Greg Cote thinks FAU will struggle this year. And that’s not an easy thing for the popular Miami Herald sports columnist to say, because he’s also an FAU alumnus.

“I see a downturn in the record because of a tougher non-conference schedule and so many departed players led by Jared Allen,” Cote tells the UP. “I think the Owls could really struggle offensively, at least early. However, I think the ambitious schedule is good for the program. Division 1A is the major leagues, even if you take your lumps they’re on the way to respectability.”

Cote graduted in 1978, 23 years before FAU fielded a football team. But he thinks it’s going in the right direction.

“Schnellenberger has been perfect for what FAU needed: a ‘name’ to attract financial support and attention in the ground-up building of a new football program. Although I’m sure he relies more and more on his top assistants, he remains an excellent coach and builder.”

Marcus Nelson, who covers the owls for The Palm Beach Post, agrees with Cote that FAU will struggle.

“I think that if they come out at .500 or above .500 it will be the best coaching job Schnellenberger has ever done in his career,” Nelson told the UP. “I’m kinda thinking they will win two of the Sun Belt games. This schedule is brutal, but it will pay dividends down the road, of course. It will be a year where FAU takes their lumps.”

Nelson also agrees that Schnellenberger has done good work under difficult circumstances. “I think he has done a great job,” he says. “When he took the job in 1998, who would have thought that they would have Oklahoma State coming to play FAU?”

And when FAU can finally win one of those tough non-conference games, Nelson says, “Everyone in the nation will stand up and take notice.”