Football Preview: FAU Owls @ Florida Gators – Saturday, September 3, 2011 – 7:00pm
Back with added bulk. It’s football season and that means game previews. This is the first; there will be 11 more with hopes for 12 and dreams of 13. They may not be traditional, but there are plenty of those out there. Take these for what they are and add your own thoughts in the comments. Enjoy them in their entirety because there about more than just football; they’re about trust in me to give you what you need and more because as Vinnie tells us: “…trust is…uh…trust is life.”
The Facts
Opponent: FAU Owls
When: Saturday, September 3, 2011 – 7:00pm
Broadcasting: ESPNU, Gator Radio Network, GatorZone, XM 205
Records: Florida: Not Yet, FAU: Nope
Point Spread for Wagerin’ Folk: Florida -35
Over/Under for Those Mentioned Above: 47
Betting Score That Would Calculate To: Florida 41-6
Our Gators’ Win Factor (See Here): TBG: 99, OEW: 99
Where We’ll Be Watching: A certain Midwestern town that starts with a C, ends with an O, and in the middle is HICAG.
10 Things About FAU Direct From Wikipedia
You must know about the school before you can know about the team and the matchup. What better place to find information than the ever reliable Wikipedia? Don’t answer that. There isn’t one. For those not interested, there is football stuff and such below; just keep scrolling.
1. Florida Atlantic University (that’s what FAU stands for people) was founded in 1961 and has the Epcot-esque motto “Where Tomorrow Begins.”
2. You might think it to be much smaller, but FAU sports an enrollment of 28,000. That makes it not little.
3. FAU’s mascot is Owlsey the Burrowing Owl. You know, just in case the name didn’t scream that it was an owl, they’ve gone ahead and stated it for you again. I present to you Albert’s cousin and Florida’s new mascot…Gator the Gatory Gator.
4. Enrollment in 2010 included students representing 49 states and the District of Columbia. We don’t know who that one state is that’s too good for FAU, but we’re looking at you Alaska!
5. The campus was built on land that was an army airbase in the 1940s. The airfield served some 100,000 airmen, including those onboard the Enola Gay (do your own research if you don’t know what the Enola Gay is).
6. The first degree ever awarded by FAU was an honorary doctorate given to Lyndon B. Johnson. Honorary means he didn’t earn it, which means it’s just a piece a paper. TBGU gives out honorary degrees written on the back of Phil Steele college preview magazines on a daily basis; they mean nothing.
7. FAU initially only admitted upper-division and graduate students. The university was designed to complement the other schools in the state by taking in students who already had associate degrees.
8. Three interesting facts: FAU has the largest adult continuing education program in the country, the first student-run record label in the U.S., and a Wall Street trading room simulator.
9. Homecoming is known as the Owl Prowl, which coincidentally rhymes with Gator Growl, which means absolutely nothing.
10. Notable alumnus: Carrot Top attended. Yes, that counts.
When The Gators Have The Ball
It’s Charlie Weis’ world from this point forward. The big man runs the offense and will do so from the sidelines, which Florida fans are familiar with and not too supportive of, but Weis has offensive coordinator credibility, so we’ll let him do his thing until his thing is sitting in a nice cool coaching box that isn’t in the blistering Florida heat.
The offense starts and ends with John Brantley, at least until it starts and ends with Jeff Driskel. For now, it’s Brantley’s and his confidence and consistency will lead or destroy the Gators’ flow. We’ve heard the practice stories of Brantley’s improvements and we all believe the new offense will suit his style better than anything Urban Meyer could concoct. What we don’t know is what will happen on Saturdays. As intense as a practice might be, it’s never a game. FAU allowed 198 passing yards per game in 2010, which was actually a four-year low, but not much is expected from the Owls this season and they only return five starters on defense. This presents a perfect opportunity for Brantley to work through the offense and not feel too much pressure in this first game of the season. He has the ability to pick apart a defense like FAU’s if he’s given the time to throw and get through a few successful plays early. This game is a confidence builder and one in which we may see Brantley deep into regardless of the score.
