FAU faces brutal C-USA road

[Harry]

HUNTINGTON -- Moving to a new conference is hard for any team to take on.

Moving to a bigger conference after a run in the Sun Belt in which a team has won just 13 games makes the task unenviable to anyone.

Yet, that is the plight of Florida Atlantic in 2013.

Not only do the Owls move from the Sun Belt to Conference USA, they do so knowing they will have just one game in Boca Raton, Fla., in the first half of the season.

Sure, they get a pair of in-state games, but a pair of roadies against Miami and South Florida aren't exactly the type of home lovin' the Owls were looking for.

When FAU hosts Marshall on Oct .12, it will be just its second home game of the season.

It's certainly not going to be an easy plight for head coach Carl Pelini, especially after a season when his team finished 3-9 and he has more questions than answers rolling into 2013.

Offensively, the Owls finished 107th in scoring offense in 2012, compiling just 20.5 points per contest. On the flip side, the defense wasn't the greatest either, allowing 30.8 points per game, which ranked 85th.

Heading into the 2013 campaign, the problem is the same on both sides of the ball -- the battle in the trenches.

On the offensive line senior left tackle and DeAndre Williams and center Mustafa Johnson will be the leaders, but there are many uncertainties at the other three spots.

There is beef with projected left guard Stern Vile (by the way, great name) listed at 6-foot-5, 335 pounds and sophomore right guard Mike Marsaille at 6-5, 300, but size doesn't exactly mean talent.

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