Spring practices are in the books and
fall camps will be here before you know it so that means
getting an early jump on handicapping the 2006
college
football picks
this season.
Knowing the teams now will save you time in August and Matt
Fargo is here to help you get a grasp of what to expect this
upcoming year. We go from worst to first in this 2006
NCAA Football Preview.
Fargo’s Take Another Owl team rounds out the bottom two in
college football and this one is from the south. Florida
Atlantic hung around in a few games and actually won two of
them in its first full season in the SBC. The problem last
season was that the offense was stagnant and likely won’t be
better with the loss of the Owls best player and leader,
quarterback Danny Embick. This team averaged just 13.5 ppg
last season and the biggest question is where the points
will come from. The defense wasn’t much better, allowing
30.8 ppg but it did improve once conference action got under
way. The most optimistic aspect is that Florida Atlantic is
part of the Sun Belt and with it being the quirkiest and
most unpredictable conference in the nation, anything can
happen. How this team reacts when conference action begins
will be the thing to watch since this team is going to start
out 0-4 and a very bad 0-4 for that matter.
Returning Starters on Offense – 8The loss of Embick
means there is hardly any experience at quarterback to
control the offense. The Owls were one of only 13 teams that
averaged fewer than 300 yards of total offense and finished
116th in scoring average. Even with Embick at quarterback,
Florida Atlantic finished 95th in passing offense so the
inexperience might not be a huge problem after all. The
running game is where the most experience returns as the
Owls lost no one and will count on Charles Pierre and the
versatile D’Ivory Edgecomb to carry the load until the new
signal caller gets familiar with the offense.
Returning Starters on Defense – 7The defense was
extremely inconsistent last season and that needs to change
for this team to improve. The Owls held Oklahoma St. to 23
points and Sun Belt champion Arkansas St. to 10 points but
also allowed 52 points to fellow basement dweller Florida
International. Florida Atlantic yielded just under 400 ypg
which was rather respectable but considering it was part of
the worst conference in the country, it was pretty below
average. The unit returns seven starters from last season so
there is definitely a chance for improvement. It all
revolves around stopping the run where they allowed 218.1
ypg and 4.9 ypc, 116th and 111th respectively.
Schedule Playing in the SBC means a relatively easy slate
however the non-conference schedule for the Owls is
impossible. They start out with four straight road games and
they are not against average teams. Clemson, Kansas St.,
Oklahoma St. and South Carolina are four sure losses and
while these tough games can prepare them for conference
play, it could totally deflate the confidence early on. The
fifth game is also on the road in their SBC opener at ULM.
Four of the final six games are at home and that could mean
a couple wins to close out the season.
You can bet on… The brutal start to the season can work for
or against the Owls and I’m guessing it will do good. The
team didn’t quit last season after a tough non-conference
schedule and won’t do so again and that is due to the
experienced coaching staff led by legend Howard
Schnellenberger. The pivotal game is the fifth road game
against ULM since it is the first game against an equal foe
and the first of the second season. The Owls have covered
only six of their 17 lined games in their history of 1-A and
the going will be tough starting out once again this season.
Expect to see some huge lines in the first four games and
some possible covers.
