Carl Pelini takes over as coach after being the defensive coordinator at Nebraska over the last four years. He has inherited an experienced team of 15 starters and 46 lettermen returning. You can follow the odds on the Owls this season and get expert picks on most college football teams at Sports Free Picks.

Offense

Florida Atlantic was pathetic on the offensive side of the ball last year averaging just 12.9 points and 249 total yards/game. The offense committed a lot of turnovers, and their -9 turnover differential was a testament to that. With the seven starters returning and some solid Pelini recruits, the Owls should expect a huge improvement on this side of the ball.

Pelini brings in JUCO transplant Melvin German to be the team’s potential new starting quarterback. That should be a good thing as last year’s starter, Graham Wilbert, completed just 52.4 percent of this throws and threw a whopping 15 interceptions to just seven touchdowns.

The offense parts ways with their best player in running back Alfred Morris. He leaves as the school’s all-time leading rusher and also holds the record for all-purpose yards in a career at FAU. Xavier Stinson, their second-leading rusher, will likely take over the starting job.

The Owls welcome back three of their top four receivers in junior WR DeAndre Richardson, sophomore WR Marcus Cunningham and junior TE Nexon Dorvilus. JUCO transfer Terrell Mitchell could start ahead of Dorvilus at tight end and sophomore WR Derek Moise is expected to step into a starting role.

With three starters and 57 career starts returning, the offensive should improve immensely in the new season. The three starters coming back are junior C Jimmie Colley, senior LG Andy Czuprynski and junior RT Stern Vile. They also add in Minnesota transfer Johnathan Ragoo and he is expected to start at left tackle. Pelini has also recruited two JUCO transfers to help bolster the offensive line.

Defense

The Owls were bad on the defensive side of the ball last year as well. Opposing teams scored 34.7 points per game on them while putting up 392 yards of total offense per game. They return eight starters on this side of the ball, but they obviously need to improve significantly if this unit is going to be better this season.

The defensive line returns just one sack from last year and that could result in the defense being a little soft heading into the fall. Their returning starters are junior DE Cory Henry and senior DT Jimmy Jean. Junior DT David Baptiste and redshirt freshman Robinson Eugene will also start up front.

The Owls will have one of the most improved linebacker corps in the entire country with the return of their #1, #2 and #3 tacklers on this unit. They are senior David Hinds, junior Randell Johnson and sophomore Andrae Kirk.

FAU returns three starters in the secondary in junior corner Keith Reaser, junior corner Treon Howard and senior free safety Demetrius Willamson. They’ve also added JUCO transfers Tony Grimes and Jeremy McKnight, who could start right away in the defensive backfield.

Sun Belt Prediction – 9th Place

The Owls will definitely win more than a game in Pelini’s first year on the job. The offense should be much improved and their defense could surprise a lot of people as they have so much experience and talent returning. Pelini has done a solid job of recruiting JUCO transfers who are capable of helping out right away. Unfortunately, they have a very tough schedule ahead of them. They have a winnable home game against Noth Texas, but then they face Sun Belt title contenders in Troy, FIU and Louisiana at home. A lot of their easier matchups will be road games against Middle Tennessee, ULM, WKU and South Alabama. Their schedule makes it look like they will have just two conference wins, but they are more than capable of pulling off an upset or two.

This football season you can get all of the odds at Sports Free Picks, plus find expert picks from professional handicappers like Jack Jones.

Florida Atlantic Football: Why The Owls Finish At The Bottom Of The Conference is a post from: WiredWriter