The two things FAU football needs to still win Conference USA’s East Division

Florida Atlantic football lost control of its own destiny to win Conference USA’s East Division when Marshall defeated the Owls 28-13 last Saturday in Boca Raton.

But … FAU still has a chance.

Although the Owls will have to rely on outside help, they can still win the East. With three conference games left this season, FAU must first focus on defeating Old Dominion on the road this weekend, a team the Owls have beaten the past three years.

“I think Old Dominion is a much-improved football team,” FAU coach Willie Taggart said. “As the year went on, they got better each and every game.”

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Here are the two things the Owls need to win the East in 2021:

Owls must win out

Florida Atlantic will face Old Dominion, Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee over their final three games. Winning all three games would put FAU at 6-2 in the conference.

First-place Western Kentucky would drop to third place with two losses as the Owls own the tiebreaker.

The challenge for the Owls, however, is for them to win two of those games on the road – something they have only done once in four road games this season.

Overall, the Owls are 1-7 in the Taggart era in games played outside of Florida. History may be on their side, however, as they are 8-1 all time against Old Dominion and Western Kentucky on the road.

Taggart said the team is mentally prepared for what is at stake despite a crushing loss to Marshall this past weekend.

“I loved our players’ mentality after the game in the locker room, what a few of them had to say to each other, and what we needed to do moving forward,” Taggart said. “As the year is going, our guys are learning what it’s going to take to be a championship football team, and unfortunately, we had some setbacks in games.”

Marshall, Western Kentucky add losses

Marshall currently owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Owls and its only conference loss this season was against Rice.

The Thundering Herd will need to lose two of their three remaining contests against Alabama-Birmingham, Charlotte and Western Kentucky. A loss on Saturday to the Blazers, who also beat the Owls earlier this season, would not be enough as Marshall owns the tiebreaker with FAU.

As for Western Kentucky, if they defeat Rice and Marshall but lose to the Owls in two weeks, FAU will own the tiebreaker and take first.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FAU football: 2 things the Owls need to win Conference USA's East Division