Week 14: Florida Atlantic at Troy

The closest the Sun Belt has to a conference championship game will be held when Florida Atlantic visits defending champion Troy.

Troy shared the Sun Belt title last season and has won eight consecutive conference games. At 6-0 in Sun Belt play, the Trojans lead Florida Atlantic (5-1) by one game in the standings heading into this regular-season finale. The winner goes to the New Orleans Bowl. If FAU loses, its season is likely over because no six-win Sun Belt team will be chosen for an at-large bowl. If Troy loses, its eight overall wins could land the Trojans in an at-large bowl depending on openings from the Bowl Championship Series selections.

“We looked at the schedule at the beginning of the year, and we thought the FAU game could be for the whole thing,” Troy coach Larry Blakeney said. “Now we’re sitting here, and we already have a share of the championship. But what people want is riding on this game. It all boils down to 60 minutes of history on Dec. 1.”

Both teams tout veteran lineups, but Troy certainly has more big-game experience than FAU. The Trojans are vying for their third bowl bid in four years since joining the Sun Belt in 2004. FAU’s six wins are the most since becoming a Sun Belt member and full-fledged Football Bowl Subdivision team (formerly Division I-A) in 2005.

“Everything we do here is new to our players,” said FAU coach Howard Schnellenberger, who started the Owls program in 2001. “This is just another new experience that adds to the development of our team. This is a very big game for our players.

“... We laid everything out in a timeline, and this kind of game has come faster than I anticipated.”

The game features perhaps the Sun Belt’s best two quarterbacks in Troy’s Omar Haugabook and FAU’s Rusty Smith, and the winning team’s signal caller should be the front-runner for the conference player of the year award. Haugabook, the 2006 Sun Belt Player of the Year, has run the league’s No. 1 offense in yards gained and points scored. Both team’s passing offense will be put on notice. Troy ranks No. 5 nationally in pass defense. FAU’s defense leads the Sun Belt with 18 team interceptions.

Troy has won all four previous meetings with FAU, but its 24-17 victory last season was the closest in the series.

Troy by 7