BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic University football added new décor to the team meeting room during the bye week. It is an elegantly placed white light with black stenciled RESET letters which sits atop the room’s lone desk.
The team’s RESET came exactly eight weeks into the year (four preseason and four game weeks) and eight regular-season games to play. The RESET was an opportunity to heal banged up players and an opportunity for both coaches and players to evaluate the first four games as a teaching tool prior to heading into the Owls’ inaugural season of America Atlantic Conference play.
HONORARY COACHES
Lucky fans coming to the game will receive a commemorative coin in celebration of Florida Atlantic’s first AAC contest. The game’s coin toss will feature Aaron Sanchez, 2002-06, who was a key member for the first transition from FCS to FBS status. Sanchez served as team captain in 2006. The Miami Sunset product tallied 677 rushing yards and eight rushing TDs while adding 409 receiving yards and two TD receptions in his four-year career. Cergile “Cerge” Sincere, 2004-07, played the Owls first full FBS slate and over his four-year career tallied 225 tackles, including 17.5 for a loss two interceptions and five forced fumbles. The Belle Glades native, served as a team captain in 2006 and was a senior leader in 2007 ushering FAU to its first Conference title and bowl game appearance. Finally, Tyler Cameron, who transferred to FAU in 2015 as a quarterback and then moved to tight end for both the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Cameron, from Jupiter, Florida, played in every game, tallying 41 catches for a total of 501 yards and recorded one TD. Following his graduation, he signed as a free agent with the Baltimore Ravens but gained fame as a contestant on season 15 of The Bachelorette.
QUOTABLE
Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach Charlie Frye
On improvements from the bye week
“It was a chance for guys to get healthy. We had a good work week last week and guys were able to not only work on the field but get extra rehab and extra treatment to really try to get their body back and take a breath of fresh air. Now it’s catch your breath and get ready for conference play.”
On increasing production
“It is more of ‘why’. You pull those red area drives when you are able to get the ball into the red zone. You look at Illinois and you figure out why the drive was stopped and why we weren’t able to get the ball into the end zone and then it is just teach from there so that when it happens again this week, we have already talked about it, coached it up, learned something from it and then go out and execute.”
On running the ball in the red zone
“If you look at the open field in football, the offense has the advantage, more space and the way the rules are set up in the game today. But it levels out once you get in the red area and that is where you have to be at your best. Your details have to show up, getting in the correct alignment, executing your assignment, and then playing harder than your opponent. The windows are tighter in the passing game, so the advantage for us is we have to be able to run the ball down there and punch it in that way too.”
On winning on first downs
“When we have been third-and-short, third-and-medium, we hit our goals. But we are in third-and-extra-long too much and that is hard to play. If you look at the percentage across college football, that is not just specific to this team, that is in football in general. You look at what you are doing on first down and then you look at second-and-long, how can we get half of those yards back to put us in third-and-manageable to do what we do best: spit the ball quick or run the ball efficiently.”
Senior RB Larry McCammon III
On returning from the bye week
“We hit the reset and are learning from our past mistakes. We are just locking in more on the fundamentals, still working hard getting ready for conference play.”
On increasing offense production heading into conference play
“It has to be way better. The defense plays way too hard and gets too many turnovers for us to not be capitalizing on plays.”
On the potential of the offense
“We have a good offense but we have to execute. We have way too many M.As (missed assignments). It is all going to come down to who makes the less mistakes…it comes down to the fundamentals. We have to strain, do more, do the extra, the plus two that we always talk about.”
TAILGATING EXPERIENCE
See all the details HERE.
GAME DETAILS
Saturday Oct. 7 – Tulsa at Florida Atlantic
- Time – 6 p.m.
- Television – ESPN+
- Radio – Ken LaVicka and Kris Bartels will have the game’s call on FoxSports South Florida
- ESPN+ – Richard Cross and Taylor McHargue will provide the game’s coverage
COACH’S RADIO SHOW
Frank Forte and Hagerty Family Head Football Coach Tom Herman will appear together weekly on the FAU Coaches’ Show. This year’s show will be recorded live at Duffy’s Sports Grill, located at 401 N. Federal Highway, Deerfield Beach, FL 33441 each Thursday at noon. The show is scheduled to air each Friday night on Fox Sports 640 AM South Florida, beginning at 6 p.m.
TICKETS
Fans can purchase tickets for the 2023 season, the first in the American Conference, by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS or by going online HERE. For more ticket information click HERE. To purchase away game tickets, click on the above Buy Now link. Single-game tickets may also be purchased by visiting HERE.
FOLLOW THE TEAM
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