MIAMI – Going into tonight’s FIU-Miami game, few people gave the Panthers a shot at taking down the Hurricanes.
This is why games are always decided on the field.
For the vast majority of the game, the energy was on point for FIU and off for Miami. It was relatively easy to see if one was at Marlins Park in the Panthers 30-24 victory over the Hurricanes.
Two weeks after throwing for a school-record six touchdown passes against Louisville, quarterback Jarren Williams had an utterly forgettable performance against FIU. The redshirt freshman starter finished with this stat line: 19-36 passing for 249 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions.
Aside from a nice 14-yard touchdown run by running back Cam’Ron Harris, a 35-yard touchdown pass from Williams to receiver Mark Pope, and a 3-yard touchdown pass from Williams to receiver Dee Wiggins – all in the fourth quarter – it was not a nice at all for Miami (6-5).
This is the first time that Miami has lost a game to FIU (6-5). At the same time, this is FIU’s most significant win in school history, to say the very least.
“Obviously a very, very dark night,” Miami head coach Manny Diaz said. “One of the lowest moments in this proud program’s history.”
Diaz accepted the blame for how tonight’s game went down.
“One of the darkest night’s in this program’s history,” Diaz said. “That’s on me. I’ve got to take responsibility for that.”
From the opening minutes of the first quarter, it was obvious this was going to be FIU’s night. It didn’t take long for the Panthers to get on the scoreboard, as kicker and Booker T. Washington (Miami) alum Jose Borregales connected on his first of three field goals on a 29-yarder with 10:08 left in the first.
Then the FIU defense placed the clamps down early and often on the Miami offense. After picking off Williams for the first of three times tonight, the Panthers forced a three-and-out that led to another scoring opportunity.
In a drive that took 11 plays for 80 yards and just over four minutes long, FIU quarterback James Morgan (16-of-30 passing, 160 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions) carved up Miami’s defense with some timely passes, including a 29-yard touchdown throw to wide receiver Shemar Thornton with 3:59 left.
After Borregales’ extra point gave FIU a 10-0 lead, it was the Panthers defensive unit that withstood a potential scoring drive by Miami. The best moment for FIU – and worst for Miami – in the second quarter was when the “home” team stopped the “road” team on fourth-and-goal from the Panthers 1-yard line to start the second quarter.
No team scored until Borregales hit a 50-yard field goal with just two seconds left in the first half.
FIU went into halftime with a 13-0
lead over Miami.
And in the second half, it felt more like a victory lap moment for the Panthers.
Don’t let the final score fool you. Miami never had a chance, even when it was trying to complete a comeback in the fourth quarter.
It was all about that level of intensity. It was something FIU had in spades over Miami.
“They were playing very hard, which we expected,” Diaz said of FIU. “I hesitate at times to talk about all the guys because I do think we had a lot of guys who competed very hard and played with a lot of intensity. But I do think there were some guys that we did have to challenge ourselves at halftime to make sure that we were matching their intensity. That should never have to be said at half time, but that’s where we were.”
An elbow injury that running back DeeJay Dallas suffered in the third quarter hurt Miami a lot. He left the game early and never returned, finishing with eight carries for 50 yards.
“Deejay is a huge loss,” Diaz said. “Not just what he does as a player, but he is as important from a leadership aspect of anybody we have on our offense and in our entire program.”
After Dallas exited the game, an opportunity opened up for Harris, who finished the game with 11 carries for 86 yards and a touchdown.
As for FIU’s rushing attack, it was on point for most of the second half.
Panthers senior running back Anthony Jones was the game’s leading rusher, as he had 16 carries for 112 yards and a game-icing 37-yard touchdown run with 2:17 left in the game. At that point, FIU had a 30-17 lead it was not going to relinquish.
“I think it’s a rivalry after tonight,” Jones said of the FIU-Miami series, which is now tied at 1-1 in the past two matchups.
FIU linebacker Sage Lewis, who led the lead in tackles with 10, had this to say about the crosstown rival.
“We wasn’t even calling them the University of Miami during the week,” Lewis said. “We were calling them the University of Coral Gables. We’re the true Miami school. We have more students internationally. We did it for the university and really for the world.”
FIU head coach Butch Davis couldn’t be any happier for how this game transpired tonight against Miami, the team he used to coach in the late 1990’s and in 2000.
“Can I sleep here?” Davis jokingly asks as he was walking off the field at Marlins Park. “I don’t want to leave…Lot of victories here. This ranks at the top.”
LOCAL STANDOUTS
- LB Jamal Gates (FIU): 7 tackles (tied for second most on the team), pass breakup, interception caught
- DB Gurvan Hall Jr. (Miami): 4 tackles
- DE Jonathan Garvin (Miami): 2 tackles (1 TFL)
- DB Amari Carter (Miami): 1 tackleGAMES NEXT WEEK
FIU: Regular season finale at Marshall (7-4) on Saturday, Nov. 30, 12 p.m. kickoff
Miami: Regular season finale at Duke (4-7) on Saturday, Nov. 30, 3:30 p.m. kickoff
PHOTO CREDITS: Keith Forde
