Florida Atlantic has struggled with committing penalties all season.
The Owls rank 108th in penalties per game (7.4) in the nation and 105th in penalties yards per game (67).
They’ve been especially undisciplined recently, with both numbers experiencing an uptick in the last three games, and their struggles avoiding committing fouls were on display against during its Conference USA matchup against Marshall on Friday
FAU committed four penalties for 58 yards in the first quarter while the Thundering Herd gained 95 yards on 17 plays.
Senior cornerback Chris Tooley committed a 15-yard pass interference on the game’s first play to move Marshall from its own 24 to 39. Two plays later, redshirt sophomore safety Ahman Ross was called for a face masking penalty that cost the Owls another 15 yards and put the Thundering Herd in FAU territory.
The Owls’ committed their third penalty of the on the same drive. Redshirt senior cornerback Meiko Dotson was called for a 15-yard pass interference on Marshall’s third-and-5 play from FAU’s 36. Instead of having to punt or go for a 53-yard field goal, the Thundering Herd finished the drive with a 30-yard field goal.
Tooley committed another pass interference towards the end of the first quarter. The Owls committed five total penalties for 63 yards in the first half.
Korel dresses
Redshirt junior cornerback Korel Smith was dressed for gameplay against the Thundering Herd. He had been out for the past month with an undisclosed injury hadn’t played since the Owls’ Sept. 7 game against UCF.
FAU suffered multiple injuries to its defensive back unit to start the season. Junior cornerback James Pierre returned to action during the Owls’ 28-13 victory against Middle Tennessee on Oct. 11. He missed FAU’s game against Charlotte and Sept. 28.
Smith didn’t play a snap during the first half against the Thundering Herd.
Running game struggles
Malcolm Davidson emerged as a stabilizer in FAU’s backfield in the last two games. He had his breakthrough against Charlotte, leading an Owls’ season-high 236-yard rushing attack with 83 yards and two touchdowns.
He became the Owls’ first 100-yard rusher in a game this season against Middle Tennessee, recording career-highs of 21 rushing attempts and 149 yards (7.1 yards per attempt) against the Blue Raiders.
But he, along with the rest of the running game, stalled during the first half against Marshall. Davidson rushed for 18 yards on six carries in the first half with FAU totaling 11 total rushing yards on 18 attempts in the half.
The Owls’ offense stalled after having a strong first quarter, only recording 44 yards on 15 plays in the second quarter.
