Ethan Ervin carried 21 times for 139 yards and a touchdown at UL Monroe on Saturday, Leonard Farrow added 64 on 14 carries and another score, and Florida Atlantic ran 47 times for 234 yards and three rushing touchdowns in a 45-17 win. Caden Veltkamp threw for 313 yards and two touchdowns without turning the ball over, his third straight game without a giveaway. The Owls outgained the Warhawks 567-332. That is 3-1, three wins in a row, and the first true road win of the year.
Understand why that rushing total is strange. Zach Kittley's Air Raid averaged 340.2 passing yards and 444.7 total yards per game in 2025 against just 104.5 rushing yards, and the version of this offense FAU fans saw against Navy was pure Kittley. Veltkamp 27 of 32 for 386 yards and five touchdowns. Saturday was something the program has not had in years. An offense that scored 45 points by choosing how to do it. Kittley said afterward, "We knew we were going to run the ball a lot today. That was a big emphasis," and added that great teams win on the road. It is the program's longest winning streak since 2020.
Remember where Veltkamp started this season. In the opener at Florida he completed 34 of 52 passes for 276 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, took two sacks and ran for a seven-yard score. Three clean starts later, the question about him is no longer availability or even arm strength. It is whether the turnover column stays empty when the defense in front of him is actually good.
Texas Southern, Saturday, 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+
FAU hosts Texas Southern at 96%, the closest thing to a certainty this schedule offers. The Tigers are 1-3 and 0-2 in the SWAC on a three-game losing streak, and the two programs have never played, so there is no history to lean on and nothing to avenge.
The Owls should spend the afternoon doing more of what worked at UL Monroe. FAU is off on October 10 and then opens American road play at Army on October 17, a game the simulations give the Owls a 15% chance of winning. The things to want against Texas Southern are unglamorous. Ervin and Farrow getting their work and then getting off the field, Veltkamp finishing a fourth straight start without an interception, and the starters reaching the bye intact. A 45-10 game where Kittley empties the sideline in the fourth quarter is a better Saturday than a 52-31 game where Veltkamp throws 40 passes.
One real thing to watch on the other side of the ball. Against UL Monroe, FAU held the run to 54 yards on 25 carries, 2.2 per attempt, but gave up 278 passing yards and two touchdown passes, one of them 75 yards, and forced no turnovers. The front is doing its job. The secondary is the part that still has to hold up, and Texas Southern will not tell FAU much about it. Army, Rice and UTSA will.
Nothing on the rest of the board moves FAU's season, so the television can stay on Boca Raton.
Full week. the interactive guide. How the numbers are built. methodology.