Florida Atlantic is chasing its first winning season since 2020, and it gets a North Texas team that's rebuilding from almost nothing after last year's breakout run.
Bush’s Picks
FAUUNT
FAUUNT
OverUnder
Best BetFlorida Atlantic
Betting FAU here is really a bet on continuity — Veltkamp and a returning defensive core give the Owls a floor that North Texas simply doesn't have with a new staff and almost no returning starters. The Mean Green's talent, led by transfer back Jahiem White, could easily be the better team by late October, but that's a projection, not a known quantity yet.
Florida Atlantic
+Veltkamp returns after 3,641 passing yards, 24 TDs
+Six defensive starters back up front
+Kittley's offense already proven explosive in 2025
−Defense allowed 36.3 PPG, 13th in the league
−Minus-21 turnover margin sank last season
−No winning season since 2020
North Texas
+Nation's No. 1 scoring offense in 2025
+Jahiem White is a legit OPOY-caliber transfer back
+Coming off 12-2 season and a bowl win
−One of two FBS teams with zero returning starters
−Lost head coach and star QB to Oklahoma State
−Brutal non-conference slate before this game
This one's a study in contrasts at quarterback and beyond. Caden Veltkamp is back under center for FAU after throwing for 3,641 yards and 24 touchdowns last season, even if the 17 interceptions that came with it are the thing head coach Zach Kittley needs cleaned up. North Texas doesn't have that kind of continuity — Eric Morris bolted for the Oklahoma State job and took freshman phenom Drew Mestemaker with him, leaving Neal Brown to rebuild a huddle that returns almost no one from a 12-2 team.
That roster overhaul in Denton is the real story here. North Texas is one of only two FBS programs walking into the season without a single returning starter, which makes every injury report and depth-chart battle between now and Thursday, October 29 worth watching. Transfer running back Jahiem White is the new engine of that offense and profiles as a legitimate Offensive Player of the Year type in this league, but building chemistry around him from scratch is a different task than plugging him into a machine that already worked.
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FAU Florida Atlantic
UNT North Texas
FAU, by contrast, knows exactly what it has. Six players who started the bulk of 2025 return on defense, including Deshaun Batiste and CJ Doggette Jr. up front, giving Kittley's group a foundation to try to fix a unit that allowed 36.3 points per game a year ago. The Owls were also minus-21 in turnover margin last season, so the swing skill here isn't really about talent — it's about whether Veltkamp and company can stop giving games away.
Florida Atlantic Owls
Oct 17?@ Army—
Oct 3?vs Texas Southern—
Sep 25?@ UL Monroe—
Sep 19?vs Florida International—
Sep 12?vs Navy—
Sep 5?@ Florida—
North Texas Mean Green
Oct 9?vs Charlotte—
Oct 1?@ Tulsa—
Sep 26?vs Houston Christian—
Sep 19?@ Texas State—
Sep 12?vs UNLV—
Sep 5?@ Indiana—
Recent form.
North Texas earned its stripes the hard way in 2025, fielding the nation's No. 1 scoring offense and capping it with a New Mexico Bowl win over San Diego State. That version of the Mean Green doesn't exist anymore on paper, and this early in the offseason it's fair to wonder how much of that identity Brown can rebuild on the fly, especially with Indiana, UNLV and Texas State all on the schedule before this one.
Florida Atlantic Owls
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
North Texas Mean Green
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
FAU, meanwhile, is being talked about as a legitimate American Conference dark horse if the defense holds up its end, with Kittley's offense already flashing enough juice to make it a problem for anyone still figuring out who they are. By the time these two actually meet in late October, both rosters will look a lot more settled than they do right now — but the gap in continuity between a team that returns its core and one that's starting over is the thing to track as the season plays out.
