The first of two bye weeks are at hand for Zach Kittley and his Florida Atlantic football team. And with a record of 1-2 and a disheartening loss to Florida International on Saturday night, the Owls would assuredly like to find themselves in different waters.
But that’s what times such as these are for: reflection, reorganizing, regrouping, and refocusing.
One thing the Owls will be looking for is an instant remedy, a panacea, for the turnover bug which continues to bite and bite hard. FAU is currently 133rd out of 134 teams in turnover margin, ahead of only Coastal Carolina.
BYE WEEK FOCUS: @FAUFootball Coach @ZKittley was blunt today in his 1st of two Bye Week Pressers. The Main 🎯 for the Owls in the IMMEDIATE FUTURE is cleaning up turnovers. His Message 👇 #FAU 🦉 pic.twitter.com/hu7ByAqdDx
— FAU Owls Nest (@FAU_Owls_Nest) September 16, 2025
Coach Kittley took to the seated podium once again Tuesday afternoon to take a final drive down Saturday’s difficult road to defeat, and ahead to making the necessary changes over the bye week to put Florida Atlantic in a position to get back in the win column as American Conference play gets underway.
Below are our select excerpts from the session.
Final Thoughts on the Shula Bowl Loss
“Clearly, it was a devastating loss for us. We did not want to lose that game, and especially the way we lost it. But at the end of the day that’s one game, and we have got nine ahead of us. And so you build character, you build strength within your within your locker room with that adversity.”
“There’s a lot of really good teams out there right now that lost a game or that have lost two games, and we’re one of them. And you’ve got to understand that college football is a game of highs and lows because it’s pretty rare, in my opinion in today’s college football world to go undefeated no matter who you are. And then at the end of the day I always look at college football and you have two different seasons. And every game matters but the American starts for us next Saturday and that’s what we’re looking forward to as well. You’re going into that game with a clean slate, you’re zero on zero. And so you still have opportunities to go do what you wanna do this year and be able to hoist the trophy at the end the year.”
What the Team Will be Doing this Week
“We’re doing some light practices, and then, yeah, really getting those young guys going. And not necessarily even the young guys. We have some older guys too that are still helping us play, but they’re only playing a handful of snaps on Saturdays. And so still trying to push development for those guys because, again, it’s a long year. We still got nine more games, and we’ve got have everybody on the roster ready to play at any moment.”
On the Beneficial Timing of the Bye Week
“We are we’re little banged up at a few positions and nothing serious, but just some guys need some rest to get their bodies back. And so I think it came at a great time. When the calendar falls the right way where you get two bye weeks, I think we would all love to play four games, have a bye, play four games, have a bye. And we’re pretty close to that with being able to play three, five, and then finish it out. So it’s really good timing for us.”
On the Play of Running Back Xavier Terrell
“Xavier’s doing a really good job for us. Very multiple for us there in the backfield, able to do a lot of stuff, scat back kind of type guy. But you saw him have multiple catches out of the backfield, the big wheel route for a touchdown as well. He’s a one cut kind of guy who can make you miss and can create those explosive plays. So he’s doing a really good job for us there in the backfield.”
On the Play of Defensive Back Derrick Rogers
“Dooda (photo below Angelina LaBelle) is high energy, brings a lot of juice, can fly around, and has really good length that you’re looking for. Super proud of him with just max effort for him on that punt going and getting that block for us for a touchdown.”
On the Play of Linebacker Khmari Johnson in Pinch Situations
“He’s a heck of a football player. I think that that those two words just completely describe him. Football player. He loves football. He flies around. He’s not some six three, two hundred forty five pound linebacker, but, man, he plays extremely hard and he’s fast. He’s physical. He had some big hits in the game. And we’re asking a guy that just got here in June to come in and step up and make some big plays for us, and he’s been nothing short of that. I think the future is extremely bright for KJ here as the as the years go on.”
On the Best Positive Right Now with Memphis Due Up
“That our guys are so fired up to play football. We’ve got Memphis coming in two weeks. They’re be the best team we’ve played all year. They’re number one in South Rating the country on defense right now. They they’re going to give Arkansas all they want this weekend. They’re a really good football team, but our guys are up for the challenge, and we haven’t given up yet. Coaches can really tell really fast when the team is checked out or whatever the case may be…and the vibe in the locker room is what you want it to be. “
The Owls will continue preparations for the Tigers who visit Flagler Credit Union Stadium at Howard Schnellenberger Field September 27th. With a start time option at play for the American Conference the contest will begin at either 4:00 PM or 7:00 PM and will be broadcast nationally on either ESPNU or EPSN2 respectively.