You may not believe in destiny, fate or any of that stuff, but after seeing FAU beat Memphis in the New Orleans Bowl and complete this wild roller coaster ride of a season, you might want to consider changing your mind.
This win, this glory, this unprecedented accomplishment was supposed to happen.
And Head Coach Howard Schnellenberger knew it all along. Even when they said he was too old and too crazy, he was predicting exactly this. Schnellenberger delivered as usual, and now his impeccable bowl record stands at 5-0 after building yet another college football champion that is on the rise.
“Our goal: to win a national championship,” he said while already looking ahead to coaching his next game and puffing on a sweet victory cigar, his navy blue blazer still soaked after a dousing of Gatorade.
The Owls’ septuagenarian coach still has a lot more he wants to accomplish. So far he has built his team with players that wanted to lay the foundations of tradition. In many cases those players weren’t wanted by anyone else.
New Orleans Bowl MVP quarterback Rusty Smith received one scholarship offer out of high school.
Senior linebacker Cergile Sincere walked-on and earned a scholarship. Jack of all trades DiIvory Edgecomb did the same.
“Everybody says F-A-Who, but they are going to know FAU now,” Edgecomb said after amassing 151 return yards, catching a touchdown pass and running for another. “Now people are going to recognize and know who we are.”
Advanced training, the term Schnellenberger used to use to describe FAU’s games against superior opponents, has now been bagged. A victory is now the goal in every game.
“Next year we are starting at Texas, and we expect to go there and fight jaw to jaw, tooth to tooth, and win the game, ” Schnellenberger said.
Still a work in progress, the legendary coach’s latest triumph is turning out to be his finest. It is the only one that has been all his own, started from conception and now all grown up.
Schnellenberger’s favorite saying that has become the moniker of this team is “To believe is to be strong.” Do you believe now?
The nation is beginning to. Not only were viewers privy to an exciting brand of football, they also saw what in effect was a three-hour commercial for FAU. The better this football team gets, the more valuable those FAU diplomas become.
Now, the Sun Belt champions are the New Orleans Bowl champions, too. As they say in New Orleans, “Laissez le bon temps roulez” – let the good times roll!
Outside the Superdome, the party started early and never stopped. After a dance off and battle of the bands, the revelry moved inside. Once the victory was secured and the Owls danced off the field, the jubilant citizens of Owl Country poured out into the streets of the French Quarter.
From the looks of this game and this season, the magic that has been captured by the boys from Boca Raton is just beginning. The fact that success has come so quickly may be a surprise to outsiders, but Schnellenberger has conditioned his team to expect this. He has been saying it all along.
This was supposed to happen. Only the rest of us were surprised.
