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COLLEGE PARK, Md. (August 30, 2013) – FIU Football opened the 2013 college football season with a 43-10 setback to the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday afternoon.

FIU had 11 first-time starters in Saturday's game, tying the program record which was first set at Penn State on Sept.1, 2007. Additionally, the Panthers had seven new starters on offense, which is a school record.

The story early for the Panthers was red zone defense. The Terrapins opened the game with a seven-play drive with a few big plays to get to the FIU nine yard line. However, the Panthers made three-straight stops to hold Maryland to a field goal. Then after FIU fumbled on the ensuing kickoff in its own redzone, the Panthers forced a three-and out and forced another Maryland field goal. The Terrapins led 6-0 with 11:41 to go in the first quarter.

Following a three-and-out drive start in their first offensive possession, the Panthers recovered a muffed punt deep in Maryland's territory. That would set up a 32-yard field goal for freshman Sergio Sroka, the first of his career.

After two Maryland scores made it 20-3, FIU senior defensive tackle Greg Hickman stepped up and sacked Maryland quarterback C.J. Brown and forced him to fumble at his own 25-yard line. That paved way to a Lamarq Caldwell one-yard touchdown run on fourth down to trim the Maryland lead to 20-10 with 8:30 to go in the first half.

The Terps closed out the half with an additional 20 points to take a 40-10 lead into the locker room. A Maryland field goal was the lone scoring in the second half.

The Panthers return to Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium this Friday for an 8 p.m. matchup with in-state rival UCF.

Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUFootball) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUFootball) for all the latest football news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Google+ (FIU Athletics), (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).

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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 bachelor¹s, master¹s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida¹s 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. FIU has awarded 200,000 degrees and enrolls 50,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.