FAU’s postseason dreams were on the line against the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders, but rather than putting forth an inspired showing, the Owls lost with an embarrassing performance.

The Owls (4-7, 3-4 Sun Belt) saw their bowl dreams flatline as they were dominated in a 38-14 loss to Sun Belt Conference foe Middle Tennessee State (5-6, 4-3) at Floyd Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 27.

“I can’t explain the feeling that I have right now,” linebacker Michael Lockley told the Sun-Sentinel. “We are not going to a bowl game after starting my career going to back-to-back bowl games [in 2007 and 2008].”

Blue Raiders senior quarterback Dwight Dasher was the main culprit behind the dominance over FAU, throwing two touchdowns and rushing for two others, while the hosts’ defense limited FAU to 256 yards on offense.

“We got beat soundly today by a very good football team,” head coach Howard Schnellenberger told

FAUOwlAccess.com. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a football team that was beat so decisive in every aspect of the game.”

Schnellenberger is mainly to blame for that because although a win was anything but guaranteed, his Owls allowed the Blue Raiders, with a then-identical record, to look like a Sun Belt heavyweight.

Aside from allowing Dasher to look like Michael Vick lite, the Owls ran into familiar problems offensively.

As has been the case for much of the season, FAU struggled to run the ball, gaining just 55 yards on the ground. Alfred Morris, last season’s Sun Belt rushing leader, had just 40 on 19 carries.

FAU’s passing game was subpar, with quarterback Jeff Van Camp throwing three interceptions, two to former Dillard High School player Darin Davis.

“It was another case of us beating ourselves. We had those three turnovers in the second half that just killed us,” Van Camp told the Sun-Sentinel.

One player who did step up to the occasion for FAU was wide receiver Lester Jean, who is a safe bet to be named team MVP by the media at season’s end. Jean made eight catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns, giving him 15 in his career and moving him into second all-time in Owls history.

No individual performance, however, can mask the fact that for the second consecutive season FAU has failed to make a bowl game. That means back-to-back failed seasons for a program attempting to become one of the strongest in the state.

Unfortunately for FAU, it won’t be able to turn its attention to fixing that issue. Not at least for another week, as the Owls have one more game to play, and a meaningless one at that.

Sure, you’ll hear the players talk about bragging rights and ending their seasons or careers on a positive note when they host Troy, but the outcome won’t matter one bit for the Owls when everything is said and done.

That’s why next week’s game could be served as a tune-up for next season. No, don’t expect Van Camp and other seniors to be benched — Schnellenberger is too loyal for that. What you might see, though, is some of the backups getting more playing time than usual, including quarterback David Kooi, who appears slated to take the reigns for FAU next year.

That approach to the Troy game should be all but a foregone conclusion, but with some of the decisions Schnellenberger has made this season, one can never be too certain.

In any case, the Owls’ current injury situation will likely force Schnellenberger’s hand, as several players look likely to miss the game. Among the walking wounded are safety Ed Alexander, defensive end Jamere Johnson and cornerback Tarvoris Hill.

“We’ve got a whole bunch of people injured and I don’t know who we are going to suit up and play,” Schnellenberger told FAUOwlAccess.com. “As always, a game like this is not as bad as it appears, but this one is hard to mitigate. We’ll do the things we know how to do to get us back on the field and be representative in the game next week.”

That had better be the case, because ending a second consecutive failed season with a pair of embarrassments would not be the work of a program looking to grow.

One last chance

The Owls play their last game of the 2010 season this weekend:

What: FAU vs. Troy University

When: Saturday, Dec. 4, at 2 p.m.

Where: Lockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale

For more info: www.fausports.com

MTSU’s Dwight Dasher’s dominant day

In the air: 11 completions, 15 attempts, 158 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception

On the ground: 15 rushes, 62 yards, 2 touchdowns