Florida Atlantic really can’t afford another conference loss.
At 5 p.m. Saturday, FAU (2-3, 0-1) will host Conference USA East Division foe Old Dominion (1-4, 0-2) – a high-scoring team that upset No. 24 ranked Virginia Tech for its only win.
A last-minute loss at Middle Tennessee State last Saturday has FAU in a 0-1 hole in Conference USA standings. Middle Tennessee State (3-2, 2-0) followed that up with a convincing 34-24 road win Friday at Marshall (3-2, 1-1) and now leads the East Division.
That makes beating Old Dominion almost imperative if FAU is going to repeat as conference champs.
FAU running back Devin Singletary continues to lead the nation in rushing touchdowns (12), but the Owls offense has been hit and miss in recent weeks in back-to-back road losses at UCF (56-36) and Middle Tennessee State (25-24).
Plus, Florida Atlantic’s defense continues to give up a lot points (39.8) – which ranks tied for 122nd out of 129 FBS teams.
Strong line play on both sides of the ball against ODU on Saturday will be one key to victory. Getting a consistent, four-quarter performance from the offense will be another.
GAME CAPSULE
When: 5 p.m. Saturday
Line: FAU is a 15.5-point favorite
Did you Know: The two schools have split the previous four matchups, with FAU winning both of games on the road – including 58-28 last year in Norfolk, Va.
About FAU: Against Middle Tennessee State, FAU’s offense did not score in the final 24 minutes of the one-point loss. MTSU won on a short rushing touchdown, then a two-point conversion in the final seconds of play. FAU offensive line has done a good job of protecting freshman quaterback
Chris Robison (0.80 sacks allowed per game, 9th best in the Division I). However, Robison’s accuracy has been off in recent games and he now has 6 interceptions against 5 touchdown passes. And while Singletary continues to score touchdowns, he really hasn’t had a breakout game in terms of total yards. In 112 rushes, he has gained 459 yards – 91.8 yards per game. The inconsistency from FAU’s offense – the Owls have been outscored 112-45 in the second and third quarters this season – has left its defense on the field for long stretches.
Linebacker Rashad Smith continues to lead FAU’s defense – 43 total tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss. Smith also has all three of FAU’s interceptions. The rest of FAU’s defense hasn’t been as good and needs to be in this key conference game.
About Old Dominion: That signature win at home against Virginia Tech was in a big part due to the play of
quarterback Blake Larussa. The 5-10 junior Larussa came on in relief early on to lead ODU to a 49-35 upset. Larussa has completed 63 of 104 passes (928 yards) for the season with just one interception. He has thrown seven touchdowns. ODU leans more toward the pass than run, rushing 163 times for 503 yards (3.1 average per run) and passing 185 times for 1,450 yards (7.8 average per pass).
ODU 6-3 senior receiver Jonathan Duhart is a good one, with 34 catch for 606 yards and 6 touchdowns – one an 83-yard reception. Duhart has four straight 100-yard receiving games this season and has caught passes in 33 straight contests. Like FAU, Old Dominion is coming off a tough loss at East Carolina last Saturday, losing 37-35 on a last-minute field goal. ODU opened the season with a 52-10 loss at Liberty, then loss at home to FIU (28-20) and at Charlotte (28-25) before the Virginia Tech stunner.
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