MIAMI – It was not supposed to end like this for Butch Davis and the FIU Panthers.
Save for their season-opening 48-10 win over Long Island University, it has been a season to forget in more ways than one.
Earlier this week, it was reported by multiple media outlets that the legendary head coach would not be returning to FIU next season. Davis has been the team’s head coach for the past five seasons, going 24-31 overall to date.
This was tough news to take, considering the fact that Davis led FIU to three consecutive bowl appearances from 2017-2019. After all, this year’s senior class of 22 players were featured in what was FIU’s best three-year run in school history with a 23-16 record.
With that said, last night’s (Nov. 21) 49-7 blowout home loss to North Texas on Senior Night seemed like a funeral of sorts, as the Butch Davis era is getting very close to the end at FIU.
“Obviously for a last home and for the seniors, it’s a terrible way to have to try to end this season,” said Davis, who has had college head coaching stints at Miami and North Carolina prior to FIU. “These seniors that are here – a pretty significant amount of them – a high percentage of them were the foundation on what helped to turn this program around…I hate it for that. And like I told them in the locker room a while ago, sometimes there’s a awful lot of adversity in life. There truly is.”
Davis spoke of his players pulling through despite last night’s – and this season’s – outcome.
“There’s going to be difficult things you need to learn from these kinds of situations,” Davis said. “You just don’t ever give up. You don’t quit. You just do the very best that you can. You try to bounce back and learn from the things that went bad.”
For starters, North Texas (6-6) was led by sophomore quarterback Austin Aune, who finished with 6-of-12 passing for 219 yards and two touchdowns in the air.
Aune accounted for three touchdowns in total – all in the first half. His 11-yard keeper for a score helped to give the Mean Green a 7-0 lead early in the first frame, giving us a precursor of how this game would turn out.
It was more than Aune who came through for North Texas.
Mean Green sophomore wide receiver Roderic Burns caught a 55-yard touchdown pass from Aune early in the second frame. This helped to give them a 14-0 lead over the Panthers at the 12:43 mark.
The Mean Green got two touchdown runs from senior running back Deandre Torrey, who would give the FIU defense a “deuces” sign as he waltzed his way into the end zone on one of them.
Torrey’s play came at the 10:07 mark of the second quarter, which helped to give the road team a 21-0 lead.
By the time this game reached halftime, it was 35-0 in favor of North Texas and at FIU’s expense.
The second half was hardly any better for the Panthers, as the Mean Green got touchdown runs from Ayo Adeyi and Ikaika Ragsdale. Both of the scoring runs happened in the third quarter.
“Everything tonight was a microscope of the things that have happened all year long,” Davis said in last night’s press conference. “The inability to protect the quarterback, the quarterback under pressure, the inability to run the football, not being able to stop the run.”
The one shining moment tonight for FIU (1-10) came at the 13:39 mark of the third quarter, when redshirt senior quarterback Max Bortenschlager found sophomore wide receiver Tyrese Chambers for a 60-yard score.
With an extra point by Chase Gabriel, FIU scored its only points of the game in the home finale.
“Going into the game, I think we were down 35 players,” Davis said. “It’s pretty hard when you look out there and you see walk-on freshman, walk-on guys that are starting. They’re not just playing special teams. It is what it is. You just try to keep coaching the kids. Try to get them to do the very best that they possibly can.”
Davis spoke on whether this game would be his final one as a college head coach for a senior night.
“It could be,” Davis said. “You never know.”
NOTE: This next week will be Davis’s last one as FIU’s head coach. The final game of FIU’s 2021 season will be on Saturday, Nov. 27 at Southern Miss (2-9), as the kickoff is set for 3 p.m.
PHOTO CREDITS: FIU Football
