FIU football bounced back in a big way Saturday night, defeating Buffalo 33–20 in its home opener at Pitbull Stadium.
After opening the season with a 19–9 loss to USF, the Panthers came out with a completely different energy against the Bulls. FIU took control early and never gave up the lead, using a strong offensive performance to secure its first win of the season.
FIU opened the scoring on its first possession when quarterback JJ Kohl connected with Maguire Anderson for a 45-yard touchdown. The Panthers added another touchdown later in the first quarter when Kohl found Jojo Stone for a 19-yard score, giving FIU a 14–3 advantage.
The Panthers continued to build their lead in the second quarter. Kohl and Anderson connected again, this time for a 14-yard touchdown, putting FIU ahead 21–6 heading into halftime. Anderson finished the night with 99 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Buffalo attempted to make things interesting coming out of halftime. After recovering a FIU fumble, the Bulls put together a scoring drive that ended with Jason Wright finding Chance Morrow for a two-yard touchdown. Wright then ran in the two-point conversion, cutting FIU’s lead to 21–14.
FIU quickly responded. Kohl connected with Stone on a 68-yard touchdown in the third quarter, extending the Panthers’ lead to 27–14. Robert Czeremcha then added field goals of 36 and 35 yards as FIU continued to keep Buffalo at a distance.
Buffalo scored one more touchdown late in the fourth quarter when Wright connected with Morrow for a 23-yard score, but the comeback attempt came too late. FIU’s defense held on as the Panthers closed out the 33–20 victory.
The Panthers finished the night with 540 total yards, including 386 passing yards and 154 rushing yards. They also held the ball for more than 38 minutes, giving the offense plenty of opportunities to control the game.
For FIU, the victory was an important response after the season-opening loss to USF. The Panthers now move to 1–1 on the season and will look to carry the momentum into their next matchup against Florida Atlantic on Sept. 19.
Photo creds (Johnny Nguyen)
