BOCA RATON — Florida Atlantic head coach Lane Kiffin is fond of saying last year’s Conference USA winning Owls team had plenty of stories. The Owls defense going from averaging 39.8 points per game in 2016 to 22.7 in 2017, becoming a turnover machine in the process, was one of the more notable stories.
2018 will be a new year for the defense, especially with defensive coordinator Chris Kiffin leaving last month to join the San Francisco 49ers as a pass rush specialist. Kiffin was replaced last week with Southern Mississippi’s Tony Pecoraro, whose Golden Eagles defense finished 20th in the nation in total defense, allowing only 331.