The Owls travel to West Virginia in Week 7 to take on the Cato-less Marshall Thundering Herd, after a win against UAB last week.
A business trip to Huntington, WV has been a struggle for the Owls in the past. This year though, the Herd are without star QB Rakeem Cato, who suffered a likely career ending injury in week one. He was a perfect modern QB, with good arm strength and an ability to run when needed.
Cato underwent surgery 5 weeks ago, and it appears as though he will be able to lead a normal life despite the scary injury.
The Owls defense needs to be better. This season, the team has been abysmal against the pass and has allowed the 4th most points. On the bright side, Lance Burlingame needs just one sack to break the school record. He is currently 11th in the nation in that category.
Stephen Curtis, again, needs a good game. He hasn't been exceptional this year and will definitely need to step up against a good Marshall secondary. Jonathan Wallace is looking to break the 100 yard and TD game for the 3rd time in a row.
Despite the loss of Rakeem Cato, we still have Marshall taking this game, not by a large margin but they'll still pull out a win. Marhsall's running game and back-7 are quite impressive, while Curtis is not. Turnovers will be big as Marshall will take it 24-17.
__________________ "It's not about how hard you can hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward"
After the Redshirt Sophomore lost the starting QB spot to Clint Clief, and dropped to 3rd in depth behind Redshirt freshman, Daxx Garman after a foot injury, he made the tough decision on Thursday.
"Oklahoma State will always hold a place in my heart. I grew up a Cowboys fan and have enjoyed the last 2 and a half years here, however after talking with my family it became apparent that the best thing for me was to transfer. I'd like to thank coach Mike Gundy and the entire Cowboys staff for my time here. I'd also like to thank my teammates and the fans, you guys made this one helluva ride."
He tore his Plantar Fasciitis last week in a game against Kansas State after Clint Clief headed to the sideline for a few plays after tweaking his oblique. He is not expected to miss any games.
When asked where Walsh considered transferring, he gave the media many answers and left it to them to figure it out.
"Well, obviously I haven't talked to any teams as of yet, but there's a few options I've thought about. I don't know if I'm allowed to name any names but I like some teams in the American, some C-USA teams, and I've contemplated the idea of going to another Power 5 conference. We'll see.
A speculated landing spot for J.W. Walsh is actually FAU. The Owls offensive Co-ordinator Brian Wright coached Walsh at Guyer High School. And with J.W.'s skill set, and the Owls offense it seems like a match made in heaven. However, the possibility of starting for a Power 5 conference team has to be alluring.
Walsh said earlier in the presser "I'll think and pray a lot about my decision but I know I'll make the right choice."
Hopefully, for Owls nation, the right choice is FAU.
__________________ "It's not about how hard you can hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward"
Last edited by DrGravyBoat; 07-31-2016 at 01:22 PM.
If you could snag him, that would be such a boost. Obviously some time away from playing, but damn. What is his speed like?
Thanks for the comment,
He would really kickstart the offense I have planned. He's got a good arm, and he's a great runner. As for his speed, its an 87. As a Junior, he'd have to sit out but when he's a Senior, he'll like have 93+ speed at the least.
With Stephen Curtis struggling, it'd be nice to bring in another option at QB. And with Walsh, his Senior year will coincide perfectly with a talented year offensively when my recruits will be beginning to start. It'll be great if we do end up getting him.
__________________ "It's not about how hard you can hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward"
Today, we saw how bad the defence truly is, and how well our offence can play...
On a 4th and 10 with 10 in coverage, we allowed a TD with 0:00 on the clock, to drop to 3-3 on the year with a 55-52 loss, against Marshall on the road.
