Florida Atlantic ready to visit Big Ten country
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) Many of the 70,000-plus Michigan State fans headed to Spartan Stadium this Saturday, sequestered up in Big Ten country, might not know much about Florida Atlantic.
What they don't know could hurt them.
Just ask Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, who cautioned against overconfidence and preconceived notions headed into the game with the defending Sun Belt Conference champions.
"You can see (Florida Atlantic) developing. ... That program is getting better," Dantonio said. "They're a very well-coached football team, and they know what they're doing. For anyone to sit there and say, `Here comes Florida Atlantic' and `Count that as a win' is completely inaccurate. We're going to have to play and play well."
The Owls are in their eighth football season all under 74-year-old coach Howard Schnellenberger, who built the program from scratch.
Dantonio is the 24th head coach in a Michigan State program that's more than a century old. He and the Spartans (1-1) will be on upset alert Saturday.
Florida Atlantic (1-1), a 17-point underdog, will be looking for a signature victory to raise its national profile. To date, its biggest wins came last year over Big Ten member Minnesota in the regular season and against Memphis in the New Orleans Bowl.
Like the older, more established and successful South Florida program, Florida Atlantic is a relative newcomer building a name for itself in a state known for college football powers Florida, Florida State and Miami.
Schnellenberger previously coached at Miami where he won a national title in 1983 and also led the Louisville and Oklahoma programs.
At most of his stops, he's made struggling programs much better. But the Florida Atlantic program truly is his baby because he's run it from the start.
"It really is like finding a sweetheart, getting married, having children all the things that involves and watching them grow up," Schnellenberger said. "Anything we do here takes on a much more personal nature. The wins are sweeter, the defeats are tougher ... so much time and effort and money and gathering people together to do something they've never done before."
Florida Atlantic lost 52-10 to then-No. 11 Texas in the season opener, but rebounded to beat UAB 49-34 last week.
"This is their time to shine," Michigan State linebacker Eric Gordon said of the Owls. "They've played Texas. ... They'll play with everyone. We just have to go out and play our hardest."
Florida Atlantic has a quick, potentially explosive offense led by quarterback Rusty Smith and receiver Cortez Gent. The Owls average 306.5 yards passing per game, throwing the ball 74 times this season compared with 48 rushing plays.
That will put pressure on Michigan State's secondary, which has played fairly well but is missing some pieces.
The Spartans are without Roderick Jenrette, a projected starter at free safety who left the team for undisclosed personal reasons before the season-opening loss at California. Kendell Davis-Clark, who shifted from cornerback to safety, missed last week's Eastern Michigan victory with an undisclosed injury. He wasn't listed on the depth chart this week.
Florida Atlantic's defense has been suspect, giving up an average of 492.5 yards and 43 points per game so far this season. Schnellenberger said the defense will have to "retool" this week to handle the Spartans.
Michigan State has a balanced attack led by running back Javon Ringer and quarterback Brian Hoyer.
Ringer has 61 carries already this season, by far the most of any Big Ten running back, for 216 yards and seven touchdowns.