There is more on the line than meets the eye in Saturday’s Florida Atlantic at Western Kentucky football game.

Sure, a win gives either school six for the season and will make them bowl eligible.

But more importantly is how this will affect the Conference USA East Division title race.

FAU (5-3 overall) enters the game 3-1 in conference games, while WKU (also 5-3) is 4-1 in league play. Also in the East Division mix is Marshall (5-3, 3-1), which has defeated both FAU and WKU.

Should Florida Atlantic win its remaining four conference games – including Saturday matchup in Bowling Green, Ky. – it would still need Marshall to lose another conference game.

That’s because any tiebreaker comes down to head-to-head play. Marshall has the advantage over both schools after a 36-31 win at FAU on Oct. 18 and last Saturday’s 26-23 win at home over WKU.

But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Western Kentucky, which had won four in a row prior to the loss at Marshall, is led by quarterback Ty Storey, who has completed 109 of 155 passes for 1,097 yards and five touchdowns – against two interceptions. Storey has also rushed 60 times for 196 yards and three scores.

One of Storey’s favorite targets is wide receiver Lucky Jackson, who has caught 46 passes for 572 yards and a touchdown. Jackson broke a 50-year-old school record last Saturday at Marshall, when he caught 16 passes for a career-high 168 yards. Receiver Jahcour Pearson also has 46 receptions this year – four of which have gone for scores.

And remember this, Western Kentucky’s defense has allowed only 31 points in second half play over the last seven games.

Florida Atlantic quarterback Chris Robison is expected to be available to play Saturday, after sitting out the second half of last week’s 41-3 victory at Old Dominion with an unspecified injury.

Robison threw for 208 yards and two scores in the first half before sustaining the injury. Back-up quarterback Nick Tronti played the second half and also had a touchdown pass.

FAU coach Lane Kiffin said Robison wasn’t the only player to get ‘beat up’ in the road win at ODU.

“Really the only bad thing out of the (ODU) game, for a game that was lopsided and not a high-play count game because we took the starters out at the start of the fourth quarter … we got really beat up, like a 100-play type of game,” Kiffin said.

If Robison can’t play, Kiffin said Tronti gained valuable experience last week.

“We wanted (Tronti) to throw a few times not knowing whether Chris (Robison) would return or not down the road,” Kiffin said. “Anytime that you have your No. 2 (quarterback) in there that hasn’t thrown a bunch, you like to throw a little bit with him so that he can get some confidence.”

With four games remaining, it’s almost a sure bet that FAU will get to six wins to become bowl eligibile. However, can the Owls stay in the Conference USA title chase with another road victory Saturday?

If You Go

Who: Florida Atlantic (5-3, 3-1) at Western Kentucky (5-3, 4-1)

What: Conference USA game – the fifth for FAU, the sixth for Western Kentucky. Florida Atlantic leads the series 7-3, including a 34-15 victory last year in Boca Raton.

Where: Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium at Jimmy Feix Field (Capacity 22,113), Bowling Green, Kentucky 

When: 4 p.m. Saturday

TV/Radio: ESPN+/Fox Sports 640 AM

Line: Western Kentucky is a 1.0-point favorite

Did you Know: Florida Atlantic’s offense has scored on all but one of its 34 attempts (97.1 percent) in the red zone this season. That ranks third among all FBS schools – behind only nationally-ranked LSU and Notre Dame

Photos contributed by: Bob Markey / Courtesy of www.FAUOwlsNest.com