FAU lost a tough one to USF, falling to 2-6 and leaving them with their backs against the wall heading into the final 4 games of the season. But what is there without hope and even though a bowl game will be a tall task to accomplish, there is still a lot of good that can come out of finishing a season strong and that is something the Owls intend to do.
It has been an up and down 2024 campaign so far for FAU, as they started out the season almost squeaking one out against Michigan State, and then a week later they were drubbed by Army in their home opener to drop to 0-2. A week later they looked to find their mojo, dominating former C-USA rival FIU, before suffering arguably their worst defeat of the season a week later against UConn, giving up nearly 400 yards rushing.
The following week they went back home and dominated FCS Wagner, getting solid performances from both Cam Fancher and Kasen Weisman and giving the Owls momentum into their next matchup, where they capitalized offensively, but faltered in the end. FAU got their best performance of the season offensively against UNT, with Fancher throwing 350 passing yards and the team rushing for 194 yards, however they collapsed in the 4th quarter, surrendering a 2 score lead with under 5 minutes remaining and it has caused a trend which has plagued them the last 2 weeks, as against both UTSA and USF the Owls held leads in the second half, however they fell short both times.
The late collapses could have negative effects on a team’s morale, especially considering it has left them needing 4 wins in 4 weeks to reach a bowl game, something many around the program looked to achieve heading into the season. That could especially be the case for young players on this team, however not for CJ Heard, the freshman who has come in and earned a starting safety role with his stellar play on the field and poised mentality off of it. Heard believes there is an ability to find glory in the struggle and because of coaches like Roc Bellantoni who prepare day in and day out no matter the outcome, he is ready to fight down the end of the season.
“Yes (we can find glory in the struggle), as long as we have guys like Coach Roc, he’s never going to quit on us, that’s one guy that I know, he’s going to be working to figure out how we can beat ECU on the defensive side of the ball,” Heard said. “As long as we have coaches like Coach Roc, Coach Gibson, and Coach Harris, they’re pushing for us, so we just have to return their favor and play harder.”
That’s a pro level response to adversity from a freshman who turned down P5 offers to play for Coach Roc in paradise and although the season hasn’t gone as planned yet, there is hope for the future and Heard isn’t going to give up on it. The defense hasn’t played well at times this season, however at other times this unit had kept them in games when the offense struggled.
Heard has been a big part of the success, as the true freshman has taken on a starting role in the secondary, recording 61 tackles and a forced fumble so far on the season and against USF he recorded his season high in tackles, 13, which was his 3rd double digit tackling performance of the season. A lot of those tackles came on run plays which reached the second level however, as USF dominated in the run game during the second half and the Owls secondary was left playing cleanup, which was a complete 180 from the first half where USF was limited in both the run and the pass.
In that game and during the past 3, the Owls have led spirited performances early on before collapsing late and it’s not as if FAU’s opponents were drastically changing their gameplan, Herman and Heard both noted that not much changed with USF’s offensive approach during the second half. Overcoming adversity is a trait which all winning teams must possess, and Heard believes FAU has work to do to get there, but it will start with them remembering why they play this game.
“As a team we just have to learn how to overcome adversity, like Coach Herman said, we were having fun in the first half, and when things went wrong just a little we stopped having fun. I think we just forgot why we play this game of football,” Heard said. “We just have to keep having fun because if you’re not having fun playing the game it’s never going to go well.”
When things go bad, a lot of the blame can be put on the quarterback, which whether fair or not is an assumed risk of playing the position. Cam Fancher has struggled at times this season, but he has also dealt with injuries and in 2 out of the past 3 weeks he has thrown for over 300 yards, something he has only done 3 previous times in his collegiate career. It is starting to click for Fancher and the FAU offense, however as Heard mentioned the team as a whole still hasn’t figured out how to overcome adversity, but there is still time and hope.
Despite the struggles this season, Fancher has kept his head down and led his teammates just as they trusted him to do when they named him captain, which as a veteran leader, an even-keeled approach is what you have to have when things aren’t going as planned. The locker room hasn’t given up hope yet and in the same mindset as Heard, Fancher believes that no matter what occurs over these final couple of games he and his teammates have to remember why they play this game and that they can’t take it for granted.
“You just have to go back to why you play this game, when you first started playing this game and the love you found for the game, to play the sport that you love is really a blessing, to put in that perspective that it can be taken away at any time, you have to look at it like that,” Fancher said.
FAU will close out their season with games against ECU, Charlotte, Temple and Tulsa, all teams who have had their fair share of ups and downs this season. This FAU Squad can’t look at it from that angle, instead they just have to take it one game at a time, remembering their love of the game and finding ways to overcome adversity.
