Box Score MIAMI, Fla. (September 8, 2012) – FIU sophomore Jake Medlock rushed for a school-record 141 yards by a quarterback. He also threw for 209 yards and accounted for two scores, as the Panthers opened up their home schedule with a hard-fought 41-38 overtime win over Akron (0-2, 0-0 MAC) at Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium on Saturday night.

Senior placekicker Jack Griffin, also handling punting duties in the game, kicked the game-winning 29-yard field goal in overtime to give FIU (1-1, 0-0 Sun Belt) its first win of the 2012 season.  Griffin was also the hero at the end of regulation, sending a 30-yard field goal through the uprights to tie the game, 30-30. The FIU defense began the overtime period holding Akron at bay, with Zips' kicker Robert Stein missing his field goal attempt, wide right, from 45-yards out.

The Panthers jumped out to a 7-0 lead following a 29-yard run by Medlock with 14:27 left in the first quarter. The score capped off a two play, 73-yard drive, which took just 33 seconds. Medlock accounted for all 73 yards on the drive, rushing right up the middle, off tackle, on consecutive plays. The rushing touchdown was the longest of the redshirt sophomore quarterback's career.

Akron responded with a score of its own near the end of the first, driving 85 yards in 11 plays ending with Dalton Williams' 15-yard touchdown pass to Marquelo Suel with 3:23 left in the opening stanza.

The Zips then took a 13-7 lead following an 11-yard pass by Williams to Jawon Chisholm with 5:45 left in the first half. Akron drove 29 yards on four plays in 1:19 after the Zips started on the FIU 29-yard line. A 52-yard punt return by Akron's Imani Davis set up good field position to start the drive for the Zips' go-ahead score.

The Zips would extend their lead to 20-7 after Williams completed his third touchdown pass of the game, connecting with L.T. Smith in the back of the endzone with 1:14 left in the first half. The five-yard TD pass capped off an eight play, 60-yard drive that covered 3:17. 

FIU pulled within six points in the final minute of play in the first half, as Medlock tossed his third touchdown pass of the season, finding Jarius Williams on a seven-yard fade in the endzone with 33 seconds left in the half.  The seven-yard TD reception by Williams was the first of the redshirt junior's first-career, cutting Akron's lead to 20-14 as both
teams headed into the locker room.

Medlock finished the first half with 101 yards rushing, including a career-best, 29-yard touchdown scamper. 

FIU regained the lead in the third quarter with a five-yard touchdown run by Darian Mallary. On fourth-and-one from the Akron five-yard line, the senior running back rushed five-yards up the middle for his second touchdown of the season. The Panthers drove 14 yards on four plays in 1:14 to take a 21-20 lead.

Richard Leonard tallied his first-career punt return for a touchdown at the beginning of the fourth quarter to extend the Panther's lead to 28-20. The sophomore from Miami, Fla., returned Akron's punt 49 yards to give FIU an eight-point lead with 14:08 left in the game.

Despite a fumbled punt by Leonard with 12:39 left in the game at the FIU 22-yard line, the Panthers defense stood their ground as the Zips settled for a 41-yard field goal by Stein to make the score 28-23 with 12:16 remaining in the contest. 

A 21-yard touchdown pass by Williams to Chisholm with 8:25 left in the game put the Zips back on top. The touchdown connection was the second of the game between the two teammates and marked the fourth touchdown pass by Williams on the night. A successful two-point conversion by the Zips gave Akron a 31-28 lead.

Two minutes later, the Panthers drove 68 yards in four plays in 1:31 seconds to push ahead of Akron 35-31. Mallary scored his second touchdown of the game on a 32-yard run.

Suel grabbed his second touchdown catch of the game to give Akron a 38-35 lead with 1:53 left in the game. Williams found Suel for his fifth TD pass of the game on a 15-yard strike to Suel. The score capped a four-play, 54-yard drive which lasted 1:03.

With the ball and 1:53 left on the clock, FIU began on its own 33-yard line. On first down, Medlock found redshirt freshman tight end Akil Dan-Fodio for nine yards. On second down, Medlock tucked the ball and rushed for 18 yards to the Akron 40. Following an incompletion, Medlock found Dan-Fodio again, for 15 yards, to the Zips 25. Akron was
then tagged for a pass interference penalty in the endzone that put FIU at the Zips' 10. FIU then mishandled the snap, giving Griffin the chance to tie the game from 30 yards
out.

FIU next travels to Orlando, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 15, to take on the UCF Knights at Bright House Networks Stadium.  The game kicks off at 4 p.m. and will be televised live on CSS.
 
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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