BOCA RATON, Fla. – Offensive consistency is the focus for Florida Atlantic University’s football team as preparation for this Saturday’s noon game versus WKU, scheduled to air on STADIUM network, continues.
The Owls (5-5 overall and 3-3 in Conference USA) have shown explosive ability but have been stymied in recent weeks. Conversely, the Hilltoppers are riding a five-game win streak and have averaged 42.4 points in that same span. In fact, WKU (6-4 overall and 5-1 in C-USA) has been held to 35 or less just four times and one was a 15-point victory.
The Owls will continue to be led by a committee of running backs, but will lean on the elusive Johnny Ford, who averages 6.7 yards per carry, which ranks No. 6 nationally. Quarterback N’Kosi Perry is expected to be under center for the Owls. Perry will work to continue his efforts of smart play while protecting the ball. Perry is listed in the top-40 nationally in three categories: passing yards per completion (17), points responsible for (26) and passing TDs (31).
COORDINATOR’S CORNER
Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Michael Johnson:
On facing WKU:
“It’s my first time playing there. Not my first time going there. When I picked up Mike [Johnson Jr.] from Penn State, we were driving back and we spent the night in Bowling Green. We are looking forward to going back and we know Coach Taggart has deep ties there. We’re excited to go back and play against a good football team.”
On the state of the offense:
“We’ve just been inconsistent finishing drives. We move the ball and then we’ve gotten stagnant, and drives have stalled. That’s what we have to do, we have to continue to finish and be more consistent in putting those drives together and finishing scoring points like we were doing earlier.”
On the inconsistency:
“It’s just one mistake here or there. We can have 10 guys doing one thing and then one guy maybe not doing the right thing. Sometimes we drop a ball, sometimes we miss a throw, sometimes we miss a block. It just hasn’t been consistent overall as a group. We’ve got to find that consistency this week. [WKU] is a team that scores points. We’re going to have to step it up and make sure we do our parts and score points also.”
On improvements to make this week:
“It all starts with coaching. We’ve got to do a better job coaching on offense. We’ve got to do a better job with making sure we put together a gameplan that fits our players and give them an opportunity to execute. I want to make sure from my standpoint this week, everybody has a higher sense of urgency, from a coaching standpoint and the players’ standpoint. I want to make sure we do that and pick that juice up a little bit more.”
On redshirt sophomore running back Johnny Ford:
“He’s everything that we thought he would be. I thought, personally, that he had his best game with our team last week. He was really playing well. He did a lot of good things. We just have to help him. We have to get more people around him that are doing things like that to really take off. We’re not far off, we just got to be more consistent.”
On WKU’s defense:
“Their offense is scoring a lot of points because their defense is taking the ball away. They’ve got 22 turnovers on defense, and I think 14 in the last two weeks. We’ve got to make sure that we take care of the ball and don’t give it to them. They’re already a good offense and then when you give them a short field, or you give them points off of interceptions like that, then it makes them even tougher. We’ve got to make sure we have to do our part and not giving them the ball and not giving them short fields.”
On new wide receivers coach Hines Ward:
“Hines is an experienced vet wide receiver. He played in the NFL a long time. He knows the position well. His insight and input in that room is going to be good. He’s going to be good for us. He’s a guy that has a ton of experience that we’re going to tap into and try to get that into those guys that are going to be playing for us.”
On N’Kosi Perry:
“We’re going to be okay. I think N’Kosi’s going to be fine. We’ve got to do some things to help him also. We’re going to do a couple of things to help everybody else. We’re just excited to get to practice this week, excited to get our gameplan going and we’re really looking forward to this football game.”
PLAYER’S PROSPECTIVE
Redshirt junior wide receiver Brandon Robinson
On facing Western Kentucky’s defense:
“They still run the same scheme. We just got to take advantage and take what they give us.”
On the offensive inconsistency:
“It’s tough because sometimes you get to that place where you don’t know where it starts, but you do look back and reflect. We are hurting ourselves as far as the penalties and dropped passes, not hitting the right hole, blocking. It all comes together, and it all builds up to make that one problem. It’s going back and working on the little details that matter.”
On his touchdown against Old Dominion:
“You can score touchdowns all you want, but if you don’t get the W, if you don’t do what you feel like you could to help the team where you need to be then to me it doesn’t really matter that much.”
On the team’s urgency:
“For the most part, I feel like since yesterday and today’s meeting, people are locked in. You’re still trying to have fun with it. We still know that we have something on the line here.”
On new WR coach Hines Ward:
“He’s already been part of our program. We have little details that he installed already. To me, it’s going to be nothing new. For the most part, he’s going to give us more of that receiver mindset of how you can run things and how you can play within the offense.”
TICKETS
Single-game tickets for the Owls’ final home game are on sale. To experience “Football in Paradise,” Click HERE or call 1-866-FAU-OWLS.
