It was a defensive struggle that should have gone the other way. After an opening drive that went 80 yards in 17 plays, the FIU offense could not crack the scoreboard again and fell to Middle Tennessee, 7-6, in the Sun Belt Conference season opener for both schools in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

The Golden Panthers defense played an outstanding game except for one play in the second quarter that kept a MT drive alive and helped the Blue Raiders to their only touchdown on the night.

On a third-and-eight play from its own 35-yard line, Middle Tennessee quarterback Clint Marks was sacked by FIU's Jonathan Betancourt. But the sophomore let his emotions get the best of him and he was whistled with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty for excessive celebration, giving MT a first down instead.

Four plays later, Eugene Gross, who led Middle Tennessee with 76 rushing yards, scampered for 33 yards and a touchdown. Colby Smith's PAT then gave the Blue Raiders a lead it wouldn't relinquish.

Middle Tennessee won the toss but elected to kick, giving FIU the ball. Behind quarterback Josh Padrick, the Golden Panthers used 7:48 to move 80 yards that culminated with a 12-yard touchdown run by Julian Reams--his first career TD. But Chris Patullo's PAT attempt sailed wide right and FIU was left with a 6-0 lead.

MTSU looked to have tied the game early in the second quarter when Marks appeared to hit Taron Henry with an 18-yard TD pass. But in the conference's first-ever instant replay review, the referees ruled that Henry did not have possession of the ball and the score was nullified.

After Marks was sacked by Alexander Bostic III, Smith missed a 40-yard field goal, wide right, and FIU clung to its lead.

“We had opportunities on both sides of the ball. It was a disappointing loss by I applaud my players for their effort,” said head coach Don Strock. “It was a very difficult week for us coming up here early because of [Tropical Strom Ernesto], but despite it all, they proved very resilient and I'm proud of them.”

The second half turned into a defensive struggle with only one scoring opportunity by either team?a 41-yard field goal attempt by Patullo, which fell short of the goal post.

Midway through the fourth quarter, FIU eyed good field position after forcing Middle Tennessee to punt from the end zone with 6:31 to play. But Smith boomed an 82-yard punt forcing the Golden Panthers to start the drive at their own 16-yard line and FIU couldn't take advantage.

Padrick finished the game connecting on 21-of-38 passes for 132 yards. Eleven of those passes were completed to tight end Samuel Smith who set a new school record for his efforts. Reams was the leading rusher for FIU with 80 yards on 13 carries.

“The defense did a great job in getting us back the ball all night long,” said Padrick. “We missed a couple of opportunities and it hurts because this was a conference game that we lost by a point. We could be 1-0 but we're 0-1 so the only thing we can do is go back, work hard and get ready for next week.”

On defense, linebacker Keyonvis Bouie picked up where he left off last season with a game-high 13 tackles, while defensive end Antwan Barnes had four sacks?another new school mark.

The Golden Panthers face USF next Saturday, Sept. 9 in Tampa for a non-conference tilt.