FAU Owls – 2022 Football Season Recap

A new era at FAU (Florida Atlantic University) has begun. 

In the hours immediately following the Owls’ 32-31 overtime loss to Western Kentucky on Nov. 26, a statement was released by the university announcing the firing of Willie Taggart. 

FAU vice president and director of athletics Brian White called the move a “difficult decision” in the statement, however, the timing and circumstances of the change could lead one to believe it was a much easier decision than advertised. 

The heartbreaking loss at the hands of Western Kentucky in the season finale that sealed the Owls’ second consecutive season missing a bowl game was a fitting end to a 2022 season, and Taggart’s three-year tenure, that can be characterized by disappointment. 

When Taggart signed on with FAU in 2019, he was billed as the man who would take the next step for FAU—build upon three glorious years under Lane Kiffin that included two conference titles and two bowl wins. 

His shortened, tumultuous stints at Oregon and Florida State left some doubt, but Taggart’s revival of a USF program that had two wins before he took over as head coach and stellar job at the helm of his alma mater, Western Kentucky, made him the man for the job. However, instead of taking the next step forward, the program seemed to come to a stall. 

Year one was the peak of Taggart’s time in Boca Raton. In 2020, a season shortened, and riddled with complications due to COVID-19, he led the Owls to a record of 5-4 and an appearance in the Montgomery Bowl where they fell to Memphis 25-10. Year two began a downward trend. In 2021 the Owls went 5-7, missing a bowl game, after being inconsistent. However, many, including Taggart himself, attributed some of their struggles, especially on offense, to not having an entire offseason with quarterback N’Kosi Perry, who transferred to FAU midway through the offseason. 

This season, however, time and excuses seemed to run out for Taggart. He had an entire offseason with his veteran quarterback, his third set of coordinators in three seasons, and a roster of building. FAU’s coming-transition to the American Athletic Conference, which was a season away at this point, wasn’t making his already-hot seat any cooler; time was ticking. 

The 2022 campaign for FAU started in Week 0, with the Owls playing host for a conference matchup with the Charlotte 49ers. Despite a disastrous opening drive, FAU dominated on both sides of the ball, taking down the 49ers 43-13 for a quality start to the year. 

After throttling Charlotte in Week 0, the Owls were next slated to take on the Ohio University Bobcats. Heading into Athens, OH, the Owls were six-point favorites and riding a wave of confidence following their blowout win a week earlier. After going into halftime up by four, the Owls’ defense collapsed, conceding 28 points in the second half. Despite Perry’s valiant, three-touchdown performance in the fourth quarter, FAU came up short on the final drive of the game, falling 41-38. 

After losing in disappointing fashion to Ohio, FAU had a week to right the ship before the toughest stretch of their schedule began; which they appeared to do, routing FCS opponent Southeastern Louisiana 42-9 at home. 

The following Saturday, FAU played host for a matchup with intrastate rival UCF Knights in what was arguably their most anticipated, and toughest matchup of the season. In front of a crowd of 30,991, an FAU Stadium record, the Owls’ had the Knights on the ropes, scoring on two of their first three possessions to go ahead 14-7 at the end of the first quarter. 

After a stellar first quarter for FAU, the floor gave out. In the final three quarters, the Owls allowed 33 unanswered points and were held to just 126 total yards on offense. What once looked like a potential upset, ultimately resulted in a 40-13 drubbing for FAU, in which they allowed 653 total yards—a statistical anomaly even for the Knights’ high-powered offense.

There wasn’t much time for them to lick their wounds, as they immediately began preparing for a trip to West Lafayette for another tough matchup with Purdue. 

Against a banged-up Purdue, who had their backup quarterback seeing his first start in two and half years, the Owls went down early after conceding a touchdown on the opening drive. Thanks in part to a three touchdown performance from wide receiver LaJohntay Wester, the Owls clawed their way to a 13-7 lead, the first time FAU had led a power-five opponent since 2011. 

After the offenses went back-and-forth throughout the second half, Wester’s third touchdown catch and the ensuing failed two-point conversion attempt left the Owls down 28-26. The defense forced a punt on the following drive, leaving one final dive for the Owls to snap a 26-game losing streak against power-five opponents. However, Perry fumbled the ball away on a fourth-down quarterback sneak, sealing the loss. 

