Preview: Q&A with FAU Beat Writer Kevin Fielder

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — In some ways, it's all you can ask for in a football season: to be playing meaningful games late in November.

Though for Middle Tennessee and Florida Atlantic, playing a game where the winner becomes bowl eligible, and the loser has to go home for the year, likely isn't the meaning they would've liked to have for their 12th game of the season.

"It's a big week for us," Blue Raider head coach Rick Stockstill said. "Obviously, there's a lot on the line for both teams. You win and you keep playing. That's our objective, because we did a lot of good things last week, but ultimately didn't do enough to win the game."

While the Blue Raiders are looking to bounce back from dropping their home finale by a single score last week, Florida Atlantic has been reeling, dropping games to Marshall, Old Dominion and Western Kentucky the past three weeks to drop from 5-3 to 5-6 entering their own home finale in Boca Raton, Fla., which kicks off at 6 pm central on Stadium this Saturday.

To be fair, it's a tough slate to end the Owls' season compared to that start of C-USA play, where early wins over FIU, Charlotte and a resurgent UTEP set them up well to compete for the C-USA East Division title as expected down the stretch. But an inconsistent defense (ninth in C-USA for total yards, but fifth in scoring) and sluggish scoring offense (ninth in C-USA, with less than 20 points a game in their three game losing streak) has put FAU in a must win situation this Thanksgiving weekend.

But the talent on this roster is evident, Stockstill says, so his team is not overlooking the Owls.

"As always, they've got good athletes, good team speed on both sides of the ball," Stockstill said. "Offensively, they've got good players, good receivers, the running back can fly. They're really big up front on both sides of the ball. Bigger than what they've been the last couple of years, especially in the defensive line."

For Middle Tennessee's part, they'll continue to rely on their stout defense, which currently leads the entire country in takeaways with 29 in 11 games and is fourth in C-USA in sacks and first in tackles for loss, to help out an offense led by true freshman Nicholas Vattiato at quarterback, who will be making his fourth start in a season where he started as the fourth string QB on the depth chart.

The Plantation, Fla. native set freshman program records last week for completions, attempts and passing yards. Numbers that didn't surprise offensive coordinator Brent Dearmon.

"There's never a high or a low for the kid," Dearmon said. "We go to Western (Kentucky) and he has five turnovers, and you wouldn't be able to tell. And then he plays well against FIU and ODU, he acts the exact same. You don't see that look in his eye where the moment is too big for him, he just turns the page and moves on."

To get a closer look at this year's Florida Atlantic team, GBR.com sat down with Kevin Fielder, who covers the program for Owls247.com, the 247 Sports Affiliate for FAU, who gave insight into who on the Owls to watch out for, and what's been some of the challenges the team has faced thus far.

1) Florida Atlantic is certainly in a rough spot of their season, losing three straight games to drop from 5-3 to 5-6. Rick Stockstill suggested in his weekly press conference that it largely had to do with the quality of team the Owls have faced in those weeks. Do you agree with that assessment? Why or why not?

Honestly, it's less the quality of opponents and more the struggles of their own team. Mistakes have hurt FAU over the last three weeks and it's put FAU on the back step. Against ODU and Marshall, FAU running backs fumbled twice near midfield in situations where FAU could've gotten back in the game. Combine those with the special teams mistakes, namely onside kicks, and big returns, and it's hard to win.

The quality of the opponent is certainly not helping these situations - playing WKU's strong talent exemplified the struggles FAU has had - but FAU has mostly remained in these games. They out-gained Marshall and were within a score for most of the game. Against ODU, they trailed by four in the third quarter and had opportunities to pull ahead in the first half. Most recently, they trailed by 14 points against Western Kentucky and had the ball inside Western Kentucky territory before throwing an interception.

2) Both Stockstill and safety Reed Blankenship highlighted Miami transfer N'Kosi Perry as a quarterback who poses a big threat offensive. Statistically, however, I suspect Willie Taggert would've liked him to complete at least 60 percent of his passes. How do you assess Perry's play with FAU, and has it lived up to fans expectations?

