The season for FAU football went from bad to total disarray on Thursday evening as the Owls and Pirates were tied for the first 23 seconds of the game, however it all went downhill from there. ECU jumped out to a 21-0 lead in this one and Pirates QB Katin Houser completed his first 10 passes for over 200 yards and 3 TDs and they never looked back from there, going on to defeat FAU 49-14 with Houser finishing 17 of 22 for 343 yards, also getting 238 yards on the ground as a team.
FAU started slowly offensively in this one, as they were already behind the 8-ball with Zuberi Mobley being declared out due to injury, however while ECU scored touchdowns on their first 3 drives, as the Owls went 3 and out on their first drive of the day, advancing it past mid-field on their second drive and inside the ECU 40, but ultimately losing 11 yards on a stuffed run and Cam Fancher sack and being forced to punt. The Owls 3rd drive of the day started with a positive, as Fancher connected with Gemari Sands downfield for a gain of 34, a play in which Sands made a one handed snag, however on the very next play the game, and potentially season took an unfortunate turn for the worse.
Fancher was hit somewhat late after firing a pass downfield, falling on his throwing shoulder and suffering a broken clavicle, which per Tom Herman after the game will most likely end his season. Kasen Weisman took over following Fancher’s injury, leading 2 scoring drives on the day, and finishing 20 of 35 for 188 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT.
It was a tough outcome for Fancher who has battled through multiple injuries to lead this FAU squad to the best of his abilities, but his injury in this one didn’t decide the outcome. From the first drive of the game ECU’s no huddle gun offense had FAU’s number, as Houser found Chase Sowell for a 50 yard TD-strike just 24 seconds into the game and the explosive plays kept mounting after that. ECU finished with 13 plays of 15 yards or more, including 6 passing plays of 25 or more and at times it seemed as if the FAU defense was in a total collapse, especially considering how well they played early in the season.
After the game, FAU Coach Tom Herman mentioned that he did not see these defensive struggles coming and that there were collapses on numerous fronts which ultimately surprised him.
“The list is long, there were so many things, from missed tackles, out of gaps, blow coverages and then just getting beat. We got beat a few times, that happens when we are in a 1 on 1 situation, but yeah… that was… I did not see that coming,” Herman said.
The offense showed signs of life at times in the second half, advancing all 3 of their drives past mid-field and scoring on their final drive of the day, a 15 play 81 yard drive where Weisman was able to connect with CJ Campbell Jr in the flat who took it in from 2 yards out. Although the offense was formidable at times in the second half, the defense was unable to adjust allowing TDs on all 4 of ECU’s first 4 drives and their 5th was a kneel out to end the game.
Tom Herman mentioned there were a plethora of issues that plagued the Owls defense in this one and it seems since the Owls collapsed on the road at UConn, allowing over 400 yards rushing, that the defense has lost their mojo which was the backbone of this team early in the season. FAU lost 48-14 on the road at UConn, returning home a week later to defeat FCS Wagner 41-10, however since that game FAU has allowed 40+ points in 3 out of 4 games and have lost their last 3 by multiple scores.
The defensive struggles are glaring, however Herman doesn’t believe that is due to a lack of effort, rather a mix of injuries have caught up to this squad and that his team simply has to be better on things like 2nd and 3rd efforts on tackles.
“It’s not effort, our guys are trying hard, but the hard part this time of year is getting those live reps in, we are so banged up on defense. There are plenty of drills we do every week that don’t require a lot of contact and are fairly safe, so we just have to keep doing it. My biggest thing with tackles, everyone misses tackles, it’s the second, third, and fourth guy getting there to clean up for you and we got to do a better job of that,” Herman said.
Adjustments will continue to be made on the defensive side of things, however offensively the Owls could be looking at a chance to see a glimpse of the future with Kasen Weisman at the helm during these final few matchups. Weisman managed this game at a solid level facing off against a ferocious ECU defense, also showing an ability to operate some of the quarterback run game, finishing with 6 carries for 41 yards.
There isn’t a lot to hang your hat on this season if you are FAU, however giving hope for the future down the remainder of this stretch is an opportunity to keep fans optimistic after no on the field progress was made in year 2 of the Herman era. Weisman was considering giving up football after transferring from Colorado last season, ultimately finding a home at FAU and now he will have a chance to show what he can do with an extended role.
For Weisman, he is someone who simply enjoys the game of football, however the competitive edge in him won’t allow for these final 3 games to be meaningless, rather bowl game or not the goal remains to win out.