While all eyes will be on Brantley, the running game is just as important. Weis wants to control the flow of the game by running the ball successfully in order to take time off the clock and set up the pass. He says he’s never had two players quite like Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps and is excited to see them in action. The two will get to shine on Saturday like they both have so much before in their Florida careers. Expect at least one big play to be broken by no. 1 or no. 28 (yes, they both changed jersey numbers this offseason; if you’re keeping count, that’s five numbers between the two). Where there may be concern is behind the co-starters. We haven’t heard much about Mike Gillislee and Mack Brown during the offseason. Not much at all.
Wide receiver is anyone’s guess. The coaching staff may use this game to see which receiver steps up. The staff seems to be up and down on Deonte Thompson and Omarius Hines (who could be limited by injury), but enamored with Quinton Dunbar. Those three, along with Frankie Hammond, seem to be at the top of the rotation, but we’re intrigue by others as well. Everyone wants to see what Andre Debose brings to the table. The high school star has yet to show how good he can be on offense and is entering his third year in the program (although it’s his first in this system like every other player on the roster). This could be a chance for him to get on the field early and work with the first team offense in a game the Gators should coast through. At tight end, expect to see plenty of Jordan Reed. He needs to establish himself at the position with A.C. Leonard out for some time and Gerald Christian switching between defense and offense numerous times.
With all the talk of Brantley and even the run game, it would seem either of those is the key to the offense. Neither is; it’s the offensive line. For all of Brantley’s struggles last season, the line didn’t help matters. Inconsistency ran rampant and that needs to change in 2011. The line received praise from coaches and other players all throughout fall practice. Let’s hope it was deserved. The line needs to keep Brantley clean and give the backs room to run. If they can do both of those things, we’ll see a drastic change from 2010.
When The Owls Have The Ball
FAU’s most experienced quarterbacks combined to attempt seven passes in 2010. That’s not experience. It’s a blip. A glitch almost. Last week, 6’6” Graham Wilbert was named the starter over 6’7” David Kooi. That’s a lot of height, but as mentioned, not a lot of field time. The Gators’ defense has to be excited to face the Owls’ offense as much as they are excited to just get out there and hit someone that isn’t wearing orange and blue. Expect Wilbert to be pressured early. The sensational sophomores – Ronald Powell, Sharrif Floyd and Dominique Easley – will want to get to the quarterback play after play after play and disrupt anything FAU might attempt to get going on offense.
The Owls’ run game is a little better than its pass game. FAU returns Alfred Morris who rushed for 928 yards and seven touchdowns in 2010. The Florida linebackers are critical in the run game and need to become visible again after disappearing for much of the 2010 season. Jon Bostic and Jelani Jenkins are highly talented athletes that are entering their third year in the program. It’s time for them to show up and shut down a better than average back in Morris.
The Gators’ secondary is the question mark. Not because it lacks talent, but because little of that talent has stepped up as far as we know. Matt Elam has one safety spot; that much we know. True freshman Marcus Roberson seems to have taken control of one cornerback position, but we’ll also see Jeremy Brown, Moses Jenkins, Cody Riggs and Jaylen Watkins at CB. The other safety? Who knows? It was supposed to be a battle between Josh Shaw and Josh Evans, so who is listed as the starter? True freshman De’Ante Saunders. That’s not to take anything away from Saunders, but the others didn’t step up. Whoever plays on Saturday, Florida needs to have a good day from its defensive backs. They’ll need all the confidence they can get before heading into the SEC part of the schedule.
Special Teams
Chas Henry is gone, which means all hope for a mildly successful season is gone. We might as well close up shop now. But we can’t do that. We have to play the games and if we must, we have to find a new punter. His name is Kyle Christy, but he’s not listed atop the depth chart. That would be David Lerner, so we’re behind whoever boots the ball. We’re punter supporters and the Gators have had great ones for quite some time now.
Outcome
I asked One Eyed Willy for his thoughts and he provided us with this insight: “The Gators will win. You’re welcome.” I’ll go one step further and predict a score. 34-12. Sound familiar? Florida won their 2010 season opener against Miami (OH) by the same score. The difference this year will be a more consistent game from the offense. Instead of a 34-12 game that left fans worried, we’ll see a 34-12 win that will have fans excited for week two. 34-12, 24-12, or 44-12, we’ll be excited as long as Will Muschamp is excited; that could be a long, long time.