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FAU expert gives his take and prediction on Saturday's game

HN went in-depth with an expert that covers MU's upcoming opponent. In this week's "Ask the Expert," we caught up with FAUOwlsnest.com's Shane Marinelli to get his thoughts and perspective on Saturday's game in Huntington

Talk a little bit about how things have changed with the FAU program since Willie Taggart took over from Lane Kiffin.

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Obviously, it is a little hard to tell how with little we have played, and the media not getting a chance to watch practice or to see what has changed between the lines, but Willie Taggart has done some things off the field that should excite fans. Taggart has taken another recruiting step forward. Lane was great, but Taggart and his staff with deep ties all over the state had picked up 27 commits before the season even started. When the dust settles, FAU will have a top 5 G5 class that is headlined by star QB Shedeur Sanders (for now).

Before Covid, Coach Taggart was also doing many things a young football program needs to grow a fan base. The showing up to basketball games, being more personal with alumni and students at events, etc.

Lane won many games and brought national attention but did not intertwine himself into the community as much as some fans would have liked.

FAU has only played one game thus far and also missed out on a bunch of practice time. What are your thoughts on FAU being ready to play this weekend?

During Monday's presser, Taggart said, "it would be pushing it" if they had enough guys to play tomorrow(referring to Tuesday).

FAU has somewhere between 27 players and coaches who tested positive before the Southern Miss game, which requires a 14-day mandatory quarantine for all of them.

This means the Owls have spent the last two weeks practicing without nearly 1/3 of the team. Even if everything goes well and no more positive tests show later this week, can anyone expect a genuinely competitive game in under these circumstances?

Where do you see FAU's real strength in this match-up? Where does FAU have the biggest edge?

In his first game with the Owls, Jim Leavitt showed why he is one of the best defensive coordinators in the country.

He had a very young front seven ready to go and dialed up timely pressures, resulting in holding Charlotte to just 2 yards per carry and six sacks. FAU also has Power 5 talent skill talent throughout the offense, with four receivers and a tight end who were all at Power 5 schools in 2019. A few games under their belt to help them build more chemistry into the offensive would have been nice though.

What match-up concerns do you have both offensively and defensively for FAU against Marshall?

Due to the reasons, I pointed out earlier, FAU will most likely not have enough proper depth in this game. Even if they get guys back with negative tests, many will not be ready to play. This is just the reality of 2020. It would be wise for Owls fans to look at this season as more about player development than wins or losses.

What is your breakdown and score prediction for how this game might play out?

I would love this to be another Marshall vs. FAU dog fight, but Marshall is too good of a football team not to have your "A" game and try and win.

The first defense might keep FAU around early, but rusty play and lack of depth catch up as the game wears on.

30-10 Marshall.

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