New FAU Stadium a hit, but score disappoints

Posted on 20 October 2011 by LeslieM

By Scott Morganroth

On Oct. 15, 2010, ground was broken on the new FAU stadium and, exactly one year later, the $70 million facility hosted the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers as the start of a new era began in FAU Sports History.

Construction workers worked seven days a week, giving up their Sundays, to make Saturday’s opener a reality. This is the only stadium in the United States where you can see the Atlantic Ocean, only 2.1 miles away.

But the road to this beautiful venue saw Coach Howard Schnellenberger, Athletic Director Craig Angelos, former President Frank Brogan and his successor Dr. Mary Jane Saunders witness some lopsided defeats to some of the most heralded football programs in the country.

FAU took the guaranteed large payouts to Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, South Carolina, Texas and USF.

There were four notable wins as FAU defeated Hawaii, Central Michigan, Memphis and Minnesota.

A year ago, the Michigan State Spartans were supposed to open up FAU Stadium, but that never materialized. FAU’s home game was moved to Ford Field as the Owls shared a home with the Detroit Lions. FAU lost this game, 30-17.

So instead of seeing the Spartans, Owls fans saw their team lose 0-20 to the Hilltoppers in front of 29,103 people. Score could have been worse for FAU if Western Kentucky would have converted three field goals and an extra point.

But these numbers tell the story!

FAU had only six first downs, 25 rushing and 121 total yards. More importantly, Owls fans will have to wait until Saturday against Middle Tennessee State to see the first points in the new stadium at 8 p.m.

On Saturday, No. 23 Michigan State defeated state rival No. 11 Michigan 28-14 in East Lansing, a place that wasn’t kind to the Owls earlier this year. The Spartans whitewashed FAU 44-0 on Sept. 10 in East Lansing.

When the contest was over, there was a huge sense of happiness and relief that the new on-campus stadium dream has become a reality.

By the same token, now that the opener is over, reality has set in that FAU is, currently, 0-6 and 0-3 in the Sun Belt Conference. Owls are in last place and know they have to start winning games.

Quarterback David Kooi said, “Our offense was shaky and we put no points on the board. We didn’t execute and just hurt ourselves. This was a great atmosphere and we didn’t get the job done. I just want to say I’m sorry to the fans.”

Running back Alfred Morris added, “I’m very disappointed and wanted it so bad. We just couldn’t get it together. This was a very exciting atmosphere. It was crazy. We’ll try to get them next time.”

Senior defensive back Marcus Bartels was in a somber mood when he said, “I never expected this. We feel like we let everybody down. I want to apologize to the fans.”

Coach Schnellenberger said,” I’ve never been in a situation like this before. We worked so hard and so long to make this stadium. We played badly on the offensive side of the ball. We expected to win this game, but, yet, played so poorly in front of dedicated fans. That’s what happened and I have to deal with that. I’m the coach and I have to do fix this situation.”

Former Owls QB Rusty Smith, now of the Tennessee Titans, came in town due to his teams bye week. On this day, the Owls could have used him in his old No.11 jersey.

But now, the stadium is open for business. The team has to focus on winning since there will be no more hype. It’s all business as the Owls hope to send Schnellenberger out on a respectable note with six games left in his 52-year coaching career.

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