A Look Ahead to UCF’s 2022 Road Matchup Versus Florida Atlantic

The UCF Knights will travel to Boca Raton for the third matchup with the FAU Owls since 2018.

Jack Edwards | Apr 8, 2022

UCF and Florida Atlantic will face off on September 17th at FAU Stadium. These two teams played in 2018 and 2019, with UCF winning both of those matchups decisively. FAU took a step back last year in its second season under head coach (and familiar foe for UCF) Willie Taggart, finishing the year 5-7 with just one FBS win over a team with a winning record (UTEP). The program also has one of its weakest recruiting classes in the last few years coming through for 2022. However, they do have six incoming transfers from Power Five schools as well. Let’s take a look at what to expect out of the Owls next season.

Quarterback Play

The Owl offense was led in 2021 by quarterback N’Kosi Perry, a transfer from Miami (FL), and he will likely assume the reins in 2022 as well, which will be his fifth season. Through the air, Perry was not elite by any means, but he got the job done throwing for 2,771 yards and 20 touchdowns to 7 interceptions. His accuracy has been spotty throughout his career at both Miami and FAU, but Perry's timing on throws and his patience have largely led to the success he has seen to this point.

Perry's major downfall last year, and something that kept the FAU offense down at times, was his overconfidence in his legs. Perry ran with the ball 106 times last season for a total of just 154 yards. That comes out to an ugly 1.5 yards per carry on almost nine rush attempts per game. UCF has historically struggled to contain running quarterbacks, however, even with the amount of rush attempts Perry takes, it is tough to put him in the “running quarterback” category. UCF’s defense will likely divert its focus elsewhere.

Johnny Ford

FAU got huge contributions from another incoming transfer last year in Johnny Ford, who came in from South Florida. The speedster ran for 831 yards and five touchdowns and ranked 12th in the FBS with 6.3 yards per carry. He also displayed a capability to be a reliable pass catcher out of the backfield, with 23 receptions for 280 yards and two touchdowns, bringing his total scrimmage yards on the year to 1,111.

Ford has faced UCF twice in the past during his time at South Florida. In 2018 vs the Knights, he ran for 120 yards on 7.5 yards per carry, as well as a receiving touchdown. In the 2019 game, he ran for 58 yards and a touchdown.

Defense

The FAU defense was not great last year. Overall, they ranked 109th in total defense, allowing over 400 yards per game, and 104th in passing defense, giving up just over 250 per game. Surprisingly though, they actually were the ninth best red zone defense in terms of scoring percentage, only allowing a touchdown or field goal 71% of the time in the red zone.

The Owls also will lose four of their top five leading tacklers from last year, all of whom were seniors, so they will be looking for production out of new guys going into 2022. They will bring in a new defensive coordinator, Todd Orlando. A struggle that teams have faced with Orlando at defensive coordinator, most recently at USC, is tackling. Look for UCF to evade tacklers all game long.

Final Thoughts

FAU will likely be one of the weaker teams on the docket for the Knights. While UCF should not overlook FAU, this is a game that has a chance to get ugly quickly, with the programs currently trending in opposite directions.

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