Two different, but equally disappointing, losses back-to-back in winnable games can be demoralizing, but there was still plenty of time for the Owls and Taggart to turn things around as their conference schedule began against North Texas. 

However, on the road in Denton, Texas, Taggart’s achilles heel of away games once again exposed itself as North Texas torched the Owls’ defense in a 45-28 loss. The defeat moved FAU’s record to 2-4, and moved Taggart’s record on the road to 2-11 as Owls’ head coach. 

A 17-14 victory over the Rice Owls the following week, in which the offense struggled immensely, left some hope as it left FAU 2-1 in C-USA. 

After the first of their two bye weeks, much of that hope started to slip away, and questions about security suddenly started getting louder as the Owls moved to 0-4 on the road on the season in a 24-21 loss to UTEP. It was a closely contested matchup throughout, and remained that way as kicker Morgan Suarez tied the game at 21 apiece, giving the Miners the ball back with 4:36 in the fourth quarter. However, the game ended in a 24-21 victory for the Miners’ as kicker Gavin Baechele made a walk-off field goal as time expired.

Demoralized once again, but still not all was lost as they still were in contention for an appearance in the C-USA Championship with four games remaining. 

Sitting at 4-4, FAU hosted a matchup against familiar conference foe, UAB. On the back of arguably Perry’s strongest showing of the season, which included two spectacular, NFL-caliber touchdown passes, the Owls took down the Blazers 24-17. 

The following week the Owls traveled 45 minutes south to take on rival Florida International in Shula Bowl XXI, earning their first road win of the season in a 52-7 blowout victory. The game wasn’t close from the opening kickoff, as the Owls intercepted a pass on the first play from scrimmage, and it was their sixth consecutive victory over FIU. 

At this point in the season, FAU was 5-5, 4-2 in C-USA, with two games left. A conference championship appearance was a long shot, though still possible, but the Owls could clinch bowl eligibility with one win. 

A little over a year earlier, Taggart and the Owls found themselves in a very similar situation. Eight games into the 2021 season, FAU was 5-3 and in strong contention for an appearance in the C-USA Championship—they proceeded to lose four straight, missing the conference championship and bowl eligibility. 

In similar fashion to a year earlier, with the season on the line, the Owls collapsed, losing back-to-back games to end the season. 

First, to Middle Tennessee on the road, in a 49-21 loss in which the Owls’ defense allowed 448 passing yards, 615 total. Then, again in the season finale to Western Kentucky in a 32-31 overtime loss. 

Hours after the loss to the Hilltoppers, FAU announced the firing of Taggart. In three seasons as the Owls’ head coach, Taggart had an overall record 15-18; which included 11-11 in C-USA and a rough 3-13 on the road. 

The university moved quickly with their search process for a new head coach. On Dec. 1, six days after parting ways with Taggart, FAU hired Tom Herman as head coach, first reported by Brett McMurphy of The Action Network. 

Prior to taking over at FAU, Herman was the head coach at the University of Houston and the University of Texas. At Houston, Herman, who was named AAC Coach of the Year, led the Cougars to a 22-4 record in two seasons, which included a win in the 2015 Peach Bowl win over Florida State. At Texas, he led the Longhorns to a record of 32-18 and four consecutive bowl wins, including a win over the SEC powerhouse Georgia Bulldogs in the 2018 Sugar Bowl. Herman was also a fantastic recruiter while at the helm in Austin, reeling in multiple third nationally ranked recruiting classes. 

Herman has already got to work leaving his mark on the program. On Dec. 19, Pete Thamel of ESPN reported that FAU would be hiring Roc Bellantoni as defensive coordinator, who previously held the same position at both FAU and Washington State. He’s also brought aboard former James Madison University head coach Everett Withers as assistant head coach and defensive passing game coordinator.

Herman also has begun building his roster at FAU. After the national early signing period ended on Dec. 23, FAU holds the sixth-ranked recruiting class in the AAC, according to On3 Sports. 

The 2023 season will be the beginning of a new era for FAU Football: a new conference as they join the AAC, as well as a new quarterback, as Perry ended his final season of eligibility.

Now, the Owls will have a new man at the helm in Tom Herman.