There are no moral victories in paradise, and although the Owls fought and scrapped in this one, they ultimately fell short to the Spartans in the season opener 16-10.

FAU Coach Tom Herman has been a part of a few single score losses now in his 2 years here and although the Owls continue to make progress, there is still more to be desired to get the program to where he wants.

“Proud of the way we fought, the physicality that we played with togetherness, but I told the team that there’s no moral victories,” Herman said. “I thought that we had come farther from an execution standpoint, I really thought that the physicality, togetherness, intensity that we saw tonight would manifest itself in some better execution, some smarter play. So I have to figure out, this is, I've got a saying, you know, once as an anomaly, twice as a coincidence, three times is a pattern, and I guess really quality opponents tell me we're on the right track. We are so close to getting over that hill."

"We, as a staff, myself, as a head coach, we just got to figure out the right buttons to press, because the margin for error is so slim when you're playing teams like that in environments like that, and we played good enough defense, except for one play to win the game, you know, but that one play counts, and that's what I told the team, like, if you get away, you know, you can play 75 plays perfectly, perfectly. And that one play you decide to go 90% or you decide to have a mental brain fart, that could be the play that goes 67 yards. And so we've just got, we're so close, we've got to close that really, really small gap here very quickly. And I think we will. I really do. I think playing to our level of competition? I should say this, we need to. We're not going to beat many American Conference teams. 50 yard penalties on special teams. 67 yard run untouched, two turnovers on offense. Can't convert fourth down, so give Michigan State a ton of credit. I got a lot of respect for Coach Smith and what he's building here, and they got some really, really good players. I felt like that was a winnable game for us, and I was hoping we were a little bit farther than we were, but we got a week to get better and get excited for our first conference game next Saturday,” Herman said.



The first half in this one was an up-and down affair for the Owls, as the defense was firing on all cylinders forcing multiple big plays, however the offensive performance was something to forget about.

After Buggs Brown made a spectacular defensive play on the first play of the game, snagging the contested interception with a toe tap, the Owls had an early opportunity with momentum and the ball, however they were never able to capitalize.

On the ensuing drive following the interception, FAU gained 1 yard as the Owls were unable to gain early yardage, and all day 3rd and longs were a major problem for this offense.

The Owls got another stop on the next defensive drive, forcing a punt after allowing MSU to cross mid-field, however they started backed-up and attempted a play-action play in the endzone which resulted in a safety.



The defense continued to have the offenses back, as on the ensuing drive they forced a fumble after a lengthy MSU drive, but the offense was still never able to capitalize.

To start the second quarter, FAU was able put a lengthy drive together, going 65 yards in 8 plays, with the Owls picking up 30 yards in penalties on 2 separate targeting calls, however after a tough hit, Fancher came back in the game and tossed an interception over the middle.

After another defensive stand the offense needed to do something, however, that did not happen, as a quick 2 play drive resulted in another interception and the offense was reeling.

Michigan State quickly capitalized, going 18 yards in 3 plays, punching it on an 11 yard rush from Aidan Chiles, in what was his only touchdown of the day.



Following that drive, FAU once again went 3 and out, which set up Michigan State for their most explosive play of the game, a 63 yard carry from Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams, which made it 16-0 and things were beginning to look bleak for the Owls.

FAU put together a gutsy drive on the ensuing possession, converting a 3rd down for the first time all game, getting 2 big rushes from Fancher, including one for 20, which set up Morgan Suarez for a 43 yard FG, which he converted.

16-3 was the score going into half-time, which although wasn’t great, gave the Owls a chance heading into halftime, which they capitalized on. The Owls had multiple chances to move the ball in the first half, however the offense stalled, and Fancher acknowledges that, but believes it’s best to move on, and focus on ways to improve.

“You don’t want to dwell on it, it’s in the past, and now we just have to move forward and grow from those mistakes, missing those opportunities and be better,” Fancher said.



The Owls started the second half with 30 yards of penalties, which gave them some momentum, one on a horsecollar and the other a PI and set them up 1st and 10 at the Spartans 44. Fancher was able to hit Jayshon Platt for a gain of 11 and picked up 14 more yards on the ground, but when the drive stalled following a pair of sacks, Carter Davis missed a 44 yard field goal.

Following a pair of punts, the Spartans were marching down the field and were looking to put the Owls away early, but a telegraphed pass by Aidan Chiles on the goal line was intercepted by Phil Dunnam which was taken 55 yards back to the MSU 40. After the game, Herman explained Dunnam was doing exactly what he was coached to do.

“Huge play.” Herman said. “Would have put them up by 16, right, which, the way we're playing offensively, would have seemed pretty insurmountable at the time, so for Philip to make that play, it was great, I think it goes to trust in your training, Philip did exactly what he was coached to do.”

This was where the Owls offense began to capitalize, FAU set up a 3rd and short and converted using Mobley on the ground to bully out yards in early downs, which set up Fancher to pick up short 3rd downs with his legs.

FAU set themselves up with a 4th and 1 situation, and the defense bit on the Fancher run which opened up a wide open Jayshon Platt in the endzone, which brought the Owls within a score 16-10.
 
