FAU snapped a 2 game skid to start their 2024 campaign by defeating FIU in the Shula Bowl 38-20 and having their best performance of the season on either side of the ball. It was a sight for sore eyed Owls fans, as following 2 straight games where they found no room to run the ball the Owls churned out yards on the ground consistently with their backs, leading to a career day for Zuberi Mobley and saw CJ Campbell have his best game of the season. On the defensive side of the ball, FAU dominated, as following a first drive blunder which saw FIU score in 3 plays the Owls didnt allow another score until garbage time and bounced back following a tough performance against Army. Now heading into their second road game of the season, FAU will have to find a way to bottle up their success and expand on it against UConn, but before then lets dive into 3 things that stood out inside the numbers this week for the Owls. FAU finds their ground game with Zuberi Mobley leading the way: A week ago, the Owls were scuffling in the run game as through 2 games they had less than 100 yards rushing as a team and the line wasnt generating enough push to create space. Tom Herman mentioned doing different things to try to get that run game going in his weekly presser, and in week 3 against FIU the Owls featured veteran back Zuberi Mobley in a lead role for the first time this season and it payed off in a big way. Although CJ Campbell got the start, Mobley led the backs in snaps, out playing Campbell 25 to 18, carrying it 20 times for 134 yards and 3 scores, averaging 6.7 yards per carry. Mobleys bruising ability was on full display, as although his numbers were a bit inflated by a 72 yard scamper on 4th and 1 early in the second quarter, Mobley was consistently gaining yards all day after contact, finishing with 106 total yards after contact, which was good for 5.3 Yards after contact per attempt. A big part of FAUs success running the ball, was the Owls ability to run it successfully in a variety of ways, something Tom Herman noted was part of the game plan going into the week. Although the Owls still ran their prototypical zone run scheme heavily, they doubled their number of gap scheme runs attempted with 8 in week 3, from only 4 in weeks 1 and 2 combined. In terms of direction, the Owls found most of their success running on the outside of the line through the C Gap, with Mobley carrying it 7 times for 97 yards and 2 scores through both the left and right C gap, with the 72 yard scamper starting through the right-side C-Gap, which was manned by Alex Atcavage who was a last minute starter due to an injury to Daughtry Richardson. Another critical point of improvement was that FAU backs were impactful in critical situations for the first time this season. After only accounting for 2 first downs through the first 2 games, FAU running backs provided for 11 total first downs against FIU, with Mobley picking up 7 on the ground and 1 through the air while Campbell Jr. added 3 in the trenches. It was an overall really successful week for the Owls backs as they found their mojo, getting a huge day from Mobley, but also Campbell, who contributed 106 scrimmage yards and a score, finding most of his success through the air and serving as a valuable check down target for Fancher. In week 4 against UConn, FAU has to build on the success they found against FIU and find a way to get both Mobley and Campbell involved and thriving, as the pass game still lacked an explosive side, but the offense can make up for that with another dose of ground-and-pound against the Huskies. Defense proves struggles against Army were a fluke: Sometimes a bad game, is just a bad game, and for the FAU defense after allowing 400 yards on the ground against Army, this game was a chance to prove exactly that a performance like that was an anomaly, and they did exactly that. To start things off, the Owls defense was resilient, as following an opening drive in which they allowed a touchdown in just 3 plays, they shut FIU out until late into the 3rd quarter when the game was in-hand. A big part of that was FAUs ability to create 5 turnovers against FIU, 3 interceptions and 2 fumbles, which now puts FAU 5th in the country in forced turnovers with 10 in 3 games. In terms of the run game, FAU locked up FIU after getting gashed against Army, allowing only 87 yards on the ground, 3.5 yards per carry and only 2.3 yards after contact per attempt. FAU also kept the dual-threat ability of Keyone Jenkins in check, holding him to 20 yards on 5 carries. The Owls got contributions from all levels of the defense against the run, as safties CJ Heard and Jayden Williams led the team in tackles on run plays, with 4 & 3 respectively. After facing only 4 pass attempts against Army, the Owls defensive backs were tested a solid amount against FIU and passed with flying colors following the first drive. Buggs Brown was targeted 7 times in coverage and allowed only 3 catches recording an INT, while DaeDae Hill him also recorded an INT, a PBU, and forced an incompletion on 25% of the passes he was targeted on. What helped FAU in coverage was the pressure that they got from their defensive line, as they recorded 13 pressures and a PBU at the line of scrimmage while Chisom Ifeanyi recorded the Owls second sack of the season, winning 42.9% of his rushes against true pass sets, while Chris Jones won 33% of his alongside Ifeanyi. It was a bounce back performance for all levels of the defense and something that FAU will also be looking to replicate against a UConn team who has looked explosive in the past 2 weeks following a rough week 1. Cam Fancher gets back to making plays with his legs: After a week 2 performance where Cam Fancher was dialed back from the heavy rushing performance in week 1 which saw him take an array of dangerous hits, week 3 saw the Owls amp Fanchers rushing total back up to a point where he was able to make a difference on the ground. In week 1, Fancher carried it 18 times for 96 yards and 8 first downs, recording 4 carries of 10+ yards and scrambling 11 times for 68 of those yards, however against Army Fancher only carried it 4 times for 11 yards. This week, Fancher rushed it a season high 13 times for 65 yards and a TD, also recording 3 carries of 10+ and 3 first downs on the ground. Fancher was willing to do anything for his team, recording 56 of his 65 yards after contact and diving for a TD on the goal-line. It was important re-addition of Fanchers run game to the Owls offense, as against Army the unit had nothing explosive working for them and Fancher running the ball extended plays and made something out of plays that had nothing going. Even on plays where Fancher seemed to be bottled up he was able to churn out yardage, as he finished the day averaging 4.3 yards after contact per attempt. With FAU getting production from their running backs and Fancher this week, the offense looked more explosive than it did all season. The Owls were able to get big plays with the run, but also smaller ones that set up manageable passing situations for Fancher and helped the passing game improve slightly. FAU seemed to find a good balance of running Fancher, but also protecting him, as Fancher still took a few tough hits, but none as scary as the ones against Michigan State and overall he slid much more effectively. Against UConn, FAU needs replicate the style of running Fancher established in week 3, as he and the backs combined to create a headache for opposing defenses. When Fancher is scrambling at a high level it is nearly impossible to scheme for and it can help the Owls remain explosive if the pass game is still struggling to stretch the field.
