FAU is on a 5 year bowl drought, with their last appearance being in the Birmingham bowl in
2020, and their last win being in the Boca bowl in 2019.

In this article, I will list 5 reasons FAU can (and should) be bowl eligible in 2026, and 5 reasons they might not be…

The Case FOR: Player Retention

For Coach Zach Kittley to build his program from Year 1, he knew he needed to retain his keytalent. FAU ranked 23rd in FBS in retention outside of the service academies; this was the bestmark in the American Conference at 52% of returning snaps.They return their star QB and WR (Veltkamp and Messer), as well as their RB1 (Shields-Dutton), two starting offensive linemen, and nearly all starters on their defensive line.They also return starters Leon Hart Jr., Demarius McGhee, and Jayden Sweeney, so there willbe continuity on both sides of the ball.

The Case FOR: Star Power!

Having good players wins football games, shocker. FAU, talent-wise, has all-conference caliber
talent.

Caden Veltkamp is one of the most respected QBs in the conference, throwing for 54 TDs in his
college career. He is coming off a slight down year after hurting his shoulder in conference play,
but he should bounce back with the continuity and familiarity in the scheme in Year 2.
Easton Messer is one of the best wideouts in the conference. He was a do-it-all weapon for the
Owls last year. He caught 104 balls for over 1,000 yards, while also throwing a passing TD and
serving as the primary punt returner.

On defense, CJ Doggette is a pass rush specialist at DT. He had 4 sacks in 2025, and Joseph
Sipp Jr. is a stud LB the Owls brought in from Kansas. It is also worth mentioning that Jay
Crable transferred in from Ohio with 6 sacks last season.

The Case FOR: Using the Transfer Portal with Purpose

It was clear FAU did not just use the portal to look busy. They brought in players with clear
roles. There is a reason Bill Connelly from ESPN said FAU had one of his ten favorite transfer
classes. There are too many to mention, so I will name some key ones:

Kelby Valsin: Big-body X WR from Texas Tech

Ben Galloway: Immediate plug-and-play RT from Georgia Tech

Kenyon Garner: 15 sacks at D2 Livingstone

Brooks Johnson: Receiving TE from Coastal Carolina

Joseph Sipp and Nate Fischer: Off-ball LBs

Jay Crable: Defensive end from Ohio

Leonard Farrow: Speedy RB from Fairmont State

Ahlston Ware: Extremely productive DB from Ferris State

The Case FOR: A manageable schedule

Another reason for optimism, FAU doesn’t have to play the gauntlet they did last year. This
years schedule is much more manageable (however not a cake walk).

FAU has a tough opener heading to the swamp then hosting a tough Navy team, but after get a
chance at revenge against FIU at home and then head on the road to ULM in the non con
(should be a less talented opponent than UConn).

In conference FAU gets to avoid Tulane and Memphis, they also get USF at home. The
toughest games should be ECU on the road, who has FAU’s number in football these past 3
years, and Army/UNT on the road. No one should sleep on Tulsa on the road as well, they will
have a better roster than they did last year, they were active in the transfer portal.

The Case FOR: A proven identity/scheme

In 2025, Zach Kittleys first season as FAU’s head coach, the groundwork was laid for how he
wants his team to play. Fast, aggressive, pushing the ball downfield. While the turnover margin
was ugly (really ugly), the vision is there, as the Owls ranked in the top of the FBS in PPG.
Even with some losses in the WR room, you could make the argument their WR room is even
better, with guys like Branden Hoch and Kelby Valsin stepping into big roles. FAU should have
an even better passing attack with the continuity, weapons, and potentially a better pass
protecting offensive line in front of Veltkamp.

The Case AGAINST: Is the Defense going to improve?

It is no secret FAU’s defense ranked at the bottom of FBS football last year, 131st/136 when
looking across multiple metrics. Defensive coordinator Brett Dewherst was a first time DC last
season, and had to bring in an entirely new defense, so he will get some benefit of the doubt.

However, improvement is not a guarantee, the squad still needs to show it on the field before I
can confidently say the defense will be a respectable unit. Until that is shown, I will have to say
the defense is a liability.

The Case AGAINST: Past Inability to Win Close Games

To compete for conference championships, a football team needs to get comfortable winning
close games. In the past FAU has had the requisit talent to be in games, but for whatever
reason has not been able to finish with a win.

However, forget any season before 2025. Sticking to 2025, Kittleys first season as HC, FAU
played in 7 games where it was a one score game at half, they came away with 1 win (Rice).

The Case AGAINST: Will the offense be too one dimensional?

It is no secret the Owls are going to air the ball out this season, but when defenses are able to
take away these deep shots, will FAU be able to run the ball effectively?

Last season, there were games that defenses were able to isolate the Owls, and FAU had no
answers in the run game. Those games specifically, Memphis and USF, the Owls top rusher
each game finished with 25 and 28 yards. In the end, it hurt their chances to stay in the game in
the 4th quarter.

The Case AGAINST: Thin at Certain Positions

Injuries affect every team, so does FAU have the depth to overcome them? At running back last
year FAU saw injuries to their top 3 backs, and the only other backs on the roster were a true
freshman and a back who had no carries before. FAU is carrying a light running back room
again, I think their top two backs are going to be very good, but after that they could run into
issues.

The tight end room is another position where FAU saw an injury to their starter (Mike Kirch) and
couldn’t get anything out of their backups. The tight end room seems deeper this year, however
that is still a position we will have to wait and see if they will have an impact on the offense.

The Case AGAINST: Special Teams Turnover?

This one might not be a case against FAU, but all three specialists for FAU are now no longer
with the team. The big one the Owls will need to replace is Logan Lupo who earned a
scholarship and played for FAU for 3 years, they brought in Reed Chandley from Georgia State
to replace him.

Kicker Garrison Smith is also gone, he was overall solid but did miss a huge kick against UConn
following a drive that would have sent the game to overtime, as well as a big kick early against
USF. His replacement, Colin Rodgers, was benched last year but started the whole season prior during the SMU Mustangs playoff season. If FAU is getting that version of Rodgers, they could potentially have a big time kicker.

Cover Photo Credits: Christian Proscia