Florida Atlantic's 52-24 win over FIU in the Shula Bowl on Saturday night meant that the Owls (8-3, 7-0 in C-USA) had clinched the East Division Championship and the right to host the 2017 Dynacraft Conference USA Football Championship Game on Saturday, December 2.  North Texas (8-3, 6-1 in C-USA) punched its ticket as West Division Champion back on November 11. The C-USA Championship Game will be televised live on ESPN2, beginning at Noon EST/11 a.m. CST. 

2017 Championship Matchup Release
 
The matchup represents a rematch of the October 21st game in Boca Raton when Florida Atlantic set a new Conference USA single-game record for total offense with 804 yards.  The Owls won that game, the highest-scoring league contest in C-USA this season, 69-31. 
 
Picked in the preseason to finish fifth in the East Division, Lane Kiffin has led the Owls to a perfect 7-0 mark in Conference USA games and an 8-3 mark overall mark in his first season at FAU.  Florida Atlantic’s current seven-game winning streak is the school’s longest since moving to the FBS level in 2005 and the eight wins tie for the most since the school became an FBS member.  Led by sophomore RB Devin “Motor” Singletary, the nation’s touchdown leader with 25, FAU is ranked in the top 10 nationally in rushing offense and scoring offense.  The Owls are aiming for their first conference title since winning the 2007 Sun Belt Conference crown.
 
Just two years after finishing 1-11, the Mean Green will make their first C-USA title game appearance under second-year head coach Seth Litrell.  North Texas is seeking its first conference championship since winning four straight Sun Belt titles from 2001-04.  The Mean Green have defeated every C-USA team they have faced except for FAU, posting a perfect 4-0 home record and earning road wins at Louisiana Tech and Southern Miss.  Senior RB Jeffery Wilson has five 100-yard rushing games on the season, has at least one touchdown in 11 of his last 12 games and has crossed the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career with 1,206. 
 
Both schools will be making their first appearance in the C-USA Championship Game.  The last time that happened was 2013, when Rice defeated Marshall in the title game.
 
This will be the fifth time that the teams playing in the C-USA Championship met during the regular season.  The team that won the regular season contest is 2-2 in the rematch. 
 
Since C-USA began holding a conference championship in 2005, the host school is 9-3 all-time, including a current five-game winning streak. 
 
Tickets for the C-USA Football Championship game will be available online at https://oss.ticketmaster.com/aps/fau/EN/buy/browse .  For more information, Please visit the football championship page on www.ConferenceUSA.com.