs, however Campbell was successful right alongside him finishing with over 100 scrimmage yards and both were consistently churning out short yardage. FAU had fresh legs whenever they needed, rotating between their 2 backs and they also got some of their best run-blocking of the season despite the injury to Atcavage.
Their scheme of run didn’t change much against FIU, so simply FAU just has to execute in the same way they did and hope the seas part their way.
Coming off a solid pass-rush performance, does FAU look to replicate that against a struggling young QB
FAU was able to generate 13 pressures against FIU which was a season high, and combined with their turnovers to be a big part of their ability to stymie the FIU offense.
Second year QB Keyone Jenkins struggled to the tune of 3 interceptions and was under pressure on a lot of his incompletions and the Owls were also able to frustrate another sophomore QB in Aidan Chiles at MSU in the season opener. Facing off against Nick Evers, a QB who Jim Mora noted has played 8 quarters of live football in the past 3 years, FAU bringing pressure and getting home is one way to potentially frustrate the former 4-star.
Like Jenkins and Chiles, Evers can run the football effectively if needed, so the Owls can’t over-commit, but a heavy dose of Chris Jones and Chisom Ifeanyi off the edge could wreak havoc in the backfield.
UConn has a pretty formidable run game with Cam Edwards leading the way offensively and they will want to get that established, so FAU will need to capitalize on when Evers drops back, generate pressure, and force UConn to be one dimensional.
Chisom Ifeanyi has been the Owls 3rd highest graded defender this season with a 72 overall grade and 78.2 pass rushing grade, also stuffing 3 runs for 3 yards or less. His production has been increasing each game and although UConn’s line has been solid, Ifeanyi didn’t look overwhelmed against MSU.
UConn’s pass blocking has been fairly solid so far with only 2 sacks allowed, but with the Owls coming off of their most productive pass rushing performances of the season, this will be a chance for the Unit to prove themselves against a solid UConn offensive line.
Final thoughts
The injuries have a chance to impact this game, as they have been able to overcome Fancher’s finger injury so far, but against a better defensive line and better quarterback, Richardson and Hill being out could be a major problem.
Atcavage was able to fill in splendidly vs FIU, while Michael Antoine and Cam Goggins filled in for Hill during garbage time and should either of the Owls starters be out FAU will need their backups to step up once again.
In terms of the run game, they need to be physical and churn out yards, if the big play happens, that is a bonus, but the biggest goal for FAU should be to continually set up manageable situations with early down runs for the offense as a whole.
Lastly, with the secondary having been a huge strength so far to start the year, if the pass rush can continue to play at a level like they did against FIU it will only help the defense continue to perform at a high level and help them limit the UConn offense.