The game started well for the Owls, as Lance Burlingame broke the single season school record for sacks on the first defensive series of the game, while forcing a 3 and out. The offence responded with Jonathan Wallace's first fumble on the year. Marshall scored 4 plays later with a Ty Shuler 13 yard reception from Blake Frohnapfel starting in place of the injured Rakeem Cato. The response was much better from the offence this time, as a brilliant rushing attack spearheaded by Wallace led to a 7 yard reception by Nexon Dorvilus to tie the game. However, Marshall responded with a Kevin Glooms 6 yard run, to restore the lead. FAU would punt on the series, giving Marshall possession. Fortunately for the Owls, Chris Leblanc would intercept a pass and go 42 yards to the house with 38 seconds to go in the first quarter, knotting the game at 14.
59 seconds into the 2nd quarter, and the Marshall lead had been restored. Shawney Kersey found paydirt off a 16 yard catch and run. A Stephen Curtis interception, followed by a 50 Jason Haig field goal gave Marshall a 10 point advantage. The Owls, would step up as Curtis would score on a 12 yard scamper, then Jenson Stoshak scored on a 32 yard reception to give FAU a short lived 4 point lead. Ty Shuler would score again with 24 seconds to go, and another FAU interception (albeit on a deep ball) gave Marshall a chance to go up by 6 heading into half. Martese Jackson stood in the endzone and fielded the short kick, getting quite a decent return almost scoring before Marshall finally stopped him.
The 3rd quarter began with FAU's possession, as they looked to tie or take the lead.They did the latter, after another amazing rushing display, Alex Deleon recorded his first ever rushing touchdown on a triple option from 6 yards out. Again, the lead was short lived. Derrick Evans scored from 4 yards out on a reception to restore Marshall's 3 point lead. To end the 3rd, Mitch Anderson and Haig traded field goals, 41-38 Marshall.
7 seconds in, Wallace took a direct snap to the house, from 27 yards out, to give FAU its lead back. The teams would trade possessions before Kevin Grooms scored off a 45 yard catch and bulldozing run. FAU took its sweet time, with Melvin German III at the helm, as Curtis sustained an "injury". With the Backup QB, it didn't matter as German led a prominent drive, capped with Wallace's second TD of the game, with only 45 ticks on the clock. That's when Blake Frohnapfel stepped up... big time. He led a great drive, all the way to the FAU 9. However, an incompletion and 2 sacks set up the Herd with a 4th and 10, 6 seconds left. Dropping 10 in coverage, somehow Frohnapfel found Angelo Jean-Louis stealing a win from FAU, with no time left.
Marshall 55-52 FAU.
Player of the Game: Blake Frohnapfel: 48/58, 503 Yards, 6 TDs
Florida Atlantic Owls
PASSING
C/A
YDS
TD
INT
S. Curtis
8/15
115
2
2
M. German II
3/3
38
0
0
RUSHING
ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
J. Wallace
19
152
8.0
2
D. Fortner
3
16
5.3
0
RECEIVING
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
W. Dukes
3
20
6.6
0
J. Stoshak
3
54
18.0
1
N. Dorvilus
2
33
16.5
1
A Deleon
1
17
17.0
0
DEFENSE
TACK
SACK
INT
TD
A. Glanton
11
0
0
0
J. McKnight
8
1
0
0
K. Reaser
6
0
0
0
R. Johnson
6
0
0
0
C. Leblanc
5
0
1
1
L. Burlingame
1
1
0
0
Marshall Thundering Herd
PASSING
C/A
YDS
TD
INT
B. Frohnapfel
48/58
503
6
2
RUSHING
ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
K. Grooms
6
44
7.3
1
B. Frohnapfel
6
-19
-3.1
0
RECEIVING
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
D. Evans
11
102
9.2
1
S. Kersey
8
59
7.2
1
T. Shuler
6
66
11.0
2
E. Frohnapfel
5
90
18.0
0
A. Jean-Louis
5
50
10.0
1
DEFENSE
TACK
SACK
INT
TD
J. Holmes
10
0
0
0
S. Samuels
9
0
1
0
C. Wilson
4
0
0
0
M. Johnson
3
0
0
0
J. Taylor
3
0
0
0
D. Thomas
3
0
0
0
__________________ "It's not about how hard you can hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward"