Zach Kittley understood the challenges that will come his way as he approached his debut as a head coach with the Florida Atlantic Owls. However, he learned it the hard way after the team’s 39-7 blowout loss to the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday afternoon.
It marked Kittley’s first year as a head coach, taking the FAU job last December. He departed from Texas Tech, being their offensive coordinator as the offense proved to be among the best in the country.
He embraced his duties with the Owls, hoping to lead them back into relevance. However, it’s apparent they will need to do it one step at a time after losing in convincing fashion to the Terrapins.
Kittley reflected on the loss after the game, according to audio from the postgame press conference that FAU Owls Nest uploaded to YouTube. He gave Maryland props for preventing the Owls from gaining momentum, making plenty of defensive plays that stunted FAU’s progress throughout the day.
“First off, just extremely proud of our guys. We fought the whole game, we didn’t give up. We were in some tough situations there. Hats off to Maryland. Really good coach, really good football players over there,” Kittley said.
“A few positives: I thought our defense really played well today. Extremely proud of Coach Dewhurst and his guys and what they were able to put together. I mean, they gave us a million opportunities to get right back in the game on offense, and we just couldn’t move the needle offensively. So proud of them. I thought kickoff return looked really, really good. Jayshon Platt, I mean, we’re a couple shoe string tackles away from hitting a couple bigger kick returns. So really proud of the defense.”
“In general, we got to be able to develop a little bit more of a pass rush. It’s one area I thought we did not do a great job of, was getting after the quarterback enough, and we had a couple of busted coverages there that led to a couple of big plays. But for the most part I thought those guys flew around and did a really good job.”
How Zach Kittley, FAU Played Against Maryland
GettyCaden Veltkamp #10 of the Florida Atlantic Owls is sacked for a safety in the second quarter by Sidney Stewart #29 of the Maryland Terrapins at SECU Stadium on August 30, 2025 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
It wasn’t the way Zach Kittley would have wanted his head coaching debut to go. However, the loss will be pivotal to his growth as the youngest head coach in college football for the FAU Owls.
The Owls showed a competitive spirit in the first quarter, being even at seven apiece against Maryland. However, they were unable to take care of the ball, throwing a program-record six interceptions. Four of them came from Caden Veltkamp, who joined FAU this past offseason after winning CUSA Player of the Year at Western Kentucky last season.
Veltkamp ended his time on the field early in the fourth quarter with the Terrapins up big. He completed 30 passes out of 49 attempts for 228 yards and a touchdown.
Easton Messer benefitted from Veltkamp’s passing, making 15 catches for 87 yards. Asaad Waseem scored the first touchdown of the Kittley era, finishing with four receptions for 70 yards.
FAU possesses plenty of potential with a high-flying offense that will be aggressive in its attack. However, the Maryland loss should serve as a lesson for them to have discipline and composure in crucial moments.
The Owls will look to bounce back in their next matchup, being at home. They host the FAMU Rattlers on Sept. 6 at 6 p.m. ET.
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