The Florida Atlantic Owls (0-1) are facing the Army Black Knights (1-0) in their home opener this Saturday at noon. This is the first time FAU is facing Army and has announced that the matchup between the two teams will be set as Military Appreciation Day. 

Army is coming off a 42-7 victory against Lehigh University, while FAU is looking for their first win of the season after losing 16-10 to Michigan State University. 

FAU announced that any military personnel or veterans will be offered two free tickets to the game and there will be “military appreciation-themed” festivities throughout the day. 

This will be the first time FAU plays Army in the program’s history, and there is a great deal of respect from head coach Tom Herman and the team. 

“I told our team on our monday meeting yesterday, I respect the heck out of these players,” said Herman. “We were asked about the tradition of singing or standing for their fight song at the end of the game. I said, ‘I mean are you serious?’ Why would that even be a question? Of course we’re going to do that.’” 

The military has a special place in Herman’s heart due to his father-in-law who was an important role model for Herman. His father-in-law served in the Vietnam War in the Marine Corps. 

“Any chance we have an opportunity to pay tribute to the men and women of our service, we do…I know this is going to get sappy but anytime, I’ve never played Air Force, but anytime I played Navy and Army, I get a little bit more optimistic about the future of our country and of our youth,” said Herman. “Knowing that those two institutions and our Air Force Academy still produce men and women like that, it makes me feel like we still got a shot here and my kids still have a shot to have a pretty decent country to be living in.”

This matchup will include the Owl Walk, an FAU tradition in which students, the marching band and Cheer team will form a tunnel for the players to enter through. 

“It’s very exciting because first off the Owl Walk, you walk through all the fans, students, so that’s going to get us hype,” wide receiver Jayshon Platt said. “I love the atmosphere here because, especially when we’re winning, the student section is definitely packed.”

With FAU’s offense looking to increase their offensive output from last week, the defense’s main area of concern is Army’s triple-threat. 

“Army, it’s a lot of moving pieces to their triple-option scheme,” Owls defensive back Kahzir Brown said. “So, it’s really just emphasizing everybody doing their job, everybody playing strong and everybody being mentally tough cause obviously it’s going to be hot. But you know, just doing your job over and over and over, no matter how bored you are, keep doing your job over and over and over again.”

Morgan Larkins is a Staff Writer for the University Press. Email him at mlarkins2023@fau.eduor DM him on Instagram or Twitter @mj_larkins for more information regarding this or other stories.