Florida Atlantic Owls
Raymond James Stadium (65,857/Natural Grass)
Tampa, Fla.
Television
ESPN3.com — Dave Weekley and Rene Ingoglia
USF Radio
WFLA-AM 970
Sirius 158
THE GAME
USF and Florida Atlantic have met twice previously … The Bulls are 2-0 all-time against the Owls, with the last meeting in 2007 … The Bulls were 35-23 winners that year as USF RB Benjamin Williams ran for 186 yards and four touchdowns, while Florida Atlantic QB Rusty Smith threw for 259 yards and three TDs.
USF (2-1)
Head Coach
Skip Holtz (Notre Dame ’86)
2-1, first season at USF
74-51, 11th year as collegiate head coach
NOTES
USF returned from a bye week and improved to 2-1 with a 24-12 win against Western Kentucky … The Bulls are looking for their first back-to-back wins of the season … The lone loss was a 38-14 setback at No. 8 Florida … USF leads the BIG EAST in rushing offense (216.7 yards per game) and is second in soring offense (32.3 ppg) and total offense (392.0 ypg) … The Bulls kept the ball on the ground for 44 of their 55 offensive plays against Western Kentucky … QB B.J. Daniels has completed 27 of 53 passes for 405 yards and three touchdowns with five interceptions … Daniels also is averaging 55.3 rushing yards and has scored two TDs on the ground … RB Demetris Murray is averaging 77.3 yards per game and 6.6 yards per carry … WR Dontavia Bogan missed the game against Western Kentucky with an ankle injury, but head coach Skip Holtz suggested that Bogan could return to the field Saturday … Bogan has averaged 24.5 yards per reception through his first two games … P Justin Brockhuas-Kahn is the BIG EAST leader in punting with an average of 48.1 yards per punt.
FLORIDA ATLANTIC (1-2, 0-1 Sun Belt)
Head Coach
Howard Schnellenberger (Kentucky ’56)
54-57, 10th season at Florida Atlantic
154-134-3, 26th season as collegiate head coach
NOTES
Florida Atlantic enters Saturday’s game at 1-2 following a 21-17 loss to North Texas last week … The Owls edged Alabama-Birmingham 32-31 to open the season before falling 30-17 at Michigan State … The school started varsity football in 2001 and played as a Championship Subdivision independent until 2003 … The Owls has played in back-to-back bowl games in 2007 and 2008 before falling to 5-7 last season … Florida Atlantic coach Howard Schnellenberger has had previous head coaching stops at Miami (Fla.), Louisville and Oklahoma and led Miami to the 1983 national championship … Schnellenberger also helped Alabama to three national titles (1961, 1964, 1965) as offensive coordinator under Bear Bryant … Schnellenberger began the year ranked 10th among active Bowl Subdivision coaches in career wins (153) … The Owls play only four home games this season … RB Alfred Morris gets most of the work on the ground with 53 carries for 211 yards and three touchdowns this season … QB Jeff Van Camp has thrown five touchdown passes against two interceptions and has completed 63.7 percent of his attempts (58 of 91) … WR Lester Jean has averaged 105.7 receiving yards per game, good for ninth nationally.