Box Score JONESBORO, Ark. (Oct. 18, 2011) - T.Y. Hilton caught his 22nd career touchdown, tying the Sun Belt Conference and FIU all-time records, but it wasn't enough as the Panthers fell 34-16 to the Arkansas State Red Wolves, Tuesday night in Jonesboro, Ark.
Hilton finished the contest with six catches for 97 yards, giving him 200 receptions for his career. Quarterback Wes Carroll finished the game 23-of-37 for 223 yards to go along with a touchdown and an interception.
Defensively, Winston Fraser led the Panthers with a career-best 17 tackles.
On the first play of the game, Carroll found Hilton for a 32-yard reception, setting up the FIU offense right away. However, the Panthers' drive stalled at the ASU 20-yard line and FIU was forced to attempt a field goal that sailed wide left, keeping the game scoreless with 11:38 to go in the first quarter.
After taking over following the miss, ASU was driving on the Panthers until Junior Mertile intercepted a third down pass and returned the ball into ASU territory. However, the Panthers had to settle for another field goal attempt, this one from 46 yards, that Jack Griffin connected on to give FIU a 3-0 lead with 3:15 to go in the first.
On the Red Wolves next possession, ASU drove deep into FIU territory, but back-to-back stellar plays by Jose Cheeseborough forced a punt. On second down, the sophomore cornerback deflected a pass and on third down he brought down ASU's Ryan Aplin for a sack that forced the Red Wolves punt.
At the 8:30 mark of the second quarter, the Red Wolves finally got on the board, connecting on a 24-yard field goal that tied the score at three.
After a couple of punts, FIU took over on its own 33-yard line and drove down to the ASU 17 but had to settle for another field goal attempt that sailed true to give FIU a 6-3 lead with just 22 seconds to go in the half.
The Red Wolves took the ensuing squib kick that followed and returned it to their own 44. After two long Ryan Aplin runs, Bobby Zalud hit a 49-yard field goal to tie the score going into the halftime break.
Coming out of the half, ASU drove 90 yards, capping off the drive with a 22-yard touchdown run by Aplin that gave the Red Wolves a 13-6 lead with 10:37 to play in the third quarter.
FIU wasted no time striking back, as the Panthers tied the score at 13 on a 46-yard touchdown reception by Hilton. The touchdown was T.Y.'s 22nd of his career, tying Corey McKinney for the all-time FIU record and MTSU's Kerry Wright for the all-time Sun Belt record. The score caped off a quick three-play drive and tied the game at the 9:32 mark of the third.
After forcing a punt, the Panthers took a 16-13 lead with 1:59 to go in the third when Griffin hit on a 44-yard field goal.
The scoring didn't let up as Arkansas State drove right down the field, covering 88 yards in under three minutes to take a 20-16 lead with 14:02 to go in the game when Aplin found Allen Muse for a four-yard score.
Following an FIU punt, Arkansas State put some distance between themselves and FIU when they drove 64 yards and ate up nearly five minutes of game clock with a drive that ended on a seven-yard touchdown run by Aplin that made the score 27-16 with 3:20 left in the game.
FIU's next drive ended on an interception that ASU returned to the FIU nine-yard line. On the next play, ASU scored on a Derek Lawson nine-yard run to bring bring the score to 34-16.
The Panthers' final drive ended in a fumble that sealed the win for ASU. The loss drops FIU's record to 4-3 on the season, and 1-2 in conference play. ASU improves to 5-2, and 3-0 in Sun Belt play.
FIU will be back in action next Tuesday when they host the Troy Trojans at 8 p.m. at Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium. The game will also be broadcast on ESPN2.
- No. 4 T.Y. Hilton, No. 7 Jonathan Cyprien, No. 13 Wesley Carroll and No. 28 Darriet Perry served as captains for FIU.
- Arkansas State won the toss and deferred to the second half. FIU received to open the game.
- Jack Griffin's 46-yard field goal in the first quarter was his longest of the season.
- FIU held the Red Wolves scoreless in the first quarter. This marks the fourth time FIU has held its opponent scoreless in the opening quarter. FIU has outscored opponents 62-29 in the first.
- Junior Mertile's first-quarter interception was his first of the year. He led the Panthers with three in 2010 after converting from WR to DB late in the season.
- T.Y. Hilton left the game briefly in the second quarter with an apparent knee injury.
- Hilton's third quarter touchdown catch was the 22nd of his career, tying MTSU's Kerry Wright for the all-time Sun Belt Conference record, and Corey McKinney for the all-time FIU record (pre-Sun Belt era).
- Hilton finished the game with 6 receptions, giving him 200 for his career.
- Jack Griffin's three field goals are tied for a career-high.
- Winston Fraser's 17 tackles are a career-high. His previous best was 12 against Duke (10/1/11).
