Howard Schnellenberger gave the warning before the 2008 football season even started.
During Sun Belt Media Days back in July, the eighth-year Florida Atlantic head coach cautioned anyone interested in anointing the Owls as the runaway favorite to repeat as Sun Belt champions. The program went 8-5 the previous season, sharing the league title with Troy before blowing out Memphis in the New Orleans Bowl.
"Remember that what happened in the past has no bearing on the future," Schnellenberger said at the time. "We will have a better football team this year than we had last year."
The rest of the story
Joshua Parrott • jparrott@theadvertiser.com • November 15, 2008
BOCA RATON — Nobody in the country will face a ground game with a better running back/quarterback combination - at least statistically - than Florida Atlantic will Saturday.
Louisiana running back Tyrell Fenroy and quarterback Michael Desormeaux combine for more than 230 yards per game on the ground, with Fenroy fifth in the nation at 130.8 yards.
Their total, which comes out of a spread option offense, is more than that of 111 teams in the bowl subdivision.
"They are two of the best when it comes to running the football," Owls linebacker Frantz Joseph said.
The Ragin' Cajuns' are 5-4 overall and bring a 4-0 Sun Belt Conference record into Saturday's 4 p.m. game at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
FAU (4-5, 2-2) has won three straight, albeit against sub-par competition, and must win its final three games to have any chance to repeat as conference champion.
Fenroy, a senior, is making history at Lafayette. He is the Sun Belt's all-time leading rusher (4,448 yards) and the NCAA active rushing leader. He is just the seventh player in NCAA history with four consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons.
If he isn't the favorite to follow FAU's Rusty Smith as the Sun Belt player of the year, then Desormeaux is. He is 15th in the nation in total offense with an average of 284 yards per game.
Overall, Lafayette is averaging 479.6 yards. The Sun Belt record is 481.4 by Middle Tennessee in 2001. Stopping the Ragin' Cajuns' complex and talented offense obviously isn't easy.
"There are so many positions where you can mess up and they can capitalize off that," Joseph said. "It's all about keeping your assignments."
FAU coach Howard Schnellenberger said the key is finding a balance between keeping those assignments and the hot pursuit that sometimes is necessary.
"It would be nice to have both," he said. "Take care of your own responsibility first and then get on the hunt."
By TOM D'ANGELO
Palm Beach Post
Gee, finally you post something I can agree with you on.
With the population in the greater Lafayette area, the Cajun enrollment, and the passion for college football found in the South, there is no good reason you shouldn't be able to reach the attendance figures you suggested. Hell, given the things I mentioned, 15-20 thousand should find their way on campus on a nice fall evening by accident.
We shall see next year with the OSU game. I might even have to try making that one. Thing is, I wear the evil grab to sporting events, but that should be ok...chants don't bother me.
Lonnie:
Great to see you are still kicking up a storm.
I'm senior project manager for a disabled veteran owned construction company. Doing work all over the east (east of Mississippi for fed government, set-aside programs.
Oldest son going in Air Force on Tuesday. middle son in college and dating a beauty queen.
Youngest son is a senior and talking about Navy.
Been a rough year. Mom had been sick for last 5-years. So i was back to DeRidder about every three months. She died in April (88), buried her with my dad in Arlington in May. Both WW-2 vets from pacific. Dad died in service in 64.
Me, I'm trying to get back to Lafayette and work for UL. Just waiting for T-joe to make offer.
Later,
Trigger
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