Select Conference USA media members voted FAU would place third in the East Division, FAU media relations said Tuesday afternoon.

Out of all the members, FAU only received three first place votes in the division. Around this time last season, FAU received 22 first place votes after winning the conference title in 2017. The Owls, who trail Marshall and FIU in the poll, finished last season with a 5-7 record and 3-5 in the conference.

Marshall collected 14 first place votes while FIU obtained nine. In the West division, North Texas led by quarterback Mason Fine received 20 first place votes as the clear favorite.

The news about the preseason poll comes after the announcement of the C-USA preseason team where senior tight end Harrison Bryant was the only Owl selected. Last year, FAU had six players who were honored for the team. 

FAU will host Marshall on Oct. 18 and FIU on Nov. 9 in the 18th Shula Bowl. The season opener for the Owls will be on Aug. 13 against the Ohio State Buckeyes and the C-USA opener is scheduled for Sept. 28 at Charlotte. 

The full projected standings (first place votes in parentheses):

East 

1. Marshall (14)
2. FIU (9)
3. FAU (3)
4. Middle Tennessee
5. Western Kentucky
6. Old Dominion
7. Charlotte

West

1. North Texas (20)
2. Southern Miss (4)
3. Louisiana Tech
4. UAB (2)
5. UTSA
6. Rice
7. UTEP

Zachary Weinberger is the sports editor of the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @ZachWeinberger.