BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University football defense held Conference USA foe Charlotte to 279 total offensive yards, including only 62 on the ground, but the Owls’ defense is not satisfied with its performance and will work to improve prior to this Saturday’s game at Ohio, slated for 6 p.m. It is the season opener for Bobcats, and it is the first meeting between the two schools.
QUOTABLE
Defensive Coordinator Todd Orlando
On who played well Saturday beyond the stat sheet
“Outside of the stuff that we collect in terms of final grades, I really don’t look at that stuff. I just thought collectively there were a lot of things to what Ohio U’s going to look at on tape that we need to clean up. That wasn’t our cleanest game at all and there are a lot of things we have to get better at.”
On pressuring the quarterback
“What it does is it allows us to get into third down and predictable, and I think that was important that game [Charlotte]. I think when you look back statistically, Charlotte is really good when they can extend drives. We did a good job of making them predictable and getting off the field. When we can do that, and our offensive guys do a great job of making people work formation-wise and then they’ll uptempo you, so if we can get their defense back on the field pretty quick, that helps us. That’s all part of the complementary ball that we’re talking about.”
Biggest challenge against Ohio
“They’re going to run the ball and we know they’re going to run the football. I grew up north and I think the one thing we would always think about guys from down south, whether it’s Texas or Florida, is when they come up here, let’s show them what we do up here. They’ve got some guys up front, tough kids, tough running back. We know we’re going to see some non-traditional stuff like options and triple stuff.”
On Redshirt Freshman CB Jayden Williams and his performance against Charlotte
“I saw some of the stuff that he did in camp. I think he’s a dynamic blitzer and I think anytime as a play caller, you’re just looking at what somebody can do, so some of the personnel groupings that you probably wouldn’t want to see him out there, we put him out there because he’s dynamic. He did exactly what he did for the last four weeks. We were just excited to see him go against somebody else. I really thought, from my standpoint and ours as a staff, that he played very well in every aspect. I thought he hustled on every play, was dynamic on some of the situations, makes a great play in space and gets the quarterback out. I thought he played really well.”
On the interior defensive line
“All of those guys are going to be very important. If (Ohio) is going to slam the football, you better be stout inside. We have to have a great rotation to keep guys fresh, but that’s going to be a huge part of this game having guys inside that are holding the point.”
On winning a conference game in Week 0
“It’s good, but when you get into it, you talk to our kids and it’s Wednesday already, that thing has to be gone. I think that’s part of the maturity. That’s part of knowing how to take a game, process it, let it go once you watch the tape whether it is good or bad. I’ve been on sides of it that you can let it eat you, and it’s the same thing when you win. Those guys up in Ohio are waiting on us, the same kind of way we were at home and waiting on Charlotte to show up. They have a game on us, which is an advantage to them, they’ve seen our personnel and what we’re doing.”
On challenges of playing on the road
“It just comes down to the way that we train. If you train well, it gives you an opportunity to win. If you don’t train well, then you’re more than likely going to lose. So, it first goes into the way that we practice and then it goes into managing your life and making sure we’re going to sleep on time which our staff does. It’s a later game, which I thought the way Coach T (Willie Taggart) put the schedule together for Charlotte was great. We woke them up a little bit later, had some meetings had a walkthrough, so the kids never had more than an hour and half of downtime.”
Junior ILB Eddie Williams
On last week’s game
“I thought we played hard, but we only had 24 hours to celebrate that and now we’re onto Ohio.”
On the challenges of playing on the road
“This year we’re just going to play our game, how we played last game but even better. We had a couple of mistakes that we have to improve.”
On Ohio’s rushing ability
“Our mindset is always – stop the run. We’re going to take that seriously.”
On building off of the Charlotte game
“Last game is last game and we’re onto Ohio.”
On DC Todd Orlando‘s defense
“It was real fun out there. We played as a team. Everybody ran to the ball, and it was just good to see it on film.”
On the young cornerbacks
“They came to show. They came out here and played their heart out. They had a good camp and it showed in the game.”
COLLEGE COLOR DAYSSHOW YOUR PRIDE ON AND OFF CAMPUS – College Colors Day Celebration! The intercollegiate athletics National celebration kicks-off this week. The day celebrates and promotes the traditions and spirit that make college great by encouraging students, faculty, staff, alumni and fans to wear their favorite college’s (Florida Atlantic) apparel of their favorite college throughout the day. FAU’s event is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 2 from 11:30am-1:30pm on the Diversity Housing Lawn.
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FAU Coaches Radio Show
For free mobile listening of all game broadcasts and coaches shows, FAU fans can download the Varsity Network app for iPhone or Android. The app features instant access to free gameday audio streams and the ability for fans to receive push notifications to remind them of games starting or upcoming audio broadcasts. Local fans can tune in to Hubbard Radio (Fox Sports South Florida 640 AM) to follow the team.
FAU Television Inside the Owls Burrow
This week’s show will include a sit down with Hagerty Family Head Football Coach Willie Taggart. Show host and producer Frank Forte and Taggart will review last week’s 43-13 victory over Conference USA opponent Charlotte. The duo will preview the task ahead and this week it is a road game versus Ohio. Guard Kamaar Bell is the first player to be featured in “Pads Off”. Wide receiver coach Billy Gonzalez is mic’d up, and linebacker Eddie Williams will be featured.
TICKETS
To purchase FAU tickets, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS or click HERE or HERE. Individual tickets are now on sale as well. Call the FAU ticket office, today, to secure your tickets. Stay informed by reading FAUSports.com, or through football’s Twitter and Instagram accounts @FAUFootball.
