Florida Atlantic Owls College Football Preview 2026: Can Zach Kittley’s Offense Dominate?
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Florida Atlantic has everything in place to win.
The legendary Howard Schnellenberger started the program and went 9-3 in the inaugural 2004 season. Since then, though, the Owls have just five winning seasons in the last 21 years.
Lane Kiffin proved it’s possible to win big in paradise, and current head coach Zach Kittley appears ready to make FAU a major player in the American.
Known for being the offensive coordinator for a high-powered then-named Houston Baptist program, and then at Western Kentucky and Texas Tech, Kittley – who’ll be just 35 when the season starts – has the players, the offensive system, and the schedule to come up with the first winning season since 2020.
After a year to get the lightning-fast offense up to speed, here we go.
Florida Atlantic Quick Hits
- Head Coach: Zach Kittley (2nd year at FAU, 4-8)
- Best Case / Worst Case: Be in the AAC title hunt/Another losing season
- Key Player: Easton Messer, WR Sr.
- 2025 Record: 4-8
- Biggest Question: Can the offense stop with all the turnovers?
– American Conference Win Total Predictions
Florida Atlantic Key 2025 Stats
- Total Yards: Florida Atlantic 5,336, Opponents 5,238
- Second Half Scoring: Opponents 210, Florida Atlantic 139
- Interceptions Thrown: Florida Atlantic 20, Opponents 3
Offense
The entire point of hiring Zach Kittley was to crank up a gazillion yards, a gazillion points, and make the Florida Atlantic offense the most fun in college football.
It wasn’t always smooth or consistent, but in terms of the wild part, mission accomplished. And best of all, most of the top players return to do it all again, only better.
What’s Working
The offense. Again, there were problems, but the Owls were 98th in the nation in rushing and 56th overall in 2024. In the first year under Kittley it was 22nd in total yards, and No. 1 in passing – and by a mile.
North Texas and its high-powered attack finished second in the nation with 318 passing yards per game. Florida Atlantic averaged 340.2.
The main men are back. The Owls were able to keep almost all of the players who made it go last year.
Quarterback Caden Veltkamp threw for 3,641 yards and 24 touchdowns, Easton Messer caught an AAC-most 104 passes for over 1,000 yards, and there are more than enough receivers coming in through the portal who want to be a part of the fun.
Good things happened when the Owls ran well. The offense is about the speed, the passing attack, and the tempo, but when the ground game was able to provide a burst, FAU won. It was 4-3 when averaging over just 2.7 yards per carry, and 0-5 when it didn’t.
What Needs Work
Interceptions. More on this later about the overall turnover margin, but it started with the interceptions. Florida Atlantic gave up a nation-most 20 interceptions and 29 turnovers overall. UTEP also threw 20 picks, but no one else gave away more than 17.
The offense didn’t move like it should have. The overall yards were there, but third down conversions weren’t, partly because there aren’t a ton of downfield plays with this style. It’s all about the short-to-midrange passes, and not enough of them moved the chains.
The ground game didn’t do enough. The carries were there, but the production wasn’t. Florida Atlantic lost all six times it wasn’t able to get to 100 yards, and statistically, it wasn’t because of sacks – the O line was fine in pass protection. The rushing attack wasn’t good enough.
Player to Watch
Easton Messer, WR Sr.
Part of the Western Kentucky offense under Kittley, he came to FAU and caught everything – and averaged 20.8 yards per punt return, too. He closed with 30 catches over the last three games as the short-range target to keep going to.
Defense
The defense is just along for the ride.
The offense put up lots of yards, and the defense gave them right back in game after game. The pressure and pass rush weren’t bad, but getting off the field was a problem, and the run defense was among the worst in the nation.
On the positive side, it’s an experienced bunch returning.
What’s Working
The linebacking talent is strong. Leading tackler Leon Hart is back at his weakside spot after coming up with 96 tackles in an All-AAC season, and even with middle man Tyler Stolsky going off to West Virginia, things are just fine with Nate Fischer coming in from San Diego – he’s coming off a 97-tackle season.
There was plenty of pressure in the backfield. It came from all sides, with tackle CJ Doggette leading the way with four sacks, and Deshawun Batiste and Wilky Denaud bringing the heat from the outside. They’re all back.