“Win out, win 3 games in a row, that’s basically the mindset… being a young kid, showing I can play the game and lead the team down the field, get their trust in me,” Weisman said.
Weisman has a positive mentality heading down a final stretch, which to some could potentially be meaningless as their aspirations for a Bowl game were ended tonight. Stretches like these are ones that you never want to have to experience, but those who make a positive out of it are the ones who benefit the most.
Although this final stretch may not help the Owls achieve a bowl, there are still many important aspects to finishing the season on a high note, including for seniors which may have prospects of going pro. Herman knows that it will be difficult maintaining Morale during this final stretch, however he hopes his group realizes what good can come out of these final few games and they will look to capitalize on it.
“That’s hard, this didn’t happen to us until the last week, last year. So I think what I told them, is that the guys that aren’t going to be able to come back for us, they’re going to remember these three games for the rest of their lives, hopefully, the ones that will have a chance at the next level. Obviously, these three games are going to be evaluated very it’ll be scrutinized in terms of their level of play with the stakes where they’re at, and then for these young guys like, you know, I think it’s a great opportunity to now continue to build on the growth that we’re going to need,” Herman said.
Final Thoughts
The prospects for the future can be something to look at with hope, however tonight the outlook is bleak following the Owls first 40 point loss since 2018 against Oklahoma and first conference loss by that amount since 2016 against WKU. There is great importance in finishing these final 3 games with a semblance of respectability, as this loss is one that questions whether there has been any progress made between year 1 and 2 of the Herman era, however a strong finish to the end of the year could potentially give fans something to look forward too with a strong high school recruiting class coming in.
Even if this team is able to finish strong, the 2024 campaign has been an unfortunate one for the Owls, as at times they’ve looked like they’ve been on the precipice of figuring things out, but a night like tonight was a total collapse from all the good they’ve accomplished this season. Ultimately, this season has fallen short of the goals they set for themselves coming into the year, however if they’re going to turn this thing around at some point, step one will be finishing out the final 3 games in a strong way and after that the program needs to come together and figure out what they’re missing that’s keeping them from overcoming adversity and find a way to address it as soon as possible, as next year will be an important one for the future of the program.
Previous in game updates
1st Quarter
Things started fast for ECU and in a bad way for the Owls as it took the pirates just 2 plays to go the length of the field, 2 long passing plays. Katin Houser was fresh off a big week and he looked it on the first drive, as he connected with Tyler Savage for 25 yards on the 1st play of the game and 50 yards to the endzone on the next to Chase Sowell and that put ECU up 7-0 just 2 plays and 24 seconds into the game.
FAU started their day offensively as bad as it possibly could as they gained 2 yards on a CJ Campbell rush on the first play of the day, and Fancher found Jabari Smith Jr for a gain of 7 which brought up a 3rd and 1. The Owls were stuffed on 3rd down, going 3 and out and giving the ball back to an explosive ECU offense right away.
The pirates went back to work quickly following the Owls offensive blunder, getting a first down on back to back 6 yard rushes from Rahjai Harris. After Harris busted off a 19 yard gain on the ensuing 1st and 10, Houser dropped back and found Winston Wright Jr down the right side of the field for a 47 yard score to go up 14-0 with 10:33 to play.
The Owls looked to respond on their next drive, starting with a quick pass between Fancher and Hayes for 20 yards, and converting an ensuing 4th down with a bullying run from CJ Campbell for 10 yards to pick up a 1st down. However after that the drive stalled, as Campbell was stuffed for a loss of 4 on second down and Fancher was sacked for a loss of 7 on 4th, forcing a punt back to ECU and the pirates took over at the 25 after the punt went out of the endzone.
It was easy sledding for the Pirates on their next drive, getting 27 rush yards from London Montgomery and 35 scrimmage yards from Rahjai Harris and after ECU got a 1st down inside the 10, Houser found Wright again in the endzone from 8 yards out, putting the Pirates up 21-0 with 3 minutes remaining.
It was getting to do or die time for the FAU offense trailing by 3 scores and unfortunately it went from bad to worse. After Fancher found Gemari Sands downfield for a gain of 34 with an incredible one handed catch, on the ensuing play he took a hard hit and came down bad on his shoulder, landing with excruciating pain and needing to be carted off, and the drive stalled 2 plays later after Kasen Weisman took over, forcing an Owls punt to end the 1st quarter, trailing 21-0.
2 Quarter
The Owls defense responded now down 3 scores, as after allowing another big gain of 25 from Houser to Wright, the defense responded. After 2 gains from Gunn brought up a 3rd and 1, the Owls stuffed him in the backfield and after a penalty made it 4th and 6, ECU missed a 52 yard field goal to give the Owls the ball back at the 42 with 12:30 to play.
