The running of the Bulls normally takes place in Pamplona, Spain; however, on Saturday night USF had their own rendition in a dominating win over Florida Atlantic.
The Bulls carried it 51 times for 229 yards and three touchdowns, getting 111 yards and a score from quarterback Byrum Brown en-route to a 48-13 USF victory. Brown was able to dart in for a touchdown from 22 yards out on the Bulls first drive of the game and they never looked back from there.
FAU was able to respond on their opening drive with a field goal from Garrison Smith and on the ensuing drive for USF, the FAU defense forced a missed field goal, giving the offense a chance to take a lead on their next drive.
The Owls went three and out, failing to capitalize on their chance to grab momentum, which would become a theme in this one for FAU.
From there, USF ultimately took over, converting an onside kick and scoring touchdowns on consecutive possessions to take a 21-3 lead with 9:30 to play in the second quarter. FAU was able to tack on three points before the end of the half, going into the locker room trailing 21-6.
The Owls did come out hot in the second half. Veltkamp led the offense 75 yards in 7 plays and 2:48, scoring their first touchdown of the game on a two yard shovel pass from Veltkamp to Mike Kirch to make it 21-13 with 12:12 to play in the quarter.
That would be about the only bright spot of the entire game for FAU. Despite their defense forcing a punt and field goal on the first two USF drives of the second half, the Owls offense fell asleep with a chance to tie the game and grab a hold of momentum for the first time all game.
After the touchdown to Kirch, FAU would proceed to close the game with three punts, a turnover on downs, and an interception, while USF outscored them 27-0 during that time.
Lack of execution and discipline hurt FAU against USF. The Owls committed nine penalties for 75 yards and allowed USF to convert 55% of their third and fourth downs. Sloppiness like what we saw from FAU will lead to losses more times than not and FAU Head Coach Zach Kittley knows that is something that he has to clean up moving forward.
“It comes down to just us again, lack of execution. So we’ve got to execute our assignment. You know, that’s the biggest thing. And then, you know, the self-inflicted wounds again, just we have way too many penalties tonight in critical situations that really hurt you again,” Kittley said.
“Who knows what the game looks like when you gain some momentum, when you have that punt return that gets called back, stuff like that, those huge momentum swings. Unfortunately for us, we had some big gains that got called back for holding stuff like that, we just got to get better there, you know? And again, it’s frustrating, because we’ve been better in those areas. And then tonight, we had a lapse there, so we got to get there.”
FAU had multiple opportunities to turn it into a competitive game, however each time they had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead, they failed. The offense only turned the ball over one time, a tipped pass interception in the fourth quarter, so mistakes weren’t the main issue, it was simply lack of execution.
The Owls offense has garnered a reputation for explosiveness so far this season; however, on Saturday the USF defense clipped their wings. Veltkamp attempted just two passes of twenty yards or longer, both resulting in incompletions. This was the first game all season where he failed to complete a pass of that distance.
It is possible the lack of deep passes was a result of Veltkamp not having enough time in the pocket for those longer plays to develop. USF was able to sack Veltkamp four times and pressure him 17 total times, which caused havoc in the backfield.
According to FAU wide receiver Asaad Waseem, USF’s defensive scheme severely limited the explosive side of the Owls offense.
“They ran a lot of schemes, like, a lot of twisting up front, with the linebackers and the D line, and they had a lot of deep safeties, which, you know, we take a lot of shots, but feel like we couldn’t get that going tonight, because they had a lot of deep safeties,” Waseem said.
One of the biggest discrepancies during the matchup was USF’s ability to run the ball with little resistance, while FAU struggled to generate anything on the ground. Following USF’s final touchdown of the game with 9:05 to play in the 4th quarter, the Bulls were out gaining FAU on the ground 235-0.
The Owls were able to muster some yards on the ground during garbage time, finishing with 23 yards on 30 carries. The Owls 0.8 yards per carry was their lowest total of the season and their inability to generate yards on the ground cost them.
A lot went wrong for FAU tonight, but Kittley believes the struggles start with their inability to run the ball, as it put Veltkamp in difficult passing situations.
“Offensively. It starts with just a complete total lack of run game tonight, 30 carries for 23 yards, probably the worst I’ve ever had in my career. So we’ve got to get a ton better. Lack of explosive plays. You know, I think that’s something we have done a really good job the past few weeks being able to create some explosive plays and get the ball moving downfield, and we just weren’t getting that done tonight again,” Kittley said.
“I think that starts first and foremost with the run game, because you’re averaging less than a yard per carry right there. Puts a lot of pressure on your quarterback, you know, he feels like he’s got to do a ton. And you look up and you threw the ball 58 times, and that’s not what you want, you know, you don’t want to have to throw the ball that much. And so starts with the run game, and then just, just penalties, self inflicted wounds, just killed us all night, in all phases,” Kittley said.
This is the second offensive performance for FAU this season which featured an aspect of disaster that Kittley has not previously seen in an offense he has been a part of. The first, was the six interception performance in Week one against Maryland, and now less than one yard per carry against USF.
Although Kittley’s honesty about the unfamiliarity of these struggles in relation to his offense is appreciated, at the end of the day, it is concerning Kittley is encountering offensive issues he has never dealt with in his previous stops.
The Owls now sit at 3-4 and will head to Navy next week in a game which could provide a bounce back performance, or begin a losing streak. FAU has shown they can game plan to stop an option based offense; however, Navy will bring an entirely different type of offense to the table.
Penalties and struggles in the run game, both offensively and defensively, are things the Owls will have to clean up if they are going to bounce back against Navy.
FAU has shown resiliency before this season, beating Rice and UAB following losses to FIU and Memphis, and they will look to do it again in what could be a critical game for the Owls bowl game hopes.
