A week ago, Florida Atlantic was licking their wounds following a drubbing at the hands of Florida, but this week in their home opener they hit the reset button, dominating Navy at times en route to a 38-30 victory.
It started almost instantly for the Owls, as on the second play of the game from scrimmage, Veltkamp dropped back and found Easton Messer for a 76 yard touchdown which set the tone right away. After the Owls defense was burned for a long TD of their own on Navy’s first drive of the game, they locked in, beginning a dominating stretch that would continue throughout the rest of the game.
Florida Atlantic was forced to punt on their second drive of the game, and while this could have flipped the momentum in favor of Navy, the Owls defense came to play early on, forcing a field goal which missed from the midshipmen and that set the Owls up to begin their scoring barrage. Following the miss, the Owls took over at their own 28 yard line and just 3 plays later, Veltkamp connected with Messer for his second touchdown of the day, a 36 yard score that gave the Owls a 14-7 lead with 6:59 to play in the first quarter.
Following that touchdown, the Owls defense was staunch, forcing 4 punts, a fumble, and an interception over the next 6 drives which allowed FAU to take control of this game. After a missed field goal and a turnover on downs on their two previous drives, the Owls went to work with 9:51 to play in the half and took over.
The Owls marched 79 yards in 9 plays, with the Owls Air Raid taking over and Veltkamp finding Valsin for a contested catch in the end-zone for his third TD of the half, giving the Owls a 21-7 lead with 5:26 to play.
The Navy offense continued to be stuck in the mud all throughout the first half, as their next drive resulted in a punt after just 5 plays, allowing the FAU offense to get the ball back quickly with momentum. They capitalized, going 75 yards in just 9 plays and a little over two minutes, capping it off with a Veltkamp touchdown to Dom Henry to give the Owls a 28-7 lead with 19 seconds to play.
This was an aggressive effort for the Owls on both sides of the ball, and on Navy’s next drive, the defense fed into that, forcing an interception which gave them a chance for more points right before the half. Once again, the Owls cashed in, as Collin Rogers converted a 60-yard field goal, the longest in program history to give the Owls a 31-7 lead at half.
At the half, Veltkamp was 20-22 for 326 yards and 4 touchdowns, while on the defensive side of the ball, they held Navy to no points on 6 out of their 7 drives during the first half.
The strong first half carried into the second half, as the Owls forced Navy to punt right away on their first drive of the second half. While the FAU defense was firing on all cylinders, Navy QB Braxton Woodson suffered a non-contact injury, which left their offense trying to find its footing with backup QB Jackson Gutierrez in the early part of the second half.
With the commanding lead, Zach Kittley looked to control the clock with his first drive of the second half. The Owls chewed up 7:13 of game time, going 80 yards in 16 plays, 9 rushes and 7 passes, capped off with a 5 yard TD Pass from Veltkamp to TE AJ Johnson, giving them a 38-7 lead with 2:39 to play in the third quarter.
Navy was able to find something with Gutierrez on their second drive of the second half, as he was able to launch a 64 yard touchdown pass to Jordan Collins that got them on the board for the first time since their first drive of the first quarter. While this gave the midshipmen some juice, the Owls were in full control of momentum, leading 38-14 heading into the 4th quarter.
The ground and pound attack was in full force during the second half for the Owls, as they opened the 4th quarter with 4 straight rushes with Ethan Ervin looking to prevent the Navy offense from getting back on the field quickly. Navy was able to force a punt on the drive, but with the Owls chewing 4:29 of game-clock, it began to get late quickly for the Midshipmen.
While the defense was making plays, mistakes began to catch up with them in the early part of the 4th quarter, as the Owls committed a pair of 15 yard penalties which allowed Navy to get inside the red-zone, and they capitalized as Gutierrez found Robinson for an 8 yard score to make it 38-20 with 5:44 to play.
The mistakes continued to mount for FAU. The Owls allowed Navy to recover an onside kick and although they forced a Navy turnover on downs, on the ensuing offensive drive they stalled out and had a punt miscue which resulted in a safety and made it 38-22 with 3:07 to play.
Due to the safety, Navy got the ball back and wasted no time. Gutierrez took it himself, escaping contain and taking 49 yards to the end-zone, also completing a 2-point conversion which made it 38-30 with 1:46 to play.
Navy’s ensuing onside kick went out of bounds and the Owls were able to bleed out the clock, giving it to Ethan Ervin who gained 10 yards and a first down, which allowed the Owls to kneel and cap off their 38-30 victory.
The Notables:
Passing:
Caden Veltkamp: 27/32 386 yards, 5 touchdowns
Rushing:
Ethan Ervin: 17 rushes for 67 yards
Receiving:
Easton Messer: 8 receptions for 179 yards, 2 touchdowns
Kelby Valsin: 8 receptions for 115 yards, 1 touchdown
Defense:
Josh Roberts: 7 tackles, 2.5 TFL
Leon Hart: 6 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 fumble recovery
Blake Burris 5 tackles, 1.5 TFL
Special Teams:
Collin Rogers 1-2 on field goals. (Missed from 54 yards) (Made from 60 yards, program Record)
The Good:
The good is obvious. Caden Veltkamp and the offense put on a show in paradise, wiping the slate clean from week 1 with a dominating performance.
Saturday night was as fluid as the passing side of the offense looked during the Kittley era, with Easton Messer, Kelby Valsin and Dom Henry all making an impact. This was in part due to an offensive line which for the second game in a row gave Veltkamp an immense amount of time in the pocket, a major improvement from a year ago.
While he didn’t play a major role, TE AJ Johnson hauled in 2 receptions for 11 yards and a touchdown, giving an idea of how the Owls could utilize tight ends this year, especially on the goal line.
On the defensive side of the ball, although things got hairy late, the unit put on an inspiring performance against a truly difficult opponent to prepare for. The depth on the Owls defense line was a key factor, as the Owls avoided the usual attrition that comes against playing an option team and were consistently limiting Navy runs from getting to the second level.
You always need resolve as a kicker and Collin Rogers showed that tonight, pushing aside an early miss to set a program record with a 60 yard field goal to close the half. While Zach Kittley won’t want to make a habit of relying on his kicker from that length, the confidence is there for it from both parties, which is not a bad situation to be in.
The bad:
Early on in this game, the offense looked exactly like what Zach Kittley had in mind when he took the head job a year ago. While Veltkamp and the passing side of the offense were flawless, achieving the second best completion percentage in program history (84%), there were other aspects on both offense and defense that trailed off in the second half and it nearly cost them the game.
After a relatively solid rushing performance in the season opening matchup against Florida which saw the Owls rush 37 times for 120 yards, this week the run game stalled. Overall, FAU rushed 44 times for 42 yards in Week 2, not getting the efficiency they saw a week ago. They did get an impact performance from Ethan Ervin, who rushed 17 times for 67 yards, including 3 carries for 10 yards and the game clinching first down on the final drive.
If FAU is going to contend at the top of the American, they need a complementary run game to give Veltkamp relief, especially when the Owls have leads late in games.
The mistakes added up during the 4th quarter, as Gutierrez was able to put a scoring drive together to start the final period that was aided by nearly 30 yards in penalties and later in the quarter he broke contain for a 49 yard touchdown to make it a one score game.
The mistakes came in droves, as those defensive miscues were compounded with the dreaded allowed onside kick recovery, and a punt miscue, which ultimately is what led to this game being decided by only one score.
It’s tough to ask for a perfect game, and by no means was this a bad game for FAU, but as the Owls look to climb the ranks of the American, mistakes like what they encountered in the 4th quarter could truly be detrimental.