There's been some struggles with N'Kosi Perry but largely, he's not been the problem offensively. Perry has limited turnovers, throwing just six interceptions, and found ways to help FAU score, scoring 22 total touchdowns. Even during this losing streak, Perry has tried to make plays but other things have gone wrong. Against Marshall, multiple drops prevented FAU from getting into a good field position where they could potentially find points.

Particularly important, FAU has found ways to use Perry's athleticism as a part of the offense. FAU has added the quarterback option to their gameplan and, at points, it's been their only source of offense. While the rushing yards total is low - largely due to sack yardage - Perry has four rushing touchdowns. When FAU gets in the red zone, the zone read option has been a critical part of how the Owls score.

3) Stockstill loves to highlight the speed of Florida skill guys when he plays a team from the state, and the Owls certainly have plenty of burners, both out wide and out of the back field. Who are some of the skill guys that have impressed you this season, and who is maybe one that goes under the radar when looking at a stat sheet, but still finds a way to make an impact?

Running back Johnny Ford is everything he was advertised to be and then some. This season, Ford has rushed for 778 yards and five touchdowns while also making an impact through the air. Ford has added two touchdowns through the air, including an 89-yard touchdown against Florida International. His speed is lethal to helping FAU drive down the field and at any point, he's capable of creating chunk plays.

Wide receivers LaJohntay Wester and Brandon Robinson have struggled at points but overall, they have been FAU's best targets. Wester is leading the team in receiving with 607 yards and four touchdowns and, like Ford, is a speedster with big-play potential on any play. Robinson has turned it on lately, recording 159 yards over the last three games.

In terms of underrated players, keep an eye on tight end Zaire Mitchell-Paden and true freshman wide receiver Jahmal Edrine. Mitchell-Paden is more of a blocker but he's been critical in FAU creating plays on the ground. Edrine's playing time will be interesting to watch but head coach Willie Taggart has mentioned wanting to get younger guys involved and Edrine seems like a great candidate to get additional playing time.

4) The FAU defense has put together some top performances, holding Georgia Southern and Charlotte to under 10 points, but has also been gashed at times, like giving up 52 points to WKU. What does the defense do particularly well when they play well? Is there a unit that's particularly impressed you in Mike Stoops' first year as defensive coordinator?

When FAU is playing well, they're strong in the secondary and make plays. Safeties Teja Young and Jordan Helm are two of the better safeties in the conference and they fly around making plays. Zyon Gilbert is a senior leader and a cornerback who can make plays. Outside of Gilbert, though, there are concerns of who will start next to him. Romain Mungin was injured last week and his status for the game is unknown. If he is healthy, Mungin - who has two interceptions - is likely to start. If Mungin can't go, look for true freshman Jayden Williams to get some extended playing time.

In terms of units that have impressed me under Stoops, the linebackers have certainly been impressive. Caliph Brice is expected to play against Middle Tennessee and he's been sound in the run game, along with being solid against the pass. Eddie Williams is a linebacker who's impressed in extended playing time, posting 42 total tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss. As a pass rusher, Chris Jones has shown flashes and finally got his first sack against ODU. These three players, along with Akileis Leroy, have formed a unit who are capable of helping them win.

5) Both Middle Tennessee and Florida Atlantic have played their way into a must win game in Boca Raton this Saturday. What will the Owls have to do well that haven't gone to plan the past couple of weeks to come out victorious?

The most important thing is that FAU's offensive line is going to have to be sound. The offensive line has struggled at times, allowing six sacks against Marshall and pressure throughout the losing streak. Alex Atcavage saw a start at right tackle and was impressive against Western Kentucky, but the focus will be on figuring out the pressure while also providing a strong presence against the run.

Their offensive line will be a big key to the offense that likes to establish the run to set up deep throws. If FAU wants to continue to play fast and test defensive backs deep, they can't be getting beat at the point of attack.

FAU will also have to clean it up in all three phases. Taggart constantly talks about the importance of winning all three phases and playing complimentary football. If they can limit the penalties - 15 penalties for 139 yards against Western Kentucky did them no favors - and play a clean game on special teams, they have plenty of talent to beat anyone.

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Players Mentioned

Reed Blankenship

Nicholas Vattiato

Middle Tennesee State University Athletics