Box Score MIAMI (September 22, 2012) – The FIU football team dropped a 28-21 decision to the No. 18-ranked Louisville Cardinals on Saturday night at Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium.

Trailing by 14 points with less than five minutes left to play in the game, the Panthers drew within seven on a four-yard pass from freshman E.J. Hilliard to redshirt senior Jacob Younger. However, a roughing the kicker penalty, along with the Cardinals ability to run out the clock, resulted in FIU's first home loss of the season.

The Panthers (1-3) were led by redshirt senior Jeremiah Harden, who rushed for a career-high 102 yards on 20 carries.  Hilliard and redshirt sophomore Jake Medlock combined for 198 yards passing, completing 19-of-26 passes. Senior Wayne Times grabbed a game-high seven receptions for 58 yards. Younger, who registered his first receiving touchdown of the season, hauled in a career-best five catches for a game-high 73 yards.

On the defensive side of the ball, senior Johnathan Cyprien recorded a game-high nine tackles to go along with his fourth-career interception.

The Cardinals' Teddy Bridgewater accounted for three total touchdowns, including two through the air. The 6-foot-3 sophomore completed 19-of-36 passes, accounting for two
touchdowns and two interceptions.

Louisville got on the board first with a three-yard pass from Bridgewater to Nick Heuser with 7:49 left in the first quarter. The score capped off a 13-play, 70-yard drive which took 5:59.

FIU responded with a score of its own with 2:14 left in the first quarter following a 13-play, 76-yard drive which took 5:35 off the clock. Senior Darian Mallary rushed for three
yards to tie the game at seven-all. With the touchdown, Mallary became the first Panther in FIU history to score in four-straight games to start the season.

A one-yard quarterback sneak by Medlock gave the Panthers a 14-7 lead with 7:08 left in the first half. FIU drove 82 yards in 11 plays in 4:45.

The Cardinals tied the score with 26 seconds left in the half following Bridgewater's second touchdown pass of the night, finding Andrell Smith on a one-yard hookup. The one-yard touchdown score capped off a 12-play, 77-yard drive that took 2:48.

At the half, FIU out-gained Louisville, 184-155, in total yards as the Panthers held a 17:17-12:43 edge in time of possession.

A quick strike by Louisville early in the second half gave the Cardinals a 21-14 lead with 12:31 remaining in the third quarter. Jeremy Wright rushed for six yards to end a three-play, 46-yard drive which started at the FIU 46-yard line. The drive was set up following a muffed punt by the Panthers.

Louisville extended its lead to 28-14 with one-yard touchdown run by Bridgewater with 14:54 left in the game. The drive, which ate up 8:09, took 14 plays and went 90 yards.  

FIU pulled within seven points on a four-yard touchdown pass from Hilliard to Younger with 4:53 left in the game. Hillard's TD pass, the first of his career, was sent at the
Louisville 32-yard line following an interception by senior Chuck Grace.  

For the game the Panthers finished with 326 total yards of offense while tallying a time of possession of 30:23. The Cardinals ran up 323 yards of total offense and a time of possession of 29:37.

FIU will next hit the road to begin Sun Belt Conference play against Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns on Saturday, Sept. 29 on ESPN3. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. ET in Lafayette, La.

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FIU once again has an exciting six-game home schedule in 2012, including non-conference games vs. BIG EAST Co-Champion Louisville, Akron, plus Sun Belt schools Arkansas State, Middle Tennessee, WKU and ULM.

The Panthers begin 2012 season with four-straight, non-conference games against Duke (Sept. 1), Akron (Sept. 8), UCF (Sept. 15) and Louisville (Sept. 22), which FIU went 3-1 against last year.

Season tickets are presently on-sale and start at just $42.  Single-game tickets to FIU's six-game home schedule at Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium are also on-sale. Tickets to the FIU-Louisville game on Sept. 22 will only be available as part of a season ticket plan. For more information or to place your order, please visit FIUSports.com or call 305-FIU-GAME (348-4263).

The first 500 NEW season ticket buyers will receive a limited edition Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium replica. Fans must purchase a minimum of two (2) sideline season tickets to qualify for this promotion. There is a limit of one (1) stadium replica per account.
 
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/.