Navy Sinks FAU in Annapolis, Owls Falter in Second Half, 42-32

Looking to bounce back after a disappointing loss, the Owls headed to Annapolis, Maryland as FAU squared off against Navy.

Under a cloudy sky, the Midshipmen’s fleet held throughout and their firepower was strong as the Owls floundered in the second half, losing 42-32.

Coach Kittley’s Comments

Opening Statement

“We knew coming into this game, we’re going to have to [play complementary football]. I thought defense played plenty well enough for us to win this football game. And, I go back again to me and offensively, you know, I’ve got to be way, way better. And we got to execute at a higher level. We got to stay out of the negative plays.”

“But, yeah, we do some really good stuff, and then we shoot ourselves in the foot, and we do some really good stuff, we shoot ourselves in the foot, and that’s what’s at least encouraging when you look up those last three drives for us on offense there. I mean, we really took hardly any negative plays. And when you don’t take negative plays, this offense can be great. That’s who we know we can be. And so we just got to eliminate the self-inflicted wounds and negative plays. When you do that, good things stack on top of each other, like you mentioned. And you can, you can go put the ball in the end zone.”

Issues Finishing Drives in the End Zone

“I can name four [drives] off the top of my head where we had some killer penalties in the red zone, for sure on four of those drives. And so that’s where it starts. Where it’s just, again eliminating those self inflicted wounds, and then just come down to higher execution by us. That’s the bottom line. We always thought we got a great red zone plan. We had a great red zone plan tonight. Again, we got to put the ball in the end zone, more for sure. You know, we can’t kick the field goals. But we thought we had a good red zone plan. Again, it just comes down to us executing at a higher level.”

Game Recap

First Quarter

The Owls opened the game on offense. A Caden Veltkamp 43-yard pass found Jayshon Platt open down the seam for a touchdown, but Navy responded with a solid drive of their own as quarterback Blake Horvath used his legs to score a rushing touchdown. 

Veltkamp fumbled the ball on the Owls ensuing drive and Navy took advantage as QB Braxton Woodson rushed for 16-yards on the left side of the field putting his squad up 14-7. Three Midshipmen quarterbacks saw the field in their first two drives.

Looking to respond, Veltkamp’s arm and legs were important on the Florida Atlantic drive. The quarterback rushed for a first down on third and eight, and had another deep completion to Platt. Sadly, after working their way inside the ten, the drive stalled as Garrison Smith tacked on three as the Owls trailed 14-10.

Second Quarter

Navy then added Horvath’s second rushing touchdown of the day with 11 minutes to go in the first half. FAU responded with another solid drive, but settled for three from Smith once again. 

On the ensuing Midshipmen drive, Navy fumbled the ball thanks to a bad handoff as DL Gavench Marcelin recovered the ball. The Owls started their drive inside Navy’s 40, but settled to punt as Logan Lupo’s boot pinned the Midshipmen inside the five.

From there it was easy for Navy as they ran the clock, but an Owls stand on 4th and goal held the deficit at 21-13 going into the half.

Halftime Notes

At the half, Florida Atlantic averaged over 14 yards per completion and were perfect on fourth down. Do keep in mind that on third the Owls were two for eight.

The FAU defense allowed 239 yards on the ground, over half of the number they allowed in the game.

Third Quarter

Looking to make it a two-score game again, Navy worked their way into Owls territory but were held on another fourth down try. That was the mood of the entirety of the third as the defenses held strong. The Owls had an opportunity to score, but a field goal by Smith was wide right.

Florida Atlantic’s defense stayed on top of things forcing a final turnover on downs, but the Owls offense stumbled once again as Dom Henry fumbled a catch.

Fourth Quarter

Navy then scored a rushing touchdown thanks to running back Alex Tecza’s one-yard rush.After the Owls could not score trailing 28-13, Navy answered once more making it a 35-13 game.

Kaden Shields-Dutton earned a receiving touchdown making it a two-possession game once more, but FAU failed on the two point attempt. Navy rushed for another touchdown taking a 42-19 advantage. 

The remainder of the contest saw a valiant comeback effort from Florida Atlantic’s second string but the deficit was far too gone. Zach Gibson earned his first touchdown pass since joining the Owls, but that is about all the accolades to hand out. The Owls fell 42-32.

Standouts & Stats

Points Off Turnovers

Navy had 21 points off of FAU’s offensive turnovers. The defense stood when they could, but it became a reliance in the second half and it was clear that the Midshipmen were starting to overpower Florida Atlantic.

Regardless of what the defense did on Saturday, Florida Atlantic’s offense could not get out of their own way, and cost an upset for FAU.

LB Tyler Stolsky led the way defensively with 13 tackles while DB Demarius McGhee was the only Owl with a pass break up.

WR Jayshon Platt averaged over 24 yards per reception off his five catches. He was the only FAU receiver to have more than 100 yards receiving. Platt’s 121 receiving yards is a career high for him.

Jayshon Platt makes the reception putting the Owls ahead 6-0 early against Navy. Photo: FAU Athletics.

The leader in the running game for Florida Atlantic was Gemari Sands as he earned 22 yards off seven carries. Overall, the Owls earned only 69 yards on the ground.

Starting QB Caden Veltkamp finished 25 of 41 with 299 yards passing, two touchdown passes, and an interception.

Offense

Costly Miscues

Those problems were not just the turnovers. FAU had 7 penalties for 51 yards. Including multiple times where Florida Atlantic faced false starts on third and shorts. Like last week, the offense had drives where they had to dig themselves out of a hole. Regardless of the defense, 1st & 15s and 1st & 20s are going to be challenging to recover from.

Veltkamp’s Legs

It was mentioned in the game capsule that the redshirt junior must use his legs if the Owls were to stay competitive. Well, throughout the contest Veltkamp’s legs extended plays or drives. With an offensive line that has been unable to keep a clean pocket, the captain being able to make plays last is important.

Defense

Third Quarter Drive Enders

The Owls held Navy to four straight drives without points as they forced a fumble and earned three-straight turnovers on downs on the final drive of the second and the entirety of the third. It was the best the defense had looked all season and it circles back to what has been an important key for the team all season: bend but do not break. FAU held strong on Saturday, but were worn down as the offense did not give their defense enough time to rest.

Run Defense Issues

Navy entered this game top three in the conference in rushing offense. So, it is not surprising that the Midshipmen took care of a Florida Atlantic defense on Saturday. Two players for Navy had over 100 yards rushing and as a team the Owls allowed nearly 400 yards on the ground.

One of those problems was allowing the big plays. Navy’s Horvath had four rushes for more than 15 yards with two of those resulting in touchdowns. It was clear that the mobile quarterbacks were a kryptonite of the FAU defense entering Saturday, but it was evident that the option Rice ran against this defense was nothing compared to what the Midshipmen had offensively.

Special Teams

K Garrison Smith finished two for three on the day while P Logan Lupo had one punt that ended up inside the five.

Closing Remarks

For a bowl game, the Owls must go no worse than 3-1. For now, that expectation should be an afterthought as this season needs to focus on development. Each week Florida Atlantic has a solid sign or performance from a position group or player, but FAU has been unable to earn a full-team production. 

That is something one needs to keep an eye on over the final four games. If the Owls can play as a team and bounce off of each other, then that will be a major accomplishment on the season for the young group.

Look Ahead

Florida Atlantic (3-5, 2-3 American) heads back to Boca Raton with a much needed rest week ahead. The Owls will have four games left after the bye with three of those contests played in Paradise. Tulsa will be the first team coming to the Flag as the Golden Hurricanes and Owls will face off at a to be determined time on November 8th.

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