Miami, Fla. (FIUSports.com) – The FIU football team travels on the road for the final time in 2012 as the Panthers head 57 miles north on Interstate 95 to Boca Raton to face Florida Atlantic University (3-7, 2-4 Sun Belt) at FAU Stadium on Friday, Nov. 16, at 8 p.m. EST.
The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU, along with coverage on the FIU Sports Radio Network, heard anywhere around the world on FIUSports.com.
Click HERE to view FIU-FAU Game Notes
The Panthers (2-8, 1-5 Sun Belt) enter the Shula Bowl game vs. FAU coming off a 28-20 Sun Belt Conference road victory over South Alabama at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Nov. 3, while the Owls defeated WKU, 37-28, on the road in Bowling Green, Ky., on Nov. 10. The Owls have now won two of their past three games after starting the season 1-6.
The Panthers regular season finale will see the ULM Warhawks travel to Miami on Sat., Nov. 24. The ULM kickoff time is still to be determined.
The all-time series with FAU is presently the longest on-going with any opponent dating back to 2002. FAU owns an 8-2 on-field advantage in the 10 previous meetings; however, FIU defeated the Owls, 41-7, in 2011. FIU's 2005 win was vacated, to place the recognized series record to 8-1.
In the two FIU wins, the Panthers won by 46 (2005) and 34 points (2011), the two largest margins of victory by either team in the series.
FIU will be playing at FAU's new on-campus stadium for the first time, with previous road games occurring at Ft. Lauderdale's Lockhart Stadium and Miami Garden's present Sun Life Stadium. Additionally, with the Panthers moving into Conference USA beginning in 2013, this year's game is presently the last on the schedule.
After the USA game, Jordan Hunt was named the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week (Nov. 4), as well as earning Week #10 Honorable Mention honors from College Football Performance Awards, for his standout performance.
Hunt was a defensive star in the win over USA, and most notably during the fourth quarter with the game on the line, recording a team-high 11 tackles, including nine solo stops, one forced fumble, two pass breakups, one quarterback hurry and one interception.
Wayne Times caught another pass at South Alabama, extending his career-long streak to 27 games with a catch since 2010 - the third-longest receptions streak in FIU history.
Johnathan Cyprien, Winston Fraser, and Rupert Bryan, all prominent starters over several seasons, each lead the program in career starts at their respective positions.
Kedrick Rhodes rushed for his second 100-yard game of the season (149 yards on 27 carries, with one touchdown). It was his program-best eighth career 100-yard game. He also moved closer to the all-time rushing record at FIU, now at 2,000 career rushing yards.
Cyprien had his team-high third interception at USA, and the sixth of his career, moving him into fourth-place all-time at FIU.
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GAME DETAILS:
Date: Friday, Nov. 16
Location: Boca Raton, Fla.
Time: 8 p.m. (EST)
Stadium: FAU Stadium
2012 Records:
FIU: 2-8 Overall, 1-5 Sun Belt
FAU: 3-7 Overall, 2-4 Sun Belt
Series: FAU leads 8-2
Social Media: Twitter.com/@FIUFootball
Game Broadcast: ESPNU; FIU Sports Radio Network
Next Up:
Opponent: ULM (6-4/4-2 Sun Belt) [vs. North Texas, Sat., Nov. 17]
Date: Saturday, Nov. 24
Location: Miami, Fla.
Time: TBD
Stadium: Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium (20,000)
Game Broadcast: FIU Sports Radio Network
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FIU-FAU Series Notes
FAU stadium technically marks the sixth site the Shula Bowl game will be played. The series started at the present Sun Life Stadium (formerly Pro Player/Dolphin Stadium). FAU hosted 2010 at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, while FIU hosted the 2007 game at the Orange Bowl. Earlier FIU home games were at the former FIU Community Stadium site, before it was rebuilt into the present Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium.
FIU vs. FAU (1-8 [#2-8])
11/23/02; at FAU+; Pro Player; (L) 21-31; 10,224
11/22/03; No. 14 FAU; FIU Community; (L) 23-32; 9,288
12/4/04; at FAU+; Pro Player; (L) 10-17; 16,262
11/26/05#; *FAU; FIU Community; (W) 52-6; 15,322
11/25/06; *at FAU+; Dolphin; (L) 0-31; 9,655
11/24/07; *FAU; Orange Bowl; (L) 23-55; 6,122
11/29/08; *at FAU+ (OT); Dolphin; (L) 50-57; 16,781
12/05/09; *FAU; FIU Stadium; (L) 28-21; 10,108
10/30/10; *at FAU; Lockhart; (L) 9-21; 17,543
11/12/11; *FAU; Alfonso Field; (W) 41-7; 17,378
# Win was vacated
Most games have been close in the series. Each school has two blowout wins, FIU in 2011 and '05, FAU in 2006 and '07. Every other game has been decided in the fourth quarter. FAU's margin of victory in those six games was 8.7 points.
