Daniel Shirey-US PRESSWIRE
The Alabama Crimson Tide’s offense has had little trouble putting up points so far this season, averaging slightly under 43 points per game, and scoring 40+ in both games against opponents from BCS conferences.
That’s bad news for Florida Atlantic, as the Owls rank 30th in the nation in scoring defense, giving up 30 points per game in their first three, and that number is skewed a bit thanks to the Owls holding Wagner to 3 points in their season opener. Georgia did whatever they wanted offensively last week to the tune of 56 points and a video game-like 713 yards of total offense.
Don’t expect the Crimson Tide to put up that many yards, but the Owls will certainly have their hands full against the Alabama offense on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Florida Atlantic’s front seven has been soft this year. They rank 115th in the nation in run defense, and have given up 253 yards per game on the ground this year. That’s bad news against an Alabama offense that is led by the best offensive line in the country and has a number of capable running backs to pound the rock against the Owls.
If Florida Atlantic doesn’t contain Alabama’s rushing attack, then this game will be over very quickly.
The Owls also haven’t had much in the way of a pass rush. They have racked up just two sacks in three games, and that has to be good news for Tide QB AJ McCarron, who should be able to pick apart their secondary if given ample time to locate his receivers.
With a new coaching staff, Florida Atlantic shifted from a 3-4 defensive set to a 4-3 in 2012, but it hasn’t yielded results just yet as the defense has really struggled so far. The defensive line is led by two experienced starters in Cory Henry and Jimmy Jean.
Henry made headlines recently with his comments about Alabama being able to be beat, which has been completely blown out of proportion by the media. Of course Henry is going to say that. If he doesn’t genuinely believe the Owls have a chance to win the football game, then why even step on the field? He should be confident. What else would you have him say? “Alabama is going to dominate us, and it’s pointless for us to even take the field against these guys?”
No. He’s a competitor, and I’m glad he’s acting like one.
At linebacker, the Owls are led by probably the best player on the entire defense in senior David Hinds. Hinds is the team’s leader in tackles with 28. Hinds teamed with junior Randell Johnson gives Florida Atlantic one of the best linebacker duos in the Sun Belt. Adarius Glanton has also made a strong impact this year.
Florida Atlantic’s pass defense has been better than their run defense, but why throw the ball when team’s have had so much success taking to the ground against Pelini’s defense. They rank 60th in the nation in pass defense, giving up 218 yards per game. That puts them at 102nd in the country in total defense.
The Owls secondary is led by safety Jeremy McKnight, the 5-foot-10 junior who is second on the team in tackles and has an interception. Starting at corner should be Keith Reaser and Treon Howard.
Their defense has been opportunistic this season by forcing 7 turnovers (3 INTs and 4 fumbles). The bad news is that even though they have forced that many turnovers this year, their offense has turned the ball over 8 times already this year, and against Alabama’s defense which has forced an NCAA leading 12 turnovers in three games, the Owls will put extra emphasis on holding on to the football.
After a 1-11 year in 2011, everyone knew Carl Pelini wasn’t going to change things around in Boca Raton overnight and this team is still in big-time rebuilding mode as Howard Schnellenberger didn’t exactly leave the cupboard full of blue-chip recruits.
Defensively, the Owls have made some strides, especially against the pass, but their abysmal run defense will be their demise in Tuscaloosa this weekend.
You can read my offensive breakdown here.
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