FAU Turns Over The Ball, And Another Victory, Loses 27-17 to UTEP

Florida Atlantic is no longer one of the worst teams in Conference USA. They are now one of the worst in the country.

It took seven games to reach that conclusion, but after tonight there's no more denying it Owl fans.

FAU (1-6, 1-3) lost to the Texas-El Paso Miners (3-4, 1-2) 27-17 in the Sun Bowl Saturday night. For UTEP and Sean Kugler, it is a sign that with Mack Leftwich healthy, this team isn't completely lost.

For FAU, its a sign that things are going to get worse before this season is over.

The same problems that have plagued the Owls all year resurfaced once again. Two turnovers by senior quarterback Jaquez Johnson inside the 10-yard line, a dubious roughing the passer penalty, and Trey Rodriguez not getting enough touches doomed the Owls tonight.

Rodriguez was amazing once again today as he finished the game with 114 yards and one touchdown on just seven carries. If given the ball more I'm sure he would have been able to gash the Miners for 100 more yards.

After scoring 17 points in the second quarter, FAU scored zero in the second half despite finishing the game with 409 total yards of offense.

I know the team is extremely young as 17 freshmen played tonight but there's no excuse for losing this game.

Alas, the rebuild under Charlie Partridge continues.

Next week FAU plays FIU in the Shula Bowl on Halloween at FAU Stadium.