Florida Atlantic Owls O:7 D:8 The Owls inaugural season in the newly aligned Sun Belt Conference didn't go as Head Coach Howard Schnellenberger and his staff had planned, but they had a very young team on their hands and lumps had to be expected. Still, Florida Atlantic's 2-9 record isn't as bad as it looks. The team faced a challenging out of conference schedule, and their record includes a pair of tough losses in conference play. The Owls' inexperience was a factor, but that should be different this time around: With more experience going into this season, Florida should play with more confidence this time around. They have speed and talent throughout their offense. How much their points per game average improves is dependent on quarterback Sean Clayton, who was both fantastic and erratic in his only two starts to close out last season.
Overall, though, he displayed the skills needed for leading the team's offense. There should be a noticeable increase in production from the defensive unit, which got burned against the run last season, giving up 218 YPG. But the passing numbers could suffer with an inexperienced unit in the secondary. The Owls will have another tough non-conference schedule playing at Clemson, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, and South Carolina, but it's not all bad: they get to host four of seven Sun Belt Conference games and should make their presence felt in only their second year as a member.
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