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Owls battle Raiders in conference opener
By Mario Sarmento
SPORTS EDITOR
After a 1-3 start, the FAU football team needs a victory to get its season back on track.
And the Owls will shoot for that win in their first conference game of the season at Middle Tennessee State Tuesday at 8 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
FAU enters having lost its last two games against Big Ten teams, 17-0 to Michigan State, and 37-3 against Minnesota.
In those games, the defense continued to struggle, but there was just as much concern about the offense, which did nothing against the Spartans and had Rusty Smith throw four interceptions against Minnesota.
“It’s no secret that the offense in general had a couple of tough weeks,” Smith said. “We’ve had to refocus, rededicate. We had a couple of team meetings, offensive unit meetings to try and make sure we can get on the same page.”
The Owls’ opponents, Middle Tennessee State, are just as hungry and enter the game with an identical 1-3 record. But the Raiders’ lone win did come on the road against a BCS team, Maryland.
Last year, the Owls and Raiders met in FAU’s home opener, and the Owls won in their best defensive effort of the season, 24-14.
Middle Tennessee runs the same spread offense that has confused the Owls all season, but cornerback Tavious Polo hopes the Owls can get their swagger back Tuesday.
“Those losses that we had were like a wake-up call for us,” Polo said. “Now we know we’ve got to wake up, play hard like we used to.”
The lack of focus has been evident in the play of both units, as Smith’s receivers have dropped numerous passes, and FAU defenders have missed just as many assignments.
With this being the first conference game, Schnellenberger said, “It is ultimately important. It’s a game that will allow us to come into the next game with one win looking for two. If we don’t win it, we’re at zero looking for one. And that has a dominoing effect on the season. I can’t call it life and death because we won the conference with one loss and six wins.”
On the injury front, running back Charles Pierre has turf toe, but should play. Robert St. Clair has practiced with the team and should play some after recovering from knee surgery.
Center Nick Paris will be out with strained ligaments in his foot. Also, cornerback Erick McIntosh separated his shoulder against Minnesota and will be out for several weeks.
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