It was finally their opportunity to put behind the pain experienced the past two weekends.
A win Saturday would have eased the Florida Atlantic Owls' feeling of losing by a combined 84 points to the University of Miami and Kansas State in consecutive games.
Instead, they left the field with more heartbreak.
The Owls lost 31-27 to Ball State at FAU Stadium, leaving them searching for answers. They ended the non-conference schedule with three straight losses and open Conference USA play this weekend against rival Florida International.
Before thinking ahead, the Owls must first recover from a game that had them at FAU Stadium for more than hours longer than expected.