Average scoring has been much closer. Over 10 games, FAU is averaging 28.5 points to FIU's 25 points per game. FAU is averaging seven more yards rushing per contest (141.9-134.9). The Owls also have the passing advantage, 243.7-225.1 (+18.6 yards per game). Total offense is close, with FAU holding a 385.6 to 360 yards per game average advantage (+25.6).
In the 2005 game, FIU tied the NCAA record with four touchdowns on interceptions, tying the mark that was set on 11/7/87 by Houston against Texas. Overall, FIU leads FAU in non-offensive touchdowns 5-3.
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FIU - FAU High School Connections
FAU's 85 Florida players are the most amount of “opponent Floridians” FIU will face in 2012: Duke (13); Akron (11); UCF (71), Louisville (34); Louisiana (7); Arkansas State (2), Middle Tennessee (17), Troy (25), WKU (32), South Alabama (28) and ULM (1).
48 percent (41) of FAU's Floridians hail from the “tri-county” region of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Miami/Miami Killian H.S.
FIU: Giancarlo Revilla (Sr., OL), Richard Leonard (So., CB); FAU: Keith Reaser (R-Jr., DB)
Miami/Booker T. Washington H.S.
FIU: Winston Fraser (Sr., LB); FAU: Martin Wright (Sr., DE)
Miami/Miami Norland H.S.
FIU: Tourek Williams (Sr., DE); FAU: Tony Thomas (Fr., WR)
Miami/Miami Central H.S.
FIU: Jairus Williams (Jr., WR); FAU: Josh Ballesteros (Fr., LB), Andrae Kirk (So., LB)
North Miami/North Miami Senior H.S.
FIU: Junior Mertile (R-Sr., CB), Junior Delpe (Jr., TE); FAU: Nexon Dorvilus (R-Jr., TE), Randell Johnson (R-Jr., LB), David Lozandier (So., S), Robinson Eugene (R-Fr., DE)
Ft. Lauderdale/St. Thomas Aquinas H.S.
FIU: Jeremiah Harden (R-Sr., RB), Nico Shepherd (Fr., TE); FAU: Duron Carter (R-Jr., WR)
Miramar/Miramar H.S.
FIU: Orwin Etkins (R-Jr., RB); FAU: Anthony Hamilton (Fr., DB), Trevon Coley (Fr., DL)
Belle Glade/Glades Central H.S.
FIU: Rupert Bryan, Jr. (Sr., OT); FAU: Cre'von LeBlanc (Fr., DB)
Port St. Lucie/Treasure Coast H.S.
FIU: Patrick Jean (Fr., LB); FAU: Travis Jones (R-Jr., RB)
Vero Beach/Vero Beach H.S.
FIU: Cody Horstman (R-Fr., DL), Lars Koht (R-Fr., DE); FAU: T.J. Dupuis (Jr., OL)
Bradenton/Southeast H.S.
FIU: Demarkus Perkins (R-So., LB); FAU: Blake Bierman (R-Jr., WR)
Sanford/Seminole H.S.
FIU: Alvin Dacenay (Fr., OL); FAU: Dalton Schomp (Fr., P/K)
Daytona Beach/Mainland H.S.
FIU: Deonte Wilson (Fr., CB); FAU: Anthony Russell (Fr., TE)
Spruce Creek-Daytona Beach/Spruce Creek H.S.
FIU: Andrew Mattox (Sr., DT); FAU: Demetrius Williamson (R-Sr., DB)
Panama City/Bay H.S.
FIU: T.J. Lowder (R-Fr., WR); FAU: DeAndre Richardson (R-Jr., WR)
Jacksonville/Robert E. Lee H.S.
FIU: Jose Cheeseborough (Sr., CB); FAU: Brian Sirmans (R-Sr., WR)
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FIU has just one home game remaining in 2012, as the ULM Warhawks come to town on Saturday, Nov. 24. Tickets can be purchased by visiting FIUSports.com or by calling 305-FIU-GAME (348-4263).
About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including U.S. Century Bank Arena and Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium.
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelors, masters and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU is worlds ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission and enrolls nearly 48,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. More than 140,000 alumni live and work in South Florida. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
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