Box Score Post-Game Audio: 
HC Mario Cristobal LB Scott Bryant QB Wayne Younger RB Kendall Berry
The FIU football team (2-7; 2-4 Sun Belt) scored 21 unanswered points at one point, however it wasn't enough as the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (6-3; 4-1 SBC) had scored the first 34 points of the game and eventually held on for a 48-21 victory, Saturday night in Murfreesboro.
Kendall Berry gave FIU its best rushing performance of the year, carrying the ball 19 times for 103 yards and three scores. However, MTSU quarterback Dwight Dasher ran for 178 yards and three touchdowns, and he threw for 182 yards and two scores to carry the Blue Raiders' offense.
Dasher struck quick, hitting FIU for a 70-yard TD run to put the Blue Raiders ahead 7-0 with 11:53 to go in the first quarter.
After a 3-and-out for the FIU offense, Carlos Munera's punt was partially blocked, giving MTSU the ball on the FIU 49. The Blue Raiders capitalized quickly, needing just 3 plays to score on a Dasher 27-yard TD pass that pushed the MTSU lead to 14-0.
Both teams traded punts on their next two possessions, however MTSU got a 47 yard return on their punt return, setting them up at the FIU 17.
The Blue Raiders added a field goal with four minutes to go in the first quarter, and then made it 24-0 with 13:50 to go in the first half when Dasher took a throwback pass and ran it 67 yards for his second rushing TD of the game.
Middle Tennessee would add 10 more points before the end of the half on a Dasher TD pass. However, the Panthers would show signs of life going into the half as they drove 51 yards in 59 seconds to put up some points on a Kendall Berry TD run.
Coming out of the halftime break, FIU needed a big plays and got one right away as O'Darris D'Haiti picked off a Dasher pass and returned it to the MTSU 8. Berry took care of the rest, picking up the eight yards on two carries for his second score of the game, cutting the lead to 20 at 34-14.
FIU forced another MTSU punt and then drove 80 yards in four minutes to eventually pound it in on another TD run by Berry, cutting the MTSU lead to just 13 points. On the 5th play of the drive, Berry broke free of the Blue Raiders defense, carrying the ball for 38 yards to the MTSU 21. Two plays later, on 3rd and 8 on the MTSU 19, Wayne Younger rolled to his left, then to his right and eventually ran up the middle down to the MTSU 8 to pick up the first. Berry then finished it, picking up the eight yards on two carries. The score made it 21 unanswered points for the Panthers.
Jonathan Cyprien picked off a pass on MTSU's next drive, but the Panthers couldn't do anything with it, going 3 and out. On the ensuing drive, the Blue Raiders drove 70 yards and eventually scored on a one yard run by Dasher, his third rushing TD of the game and fifth overall.
FIU's final four possessions ended on a punt, a couple of interceptions and a turnover on downs, and the Blue Raiders added another score for a 48-21 victory.
Next up for the Panthers is their Homecoming Game as they host the North Texas Mean Green on Saturday, November 14 at 7 p.m.
Captains for FIU: 6 - Jeremiah Weatherspoon, 20 - Odarris D'Haiti, 27 - John Ellis
Coin Toss: FIU won the toss and elected to receive. MTSU chose to defend the south endzone.
Quarterback Wayne Younger made his first start in 2009. The last time he started was game 11 of the 2007 season (vs. FAU - 11/24/07).
Rockey Vann's first quarter reception was the first of the freshman's career.
Jeremy Kellem's partial block of Carlos Munera's punt in the first quarter marked the first time an FIU kick has been blocked this year.
The 17 points given up by FIU in the first quarter are the most the Panthers have given up in the opening quarter this year. The 34 points in the half are also a season-high.
The blocked field goal in the second quarter broke a streak of eight consecutive made field goals for Dustin Rivest.
O'Darris D'Haiti's third quarter interception was the first of his career.
Kendall Berry's 3 touchdowns are tied for the second-most in a single game in FIU history. Five players have done it before him, the last being Julian Reams (vs. Toledo - 9/27/08).
