FAU is set to return to action following a three week hiatus and will head to Huntington, West Virginia to take on Marshall. This will be a tough test for the Owls as they face a a ranked team in their first road trip of the 2020 season. FAU won a rainy battle with Charlotte on October 3rd 21-17. The Owls are expected to be down a significant number of players following positive tests and contact tracing within the team as recent as this week.

The FAU football program has struggled in recent years against Marshall. The Thundering Herd have won the past two meetings including a 36-31 victory over FAU last season. However, the Willie Taggart led team is hungry to get back on track against one of their biggest CUSA Rivals. “The end goal is to win the conference championship, so just because a game got canceled a few times you can't lose focus”, said starting center Nick Weber (photo center above).

When asked about how many players he expected to be out for Saturday as a result of positive Covid-19 tests and quarantine, Taggart said “It is tough to say, we do not know right now. We will have enough to play. It is a game time decision with Covid 19. You just never know”.

FAU's published two deep can be found here.

In his 11th season at the helm for Marshall is Doc Holiday. The longtime Marshall head coach has six bowl wins during his tenure in Huntington. “When you look at any of coach Holidays` teams, you are going to see a team that is very disciplined in what they do", said co-offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer earlier this week.

This matchup could have some recruiting implications as well, as Marshall has twenty-six players on their roster from the state of Florida. Marshall has been aggressive in recruiting Florida prospects during the Doc Holliday tenure. Prior to arriving at Marshall, Holiday coached under Urban Meyer at Florida from 2005-2007 and won a national championship.

Mid Week Mash-up

• By The Numbers Through this point in the season, the Marshall defense has been one of the nations best. Marshall is ranked 3rd in the FBS giving up less then 70 yards per game on the ground. Marshall has limited opposing offenses to under 17 points in each of their four games. Two difference makers on the defense is DL Darius Hodge and LB Tavante Beckett. Hodge, a junior, had seven sacks last season. Beckett is a senior linebacker who led Conference USA in tackles last year with 121. The former Virginia Tech Hokie remains in high gear this season including a 16 tackle performance in the win over App State. “They have really good pass and edge rushes that make a lot of plays for them, and their interior defensive line has been playing well” said Nick Weber. Look for QB Nick Tronti to get the ball out of his hands quick against the powerful Marshall pass rush.

• Key Matchup Marshall has one of the best running backs in the nation in HB Brendan Knox. Last year, the bulldozing junior ran for over 1300 yards in route to being named the 2019 Conference USA player Most Valuable Player. Knox is very physical downhill runner at 223 lbs. "He has great vision, great balance, and great explosion. This guy is one of the better backs I have seen in a longtime", said DC Jim Leavitt. The likely undermanned FAU defensive unit will have their hands full with Knox. The Owls will need a strong performance from their plethora of interior defensive lineman including Evan Anderson, Jaylen Joyner and Marcel Southall to limit Knox who has two 200 yard rushing performances in his career.

• Keep an Eye On The Jim Leavitt led FAU defense managing talented freshman QB Grant Wells. One of the rising stars in the CUSA, Wells splashed on the scene in the first game of the season in a 59-0 victory over Eastern Kentucky. “He runs well and he understands the offense well. Everything is set up with the run game. He`s got good receivers to throw to” said Jim Leavitt on the success of QB Grant Wells. The young gunslinger has been very efficient so far this season, sporting a 66% completion percentage and has been productive on the ground with two rushing touchdowns. The Marshall offensive line is filled with seniors, which has made Wells transition to starter a smooth one.

• Breakout Candidates Look for WR Aaron Young to make his mark against the Marshall secondary. The former Duke Blue Devil was held in check in the season opener vs Charlotte only recording one catch catch. Young has great size at 6-4' and will be key on third downs and in the red zone. On the defensive side, look for S Teja Young to be very aggressive in the run and in passing situations. The former Palm Beach Lakes HS standout had six tackles in the season opener vs Charlotte and will be key in stopping Knox if he makes it through the first level of the defense.

• Injury Report Taggart told reporters earlier this week that RB James Charles is expected to play this Saturday and that RB BJ Emmons is still questionable for this Saturday after suffering an ankle injury in the season opener vs Charlotte. As with the matchup vs Charlotte, expect FAU to have a running back by committee approach including Malcolm Davidson and Larry McCammon III.