Army's option attack rolls in off a Fenway Bowl blowout, while Florida Atlantic is still trying to prove last year's rough debut for Zach Kittley was just a first-year hiccup.
Bush’s Picks
FAUARMY
FAUARMY
OverUnder
Best BetArmy
Army's experience and identity edge make it the easy side to trust outright — 9 returning offensive starters and a run game that led the country in production last season is a lot to overcome for a rebuilding roster. Florida Atlantic's passing attack is legitimate, but legitimate through the air doesn't always translate to legitimate on the scoreboard against a team built to control the ball. Back the home side here.
Florida Atlantic
+Veltkamp ranked top-25 nationally in 6 passing categories
+275-plus passing yards in all 12 games last year
+Portal brought in playmakers: Crable, Farrow, Valsin, Holloway
−Finished 4-8, 3-5 in conference in Kittley's debut
−30 new portal pieces need time to gel on defense
−Road trip against a battle-tested, run-heavy roster
Army
+7-6 finish capped by 41-16 Fenway Bowl win over UConn
+Hellums led all FBS QBs with 1,223 rushing yards
+Returns 9 offensive starters, including 4 O-line pieces
−Took 5 games last year to settle on Hellums as starter
−Option attack can stall against a sound, disciplined front
−Program still needs it to click 'a wee bit better' per outlook
Army's Cale Hellums led every FBS quarterback with 1,223 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground last season, and the Black Knights bring back 9 offensive starters built around that identity. Florida Atlantic counters with Caden Veltkamp, who threw for 275-plus yards in all 12 games in 2025 and ranked in the nation's top 25 in 6 different passing categories. Two completely different quarterbacks running two completely different offenses — that's the matchup on Saturday, October 17.
The bigger swing factor might be up front. Army's offensive line returns 4 starters from a group anchored by Brady Small and Paolo Gennarelli, both All-American Conference honorees, which matters enormously for an option scheme that lives on winning the point of attack. Florida Atlantic spent the offseason rebuilding its front seven almost from scratch, bringing in edge rusher Jay Crable, who racked up 6 sacks and 8 tackles for loss at Ohio, and cornerback Wallace Foster among 30 total transfer portal additions.
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FAU Florida Atlantic
ARMY Army
That's a lot of new pieces trying to gel quickly against a run-first attack that punishes any defense that isn't sound gap-to-gap. For Army, this is about building on a 7-6 season that closed with a 41-16 rout of UConn in the Fenway Bowl and a road win at Kansas State — Jeff Monken's 13th year at the helm, with the roster continuity to suggest this group could be even better. For Florida Atlantic, it's about proving 2025's 4-8, 3-5 conference finish was a first-year growing pain and not the new normal.
Florida Atlantic Owls
Oct 3?vs Texas Southern—
Sep 25?@ UL Monroe—
Sep 19?vs Florida International—
Sep 12?vs Navy—
Sep 5?@ Florida—
Army Black Knights
Oct 10?vs Tulane—
Oct 2?@ Louisiana Tech—
Sep 25?@ Temple—
Sep 12?vs South Florida—
Sep 5?vs Bryant—
Recent form.
Kittley's answer is speed and volume through the air — Veltkamp gets a retooled receiving corps in Kelby Valsin and Tucker Holloway, plus a new lead back in Leonard Farrow, who ran for 1,438 yards at the D-II level last season. The question is whether that's enough juice to keep pace with an Army team that would rather just take the ball and not give it back.
Neither program is in the marquee-matchup conversation this fall, but the identities are clean: Army wants to eat clock and win in the trenches, FAU wants to sling it and stay competitive on the scoreboard. It's a program still finding its footing on the road against one that knows exactly who it is.
