This time last year, Florida Atlantic's football program was in a free fall. The Owls were in the middle of what would be a six-game losing streak, including a 44-21 loss to USF, amid reports of infighting on the coaching staff and other internal issues.
The turmoil resulted in the firing of head coach Tom Herman, who didn't even make it through his second season on the job after being hailed as the man to resurrect the program.
That was then. The Owls are giving off a distinctly different vibe now.
Here is some of what USF football coach Alex Golesh had to say about FAU and his team coming off the win at North Texas.https://t.co/YYxnaVBXRl pic.twitter.com/MXSE58ewjz
— USF Bulls | BullsInsider.com (@USFBulls_Rivals) October 15, 2025
Under first-year coach Zach Kittley, FAU is 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the American Conference. That doesn't sound terribly imposing, and the Owls are 21.5-point underdogs against USF on Saturday night at Raymond James Stadium. However, after inheriting a dumpster fire, Kittley seems to have the Owls pointed in the right direction.
"I've got a ton of respect for Zach. I kind of watched him from afar, offensively, what he's been able to do. They're different. They're unique," USF coach Alex Golesh said.
Kittley came to Boca Raton after serving as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Texas Tech for three years. He is a protégé of renowned quarterback whisperer Kliff Kingsbury and has brought the Air Raid offense, started by the late Tech coach Mike Leach, to FAU.
"From every stop -- at Houston Baptist, to Western Kentucky, to Tech, to where he is now, points get up on the board," Golesh said.
"The level of quarterback play, man, young dude, doing a lot of really, really good stuff. I got a ton of respect for him. I flipped the film on, and this football team is playing really hard. There's a ton of new faces. There are virtually new faces everywhere. They've won the last two it looks like a confident team. They're disciplined, they do it the right way. I've got a ton of respect for what they're doing. I think our players do as well."
The quarterback Golesh referenced is redshirt junior Caden Veltkamp. The Bulls' secondary is about to get a workout. Veltkamp leads the nation in completions per game (27.3), and he leads the conference in completion percentage (65.1%), passing yards (1,781), and touchdowns (14),
"It starts with him being really efficient. And when he's on, he's on incredible deep ball, really quick trigger, really quick release," Golesh said.
"They do a good job protecting him, and the scheme helps him get the ball out. They make it defend a ton of grass, similar to us in terms of tempo. They try to push it. I think an advantage for us is that our defense is practiced against tempo and defending the entire field for quite a while now."
Some of the Owls' offensive numbers may be a little deceiving, though. The Owls put up 56 points against FAMU, 27 points at Rice, and 53 last week against UAB in a game that got Blazers' coach Trent Dilfer fired. That's not exactly a murderers' row.
They have also been prone to giving up big point totals against better competition -- 39 against Maryland and 55 against Memphis.
"You look at them offensively, starting with the front, really, really big group, like it is a big offensive line for our league," Golesh said. "Like real size, like 315, plus across the board, six, four to six, eight. Like legitimate size.
The Bulls can't be caught looking ahead to the October 25 game at Memphis. This bunch doesn't seem like they would fall prey to that, however. The Bulls have been methodical all season in their preparation, and there's no reason to believe that will change now.
There's too much at stake, and the air raid sirens are blowing.