Now off of a stop, the Owls needed a response and they got one. CJ Campbell gained 26 yards on 4 straight carries to start the drive, and Omari Hayes gained 14 scrimmage yards on a rush and completion from Weisman on the ensuing drive. On the following 2nd and 11, Weisman dropped a dime in the basket of Jabari Smith Jr for a gain of 21 down the left sideline, which put FAU 1st and goal inside the 10. After a Gemari Sands carry put them inside the 5, Weisman found Jabari Smith Jr from 2 yards out, to bring FAU within 2 scores, 21-7 with 6:07 to play.
ECU looked to respond on their following drive, starting out with Houser Jhari Patterson for a gain of 8 and Harris picking up 10 yards on back to back Carries of 7 and 3. However after that the FAU defense stepped up, with Gavench Marcellin forcing a sack on 2nd and 3, and although ECU picked up 10 on a Houser completion on 3rd down, it fell short of the line to gain and the pirates punted back to the Owls with 3:32 to play.
FAU’s offensive momentum stalled on the ensuing drive, as Campbell Jr lost 2 on the first play of the drive and Weisman gained 8 on on a completion to Marlyn Johnson, however on 3rd and 4 his pass fell incomplete and the Owls lunged back to ECU with 1:55 to play.
No time was wasted on the ensuing drive for the pirates, as on the second play of the Drive Houser found Anthony Smith over the middle who blazed by the defense for 65 yards down to the 1 yard line. On the next play, Rahjai Harris punched it in from the 1 yard line, giving the pirates a 28-7 lead with 1:18 to go.
FAU looked to put something together to end the half, however it was to no avail as they went 3 and out, gaining only 8 yards and punting it back to ECU with 47 seconds remaining.
The pirates looked to get a last minute score to end the half getting it last midfield on the first play of the drive, a 14 yard Houser scramble which set a tone for the drive. 2 plays later, Houser ran it 35 yards right up the middle all the way to the endzone for a score, giving ECU a 35-7 lead which was the score going into half.
3rd Quarter
FAU started off the second half with the ball, and looked to find some momentum as Kasen Weisman found Omari Hayes and Leon Washington for 14 yards each which moved them past midfield to the ECU 43. However on the next play, Weisman was hit somewhat late and came off limping, which meant 3rd string QB Ty Starks would take over. He had a few positive plays, including 16 rush yards on 2 plays, however on his first pass attempt beyond the line of scrimmage he was intercepted over the middle, and ECU took over at the ECU 20 with 9:37 to play.
The pirates moved quickly on their first drive of the second half, getting 26 yards total on back to back Carries from Harris and Wright Jr. After ECU converted a 3rd and 3 to move past midfield, on the ensuing pass from the FAU 46 Houser found Anthony Smith deep over the middle for a 46 yard TD, giving the Pirates a 42-7 lead with 7:05 to play.
Weisman came back into the game following his injury on the previous drive, and led the Owls downfield in a hurry getting a gain of 22 on a completion to Marlyn Johnson on the second play of the drive, and back to back completions of 13 to Hayes and 12 to Johnson once again, which moved FAU past mid-field. After the Owls converted a 4th and 1 to move them inside the 40, Weisman rolled out and found Smith Jr. for a gain of 27 which moved them inside the 10. The drive stalled after that however, as on 4th and goal from the 3, Gavin Gibson intercepted Weisman on the goal line and the pirates took over 1st and 10 from the 20.
4th Quarter
ECU slowed it down to begin the 4th, rushing it 9 total times on what ended up being a 16 play drive which led them to the end zone, capped off by a Jayvontay Connor 2 yard TD reception from Houser, his 5th and final of the day. ECU converted a 4th and 1, and 3 different 3rd downs en route to the end zone as the Owls had no answer for this Pirate barrage.
Kasen Weisman went back to work, now trailing 49-7 and looking to find a way to bring some form of respectability to this matchup. It started in a big-way as Xavier Terrell rushed for a 29 yard gain on the first play from scrimmage and on the 3rd, Weisman found Dom Henry for a gain of 15 over the middle which moved FAU inside the ECU 40. From there, Weisman showed his guts, converting a 3rd and 8 with his legs and then a few plays later a 4th and 8, also with his legs to give the Owls a first down inside the ECU 5. 2 plays later, Weisman found Campbell Jr. in the flat who took it in 2 yards for the score, cutting the deficit to 49-14, which ultimately was the final score after ECU kneeled out.