FAU entered their bout against Middle Tennessee State brimming with confidence after having won back-to-back games, but the Owls left the match heartbroken, losing a game that likely ended their dreams of a conference championship.
On Oct. 31, the Owls suffered a 27-20 homecoming loss to conference foe MTSU. The defeat at Lockhart Stadium, which dropped FAU to 2-5 on the season and 2-2 in the Sun Belt Conference, was tough to swallow because it was not a loss where the offense was anemic or where the defense was dreadful. Instead, it was the special teams’ lousy play which ultimately doomed FAU and its chances at a Sun Belt title.
Kicker Ross Gornall and punter Mickey Groody were not at fault for the loss, but the players blocking for them were. The Owls had two punts blocked — one of which was returned for a touchdown — a field goal blocked, and another punt turned into a turnover on downs after Groody was tackled in the backfield.
“Our field goal protection unit and our punt protection unit did not hold up, and gave [MTSU] enough gifts to sustain the win,” said Head Coach Howard Schnellenberger. “Obviously that is a shortcoming of mine and my assistant coaches, and we have to get that straightened out or it can happen again.”
FAU fans better hope it gets corrected fast, because the performance by the special teams was one of the most disastrous showings by a unit this season.
“They were going right through our three-man shield in the back,” said safety Marcus Bartels of the Blue Raiders’ ability to disrupt FAU’s punts. “That’s crazy. [Our punt coverage players] know what their jobs are; they know these people are going to be coming at them. I think they need to bow up, and if that’s what happened then that’s on them.”
To make matters worse, the Owls did not only lose a critical conference clash courtesy of special teams, they also lost incumbent quarterback Rusty Smith to a shoulder injury. Smith, who ended the day 23-45 for 304 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, was sidelined for the Owls’ final drive, and his status is currently uncertain.
Smith, however, said after the game that the injury to his non-throwing shoulder was more painful than the one he suffered in last year’s season opener against Texas, when he partially dislocated the same shoulder.
“What I know about it is that it is some kind of an AC sprain and I am day-to-day,” said Smith of his injury. “I don’t know how serious it is, but I’m going to get X-rays on [Nov. 2] and go from there.”
With the way some of the players were talking, however, it appears Smith could be on the shelves for at least a week, putting FAU’s dim hopes of reaching a bowl game in the hands of backup quarterback Jeff Van Camp
“I have all the confidence in the world in him,” wide receiver Avery Holley said. “He can go out and get the job done, and as he continues to get opportunities, everybody will come along. I’m pretty sure he will do well.”
Van Camp did do well in his brief cameo, going 3-4 for 37 yards and driving the Owls down the field before ultimately turning the ball over after an incomplete pass on fourth down. But even Howard Schnellenberger admitted that the Owls are not the same without their top quarterback.
With a tough five-game stretch looming and with a bowl bid being all that is left to play for, winning is Van Camp and the Owls’ only option, as any more severe blunders will end FAU’s season prematurely.