The 4th quarter was a defensive slugfest, although it started with MSU marching down field, once again looking like they may put FAU away, and were in field goal range to go up 2 scores, however they opted to go for it on 4th and 1, did not convert and gave the Owls the ball back.

FAU had a bit of a success on their next drive, as Fancher was able to hit Omari Hayes for a gain of 28 over the middle, and the Owls were having success running the ball, with Fancher, Mobley, and Campbell. Ultimately the drive stalled, and MSU once again had a chance to put the game away.

They did not do that however, ultimately punting it back to FAU after going 3 and out, gaining only 2 yards. This gave the Owls another opportunity and they looked to have capitalized big time, as they approached mid-field and looked to have gained nearly 30 yards in penalties, following an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and targeting.

The targeting was reversed, and because the play was a 4th down, which resulted in Fancher being short of the line to gain and meant the Owls turned it over on downs with 3:27 to play. Post game, Bill Carollo the Big 10 coordinator of officials elaborated on the ruling.

“Because it was 4th down and they were short of the line to gain by a ½ yard or so, and the second he started to drop his butt to slide he had given himself up which means now you can’t hit the guy So we’re going to protect that kid that gives himself up but he doesn’t get the slide – we don’t wait until his butt hits the ground. It’s when he starts to go down. Unfortunately it was 4th down, so once you get stopped on 4th down what happens? The ball goes over to the defense,” Carollo said.


FAU once again forced a 3 and out, giving their offense one last shot to take a late lead with 3 minutes remaining. Fancher was able to find Omari Hayes for a gain of 21 on a 4th and 8, and the offense looked to have some juice, however on the next set of downs Fancher took a sack on 2nd and 7, and the Owls were never able to recover, turning it over on downs and losing 16-0 in heart breaking fashion.

Prior to the 4th down play on that drive, Fancher looked to be injured and Tyriq Starks was seen warming up on the sideline, however he ultimately came back into the game, wanting to leave it all on the field.

“I just want to do whatever I can to fight for my brothers, put whatever I have to do on the line to be successful for the team,” Fancher said.



Final thoughts

The first half struggle offensively is noted, and set FAU back in this one, however the unit made progress as the game developed and that’s something to watch for as the season goes on.

Fancher completed 4/9 passes for only 21 yards in the first half, while also tossing 2 picks, but in the second half he connected on 8/14 passes for 95 yards and a score. Although it was a tough first half, the offense showed flashes in the second half and just because of the early struggles, that cannot be ignored.

Omari Hayes (pictured left below, Isabella Rincon) established himself as a potential go-to target in this offense, going for 74 yards on 5 catches and converting multiple 3rd downs. The connection wasn’t there in the first half, but it was in the second, and that’s something FAU needs to keep building on heading into week 2.



The RPO side of the offense was at its best on the touchdown pass to Platt, as Fancher’s running ability caused MSU to play up, which left a wide open Jayshon Platt in the back of the endzone.

Defensively, the Owls checked all the boxes, as all facets were able to make plays and were the reason this game was able to stay close when the offense wasn’t able to move the ball.

The defensive backs for FAU were hugely improved, as MSU WRs struggled to create separation at times, largely in part to the efforts of Buggs Brown.

Brown was everywhere today for the Owls, recording an INT on the first play of the game and finishing with 5 tackles, a PBU, a QB pressure and the INT. After the game, Herman talked about how rare it is to find a player like Brown in the portal and how FAU has developed him since the offseason.

“You don't find a corner with his physical attributes very often, either, he's a big dude, he's a long guy, and he's physical, I think Coach Harris and Coach Rock have done a good job, he's not going to go out and run a 4.3, but they play to his strengths, which are his physicality and his knack for the football, I sure am glad we got him that was a position of constant flux for us last year,” Herman said.



There were a few times the MSU WRs were able to get open, however the Pass Rush for FAU was consistently in the backfield, and forced Chiles into some errant throws.

From the front 7, the Owls got big plays from just about everyone, Chris Jones was a consistent force in the backfield off the edge, while Devonta Davis recorded the Owls lone sack of the day from the interior. Rotationally, FAU was able to get solid reps from August Salvati, Chisom Ifeanyi, and Wilky Denaud off the edge, while Davis rotated with Jacob Merrifield, Jaden Wheeler, and Bryce Langston on the interior.

Overall for FAU it wasn’t the flashiest game, and at times it was pretty ugly, but they were able to get the offense going in the second half averaging over 10 yards per completion and utilizing the RPO game to set it up.

Cam Fancher was all over the field running the ball, at times a bit erratic, but a majority of his runs went for positive yardage and helped the offense move the ball.

The pass game for the Owls needs to open up in week 2, with Omari Hayes establishing himself as a trusty receiver, it will be something to watch if early on in that game the Owls find a way to get him the ball to get him going.

Heading into next week against Army, Fancher and the offense have things that need to be ironed out, however, there are things to build on from the second half, which gives the unit some positivity heading into week 2.

FAU will take on Army at 1 PM from FAU stadium in the home opener next week, and the Owls will be looking to be more aggressive early, and open up the offense before Army establishes the option game.