Florida Atlantic @ Texas preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 30, 2008 ) Florida Atlantic 10, Texas 52

The Texas Longhorns are counting on Saturday’s game at Austin against Florida Atlantic to serve as the tonic for a season that went south weeks ago.

The Longhorns (4-6, 2-5) have lost four straight and six of their last seven games to fall to the bottom of the Big 12 South. They are coming off a 33-16 loss last week to Oklahoma State and will face Texas A&M on Thanksgiving night to close out the season. The Longhorns will not go to a bowl game for the first time in 12 years.

Florida Atlantic (4-5, 3-3 Sun Belt) is coached by the legendary Howard Schnellenberger, who’s in his 10th season at the school. The Owls have won three straight, including last week’s 24-23 win over the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. The Longhorns and Owls have met once previously, a 52-10 UT win in 2008. Texas is 14-0 all-time against teams from the Sun Belt.

In Florida Atlantic’s win over ULL, senior quarterback Jeff Van Camp threw for 183 yards and three touchdowns, while junior running back Alfred Morris rushed 22 times and gained 145 yards. He added a touchdown on a 19-yard reception. Senior receiver Rob Housler caught three passes for 73 yards. Following Saturday’s game, FAU has two more games on its schedule (Middle Tennessee State and Troy).

With two games to play in his first season as the starter, quarterback Garrett Gilbert has completed 58.7% of his passes for 2,262 yards with seven touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He has been a more frequent runner in the past three games, and has rushed for 324 yards and three touchdowns this season.

The Longhorns’ underperforming running back corps suffered a setback this week when Tre Newton announced his retirement from the game after suffering repeated concussions. Fozzy Whitaker is still battling a shoulder injury, so Cody Johnson, who leads the team with 361 yards on 92 carries, is listed as the starter for Saturday. To shore up the backfield depth, Texas moved tight end Chris Whaley and linebacker Ryan Roberson to tailback during practice this week.

Texas is listed as 21-point favorite in the game. A Longhorn win would end a four-game home losing streak. The Horns haven’t won at home since the September 11 win over Wyoming.