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The Florida Atlantic Owls take on the Army Black Knights in West Point, N.Y. Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. EDT on CBS Sports Network.
Army is favored by -2.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -140. The total is set at 55.5 points.
Here’s my FAU vs. Army prediction and college football pick for Saturday, October 17, 2026.
- FAU vs. Army Pick: FAU +3 (Play to +2)
My Army vs. FAU best bet is on the Owls to cover the spread as short road underdogs. Find the best line on our live NCAAF odds page, and be sure to download the Action Network app for more picks and analysis.
FAU vs Army Odds
- FAU vs Army point spread: Army -2.5 (-115), FAU +2.5 (-105)
- FAU vs Army over/under: 55.5 (-108o / -112u)
- FAU vs Army moneyline: FAU +115, Army -140
After dropping the season opener at Florida, the Owls have rattled off four straight wins and look like contenders in the American Conference. In the second year under Zach Kittley and his Air Raid offense, Florida Atlantic has already matched their win total from last season.
Quarterback Caden Veltkamp is in his second season as the Florida Atlantic starter after transferring from Western Kentucky, which had the top-ranked passing offense last season. He’s off to a fantastic start, with 12 touchdowns to just two interceptions, while completing 73.1% of his passes. He’s always been able to sling it but has really improved his accuracy and cut down on the turnover-worthy plays this year.
The wide receiver room is incredibly deep for the Owls. Easton Messer is back with Veltkamp for another year after leading the conference in catches last season. However, Texas Tech transfer Kelby Valsin has emerged as the top dog now, currently leading the conference in yards, catches, and touchdowns. Valsin, Messer, and Dom Henry all average more than 10 yards per catch, and Florida Atlantic is 13th in passing yards per game.
Given how electric this offense is, the defense does not need to be great. It just needs to be a small step up from terrible, and so far that unit has done enough. Last season, the Owls defense ranked 100th in the country in Success Rate allowed. This year, they have improved to 63rd, and that has been all the offense has needed to pull away.
Defensive coordinator Brett Dewhurst has his team playing significantly better against the run, thanks in part to linebackers Joseph Sipp Jr. and Leon Hart in the middle of this defense. The secondary has done a much better job at forcing turnovers and breaking up passes, tipping the turnover margin in their favor after that was a big issue last season.
Army has marched out to a 3-2 record to begin the year, alternating wins and losses in a back-and-forth start to the season. They followed up a blow-out win vs. Bryant with a close loss to South Florida. Bounced back to win on the road at Temple before another close loss to Louisiana Tech. Now, coming off a win against Tulane, they will hope the pattern does not continue.
QB Cale Hellums is back for a second season after finishing third in the country with 18 rushing touchdowns last season. He already has eight on the year through five games and has added three passing touchdowns.
The running game continues to be strong with the traditional Army triple option attack. The Black Knights rank first in the nation with a 55% Rushing Success Rate. They average 333.2 rushing yards per game with 6.2 yards per carry. Hellums leads the way on the ground, with a steady rotation of Samari Howard, Godspower Nwawuihe, Carson Smith, and Zach Mundell behind him. Whoever has the ball in their hands knows they will find success running behind All-American center Brady Small.
Unfortunately, the Department of Defense has not exactly done its job on the other side of the ball. Army had a ton of turnover on defense this offseason, losing eight starters as well as its defensive coordinator. The young players have not been able to step up to replace them.
Army currently ranks 93rd in Success Rate Allowed and is 125th in defending explosives. This team got torched by Louisiana Tech for over 500 yards and allowed 8.8 yards per play to both LA Tech and Temple. They were able to tighten up a bit and put on a strong performance last week against Tulane, but the Green Wave have also been horrible this season.
Every Army game this season has been close, outside of its win over FCS Bryant. The Black Knights beat Temple and Tulane by four and three points, respectively, and lost to South Florida and Louisiana Tech by four and two points.
Unsurprisingly, you can bet this game is going to be close as well.
Despite being a three-point underdog, there are a lot of advantages for Florida Atlantic in this game.
For starters, they’re coming off a bye week, which gives them extra time to prepare for this Army offense. Prior to the bye week, they played an FCS opponent whom they beat by 50. That means the FAU coaching staff has been preparing to face Army for at least 13 days, if not 20.
The Owls have also already faced a triple option this season with Navy. The Owls won that game 38-30 and held Navy to 246 yards rushing, its second-lowest rushing output of the season (behind the Air Force game).
Finally, Army ranks 105th in Passing Success Rate Allowed. The Black Knights have a rebuilt secondary that has struggled to prevent big plays through the air. They have been unable to slow down opposing passing attacks, despite facing four below-average offenses.
Expect Veltkamp and these FAU receivers to shred the inexperienced Army secondary and big up big plays through the air all game long.
Florida Atlantic has been much better at defending the run than the pass this season and has two stud linebackers in Hart and Sipp Jr. clogging up the middle. With all the extra time to prepare, this defense should do enough to slow down the Army run game.
Back the Owls at +3 and don’t be surprised at all if they win this game outright.
Pick: FAU +3 (Play to +2)