Struggling College Football Team Makes Significant QB Change Amid 1-3 Start

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

That is certainly the case for the Florida Atlantic Owls football team, reeling from an embarrassing 48-14 loss on the road to the UConn Huskies this past weekend.

That loss had the Owls fall to 1-3 on the season, with their lone victory coming in the 38-20 win against the FIU Panthers in the return of the annual Shula Bowl.

Other losses include the season opener against Michigan State, where FAU played inspiring defense but fell short offensively in a 16-10 heartbreaker, and then Army, where the triple-option was too much for the Owls to handle in the 24-7 defeat in the home opener.

While the defense hasn't been perfect, it has been the team's brightest spot with their ability to force turnovers with 10 on the season, the fifth-best in the country. It's how they kept games relatively close against Michigan State and Army, and overwhelmed FIU in their only win to date this year.

It's the offense that has held the team's potential back. Starting quarterback Cam Fancher has completed only 60 of his 103 passes for 557 yards and two touchdowns and four interceptions. While his mobility has been beneficial at moments, gaining up to 212 net rushing yards for a touchdown, his inability to consistently connect with his receivers has prevented the FAU offense from taking off, averaging just 17.3 points per game ( 15th-worst ).

Because of this, head coach Tom Herman announced a change to their offense, specifically the quarterback rotation.

During the team's weekly press conference on Tuesday, Herman announced that backup quarterback Kasen Weisman will have an expanded role alongside Fancher in FAU's upcoming matchup against FCS program Wagner (2-2), as revealed in a tweet from FAU Owls Nest.

Weisman, who transferred from Colorado over the summer after being a reserve for the Buffaloes in 2023, has appeared in two games for the Owls this season. The first one was a temporary cameo against FIU, while the second featured more snaps for the quarterback against UConn.

Herman noted Weisman's development as a passer over the summer and his resilience in overcoming challenges to reach a point where he can contribute to the offense.

“Since he's gotten here, he's gotten a lot more zip on the ball. I think he's playing with more confidence now, when he gets in, simply from this a guy that was sitting in his living room, thinking he was probably never going to play football again, and I don't know they wanted me telling me telling that story or not, but so if you didn't, I apologize. But I think it's pretty cool that, the growth that we've seen from him, and not just emotionally and maturity wise, but really physically too, the ball is coming off of his hands with more zip," Herman said in the press conference via the video published by FAU Owls Nest.

"Like I said, he's playing a little bit more confidence now than he had, in terms of moving in the pocket, eyes, in the right place, that kind of stuff. So I don't know that skill set wise, you're going to see a whole lot different, you know. And I just, I think it's just going to be a matter of, does he see the game any differently, maybe, or make different decisions? But, he's a good runner, a good passer. He's not going to throw it through that wall, and he's not going to run for 340 but he's not a statue. He does everything really well, let’s, put it that way. I don't know that he's got one great tangible quality, but he’s got a lot of really good ones,” Herman said.

The Owls will hope to see this change make a huge difference, facing the Wagner Seahawks on Sept. 28 at 6 p.m. ET.

Related: Concern Grows For College Football Coach After Embarrassing Week 4 Loss