Florida Atlantic quarterback Chris Robison (2) celebrates a touchdown with wide receiver John Mitchell in a 36-31 loss to Marshall on Oct. 18, 2019. [KATHY HITCHCOCK/palmbeachpost.com] ▲ Florida Atlantic head coach Lane Kiffin is 20-13 in two-plus seasons as the Owls' head coach. [KATHY HITCHCOCK/palmbeachpost.com] ▲ Western Kentucky quarterback Ty Storey (4) scrambles for positive yards against Army during an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019, in Bowling Green, Ky. (Austin Anthony/Daily News via AP) ▲

Florida Atlantic still has a realistic chance of playing for the league championship in December. Lane Kiffin's Owls just need some outside help.

BOCA RATON — Friday night's loss to Marshall didn't end Florida Atlantic's hopes of making a bowl game, but the Owls' road to a league title became significantly harder in the process.

Falling to the Herd ensured FAU won't finish Conference USA play with an undefeated record for the second time in Lane Kiffin's three seasons. Rather than controlling their own destiny, the Owls now need added help from other C-USA teams to reach December's conference championship game.

FAU (4-3) is still in prime position to make a bowl game. Next Saturday's trip to Old Dominion (1-6, 0-3) and the Nov. 23 road game at UTSA (3-4, 2-2) are both winnable, as is the Shula Bowl against rival FIU (4-3, 2-2) on Nov. 9.

FAU only needs six wins to become bowl eligible.

The Nov. 2 trip to Western Kentucky, which has won five of six since losing to FCS Central Arkansas to start the year, presents a challenge. A Hilltoppers team projected to finish fifth in Conference USA is guaranteed to enter the FAU game with sole possession of first place in the East Division.

The sun-loving Owls will likely need to pack their winter coats for the trip to Bowling Green, Ky. FAU held off the cold for a season-defining road victory at WKU in 2017.

FAU closes the season at home against an improved Southern Miss (4-3, 2-1) team. The Golden Eagles lost to Louisiana Tech on Saturday.

Had the Owls won Friday night and won out, it obviously would have guaranteed FAU a spot in the championship game. A 7-1 in-conference record should still be enough to compete for a league title if the Owls win out, but FAU requires some help.

FAU needs Marshall, now 2-1 in the conference, to lose at least one more game. As expected, FAU also needs to beat Western Kentucky in two weeks. Marshall holds the tiebreaker over FAU and would make the title game even if both finish 7-1 and Western Kentucky finishes 6-2.

Marshall lacks no shortage of capable opponents across its final five games. The Herd host Western Kentucky next week before traveling to a competitive, but winless, Rice team. After a bye week, Marshall closes with a home game against Louisiana Tech, a road trip to Charlotte and the home finale against FIU.

FAU fans should root for Western Kentucky to make a statement and beat Marshall. That would give Western the tiebreaker, meaning FAU would hold an indirect tiebreaker of its own over Marshall if the Owls beat the Hilltoppers.

Marshall is 6-4 all-time against WKU and has won the series' last two games. Western, now the conference's lone 4-0 team, handled Charlotte 30-14 on Saturday.

If Western beats Marshall and FAU beats Western, the Owls also need the Hilltoppers to lose one more conference game. Perhaps the Nov. 23 trip that Western makes to Southern Miss?

Of course, FAU's path to a title game could be as simple as finishing 3-2 in the next five while Western and Marshall collapse.

If the season ends with a three-way tie atop the East Division, a winner would be determined by the head-to-head record between tied teams. This situation means all three teams went 1-1 against the other two.

Conference USA championship tiebreakers then dictate a winner based on the highest winning percentage within the division. WKU is 3-0 against East Division teams and Marshall, which lost to Middle Tennessee on Oct. 5, is 2-1.

All three teams have three games left against East Division opponents.

There's all sorts of other tiebreakers, including some where the league consults the team's records against cross-divisional foes (Western and FAU each play Southern Miss, but Marshall does not share a West Division foe with either team).

If you want chaos, root for the three-way tiebreaker and the various ways Conference USA will determine a winner. If you want an easy path, root for FAU to win out and for every necessary scenario to work out as hoped.

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