Florida Atlantic University could score a signature win for its football program this weekend.

FAU will host No. 17 Central Florida at 7 p.m. Saturday on Howard Schnellenberger Field at FAU Stadium.

And while the Owls go into the game as an underdog, it’s not out of the question that FAU could knock off UCF – in what would be one of the best wins in program history.

Central Florida opened its season with a 62-0 blasting of Florida A&M in Orlando last week, racing out to a 48-0 lead at the half.

UCF dominated the game both offensively and defensively, racking up 694 yards of offense and limiting FAMU’s offense to just 96 yards – including minus 4 yards rushing.

FAU opened its season at No. 5 Ohio State on Saturday losing 45-21, as the Buckeyes raced out to a 28-0 lead in the first eight minutes of the game.

Over the final three and a half quarters of play, Florida Atlantic outscored OSU 21-17 – playing the highly-rated Buckeyes on even terms in the nationally-televised game.

The fact FAU was playing on the road in front of 103,228 mostly-Buckeye fans could be one reason for the early blitz. That experience, however, should help the Owls moving forward.

“We started off very poor,” FAU coach Lane Kiffin said of his team’s slow start vs. Ohio State. “To start 28-0 like that in a half of a quarter, we played about as bad as you can in all phases of the game.

“Then, we played a lot better after that. Obviously, that’s not a moral victory, but that does show our players if we do things right – especially defensively … their starters were still in and our defense did a really good job after that.”

Encouraging stats from the Ohio State game included FAU quarterback Chris Robison hitting on 22 of 34 pass attempts for 178 yards and one touchdown – with no interceptions.

Robison’s main targets were tight end Harrison Bryant (6 catches, 79 yards), along with wide receiver Travis Harrison (6-57) and tight end John Raine (6-29, 1 touchdown). Nine different receivers caught passes.

“I thought physically, (Robison)  played well,” Kiffin said. “He was very accurate with the ball. He suffered some really crucial drops – three drops in those first three drives that could have made first downs.”

Also on the plus side was the play of FAU’s defense – after the early onslaught. The Owls were led by senior linebacker Rashad Smith, who had 11 total tackles, including seven solos. Also playing well were senior safety Da’von Brown (8 tackles, 1 tackles for loss) and junior safety Quran Hafiz (7 tackles). The Owls’ defense had two sacks and five tackles for loss.

FAU kicker Vladimir Rivas converted two field goals (plus an extra point) and punter Matthew Hayball averager 47.2 yards on nine punts – including a career-best 70 yarder.

What was concerning for Florida Atlantic was its running attack. The Owls collectively picked up just 22 overall yards on 33 rushing attempts by six different runners. Junior James Charles had 25 yards on 10 carries, while freshman Larry McCammon III had 22 yards on 11 attempts – including a 3-yard TD run.

Against UCF, Kiffin knows his team can’t afford another slow start.

“They have won as many games as anybody in the last couple of years,” Kiffin said of UCF. “They score a million points. They just had 44 first downs in one game … they are, obviously, really explosive.”

So, a better start for Florida Atlantic Saturday night will be important if the Owls are going to score one of the biggest wins in the program’s 16th season.

IF YOU GO

Who: Central Florida (1-0) at Florida Atlantic (0-1).

What: Non-conference game, the third in the series between the two teams. UCF won the prior contests 33-29 (2003) and 56-36 (2018).

Where: Howard Schnellenberger Field at FAU Stadium (Capacity 29,419),

When: 7 p.m. Saturday night.

TV: CBS Sports Network.

Line: UCF is a 10-point favorite.

Did you Know: Then No. 8 Central Florida’s football team had a 25-game winning streak snapped in the Jan. 1, 2019 PlayStation Fiesta Bowl in a 40-32 loss against then No. 11 LSU. It was the fourth longest winning streak since 2000, behind Miami (34 straight wins 2000-2003), Florida State (29 from 2012-2014) and Alabama (26 from 2015-2016).

Photos contributed by: Bob Markey / Courtesy of www.FAUOwlsNest.com