Things weren’t too bad when the run defense held up. It was a rough go for the defensive front, giving up close to five yards per carry with the nation’s 126th-ranked run defense.
But the team came through when the D wasn’t totally miserable, going 4-3 when allowing fewer than 215 yards on the ground.
What Needs Work
Get off the field. It’s the problem with the Kittley offense. It goes so fast that when it can’t move the chains, the defense is always on the field.
The Owls had the ball for fewer than 28 minutes per game, and the defense had a hard time holding up. More third down stops are a must.
When the run defense didn’t have it, forget it. Teams that could run and were committed to it were able to dominate the Owls. The FAU run defense got destroyed for an average of 288 rushing yards in five blowout losses.
More takeaways are a must. It takes both sides to tango when it comes to awful turnover margins. The Owl offense turned it over in bunches, and the defense was constantly put in awful positions.
But the D didn’t do its part to come up with big plays, with just eight takeaways on the season and only one game with multiple forced turnovers.
Player to Watch
Leon Hart Jr., LB Sr.
Built more like a bigger safety than a true linebacker, he gets all over the place. He missed a little time, but he still put up a whopper of a season with six double-digit tackle games.
Keys to the Season
Everything has to be done better and sharper.
The overall style will lead to rough moments for the defense, the occasional turnover, and there will be times when the whole thing bogs down. But when it’s all humming, Florida Atlantic should be a bad day for just about anyone in the American.
Player Who Needs To Shine
Caden Veltkamp, QB Sr.
The guy knows the system, and now he has to be better at running it. Veltkamp bombed away for close to 7,000 yards over the last two seasons – one at WKU and one at FAU – with 49 touchdown passes.
He gave up 27 interceptions, though. If the 2024 Conference USA Player of the Year is sharper, everything else will fall into place.
Biggest Concern
The turnovers. To keep harping on this, because it really was what killed last season, how bad was the turnover problem? Only 13 out of the 136 finished last year with a turnover margin of -10 or worse. Three teams tied for the second-worst turnover margin at -13. Florida Atlantic finished last year -21 in turnover margin.
Biggest Game
Navy, Sept. 12
How good are the Owls this season? They’ll know right away in American Conference play with a home date against Navy.
The Midshipmen ran for close to 400 yards in last year’s game, but Florida Atlantic made it interesting with 381 passing yards and four scores in the 42-32 loss.
Transfer Portal
Overall it was a great season in the portal because the team didn’t get raided like it probably should’ve been.
Several good guys are gone – especially losing receivers Jayshon Platt (Illinois) and Asaad Waseem (Purdue) – but the staff was able to make up for most of the lost parts. And, again, best of all, the Owls were able to keep enough guys to be fine.
Best Signing
Tucker Holloway, WR (Virginia Tech)
Getting corner JK Johnson from Oklahoma State might be the bigger overall deal, but Holloway will be an insta-fit to fill in the gap after some key receiver losses. He’s also an elite punt returner.
Biggest Loss
Germari Sands, RB (Florida State)
Not only did he lead the Owls with 465 rushing yards, but he also caught 40 passes. He’ll be a good part of the Florida State rotation.
Other Names to Know
- JK Johnson, S (Oklahoma State)
- Tyson Rooks, CB (Illinois)
- Nate Fischer, LB (San Diego)
CFN Season Prediction
There are two ways this could go. Either the Owls got all the kinks out in the first year with a new coach and new schemes, or there’s an inherent problem with the system, and the same issues will remain.
It’s more like the former.
Again, Kittley is still a really, really young head coach just figuring it all out, but his offensive style is deadly, and he’s got the veteran players and overall pieces to start winning.
CFN Prediction: 6-6
There are too many winnable games not to get to at least six victories.
The road game at Florida to start the season is rough, but after that, there isn’t a game the Owls can’t win. But to be cheeky about it, there isn’t a game they can’t lose if they continue to have turnover issues.
The program is building towards something bigger. And there will be lots of yards gained along the way.
Related: American Conference Football Rankings: Spring 2026 First Look
This story was originally published by College Football News on May 13, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add College Football News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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