MIAMI – FIU’s home opener against Indiana produced plenty of points and a game to build off of once conference play rolls around.
In the Golden Panthers 38-28 home loss to the Hoosiers (1-0), starting quarterback James Morgan was benched in the first quarter after throwing a pick-six. Christian Alexander took over until the second half.
FIU’s Anthony Jones was the highlight of the first half with 11 rushing attempts for 82 yards and two touchdowns. But Indiana would light it up in the first half, with quarterback Peyton Ramsey going 17-for-24 with 144 yards and three touchdowns to help the Hoosiers go into the half with a 28-14 lead.
The Golden Panthers would open the second half with a short touchdown run by Atlantic (Delray Beach) alum Shawndarrius Phillips. With Phillips’ score – plus an extra point by kicker Jose Borregales – it closed the deficit down to 35-21 in the third frame and gave the Panthers some life as the team began to rally.
Morgan got back into the game under center to start the second half, as he connected with wide receiver Maurice Alexander for a touchdown with 6:04 left in the fourth quarter.
The Golden Panthers were still facing a 38-28 deficit at that point. It held until the end, as the Hoosiers would outlast the home team after sustaining a drive that would run the clock out.
Although FIU (0-1) didn’t win it’s season opener, there were definitely some big takeaways from this game.
The Golden Panthers will be able to put up points on offense. They also won’t be a team that quits on defense, no matter what the score is at any point in a game.
Head Coach Butch Davis post game comments:
“To be honest with you, you have to start somewhere,” he said. “To score 28 points and run the ball as well as we did, that part of it was very encouraging. It’s an age-old coaching philosophy, ‘you can’t win games if you turn the ball over.’”
When asked about his team’s resiliency throughout the game, Davis stated: “I think our kids learned,” he said. “They know that the game is not over and they’re going to keep competing until there’s no time left on the clock.“
NOTE: FIU’s next game will be on the road at Old Dominion (0–1). It will be the first Conference USA game of the season for both teams, which is set for Saturday, Sept. 8 at 7:30 p.m.
