There is no doubt that FAU football is currently one of the most talked about programs in the country with Lane Kiffin as the head coach. In his first year in Boca Raton, Kiffin led a team that had gone 3-9 in each of the past three seasons to an 11-3 record with a Conference USA championship to go with it.

The publicity around the Owls has gotten so big, FAU players told the Palm Beach Post they consider themselves “the Alabama of Florida.”

“You look around, everybody is talking about FAU” said senior cornerback Herb Miller. “They all want to come to FAU but two years ago, nobody wanted to come here. Everybody looked at me crazy like, ‘Why you want to go here?’ It’s good to see us get the program turned around.”

FAU is in a state with three traditional powerhouse programs, and the defending national champions, depending on who you ask. However, the team is not expected to slow down, and it could very well be ranked in the preseason top 25 going into Kiffin’s second season.

“Just me being from the state of Texas, I’d never heard of Florida Atlantic or anything like that” said senior wide receiver DeAndre McNeal, who transferred from Texas, “You’ve heard of Miami, you’ve heard of Florida State, you’ve heard of Florida, UCF, schools like that.

“With what the team did last year, now, everybody wants to come here just like everybody thinks you’re set for life if you get an Alabama offer or a University of Texas offer.”

Despite a championship season in 2017, Kiffin brought in the No. 79 recruiting class in 2018, per 247Sports Composite Rankings, and the Owls are currently No. 103 in the 2019 rankings.

FAU tied with Miami in 2017 for the second most wins by any college football team in Florida, but will have a chance to prove they are the best team in the state this season. A week 1 win at Oklahoma would certainly help the claim Kiffin’s players are making.