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Ron Turner Postgame Presser

MIAMI (Sept. 6, 2013) – The FIU football team fell to UCF in its home opener by a 38-0 score on Friday night at Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium. With the loss, the Panthers fall to 0-2 while the Knights improve to 2-0.

Tonight's game marked the first FBS non-conference game this season involving two schools that changed leagues in 2013. FIU moved from the Sun Belt to Conference USA, while UCF moved to the American Athletic Conference from C-USA.

A week after having a school-record 13 first-time starters, another four Panthers made their first career starts (one on offense, three on defense). This season, eight players have made first starts on offense, seven on defense, and two on special teams.

UCF put up 24 points in the first half, striking first at the 7:02 mark of the opening quarter on a Blake Bortles quarterback sneak. Storm Johnson would then open the second period with a two-yard touchdown run, pushing the Knight's lead to 14-0.

With 8:31 remaining in the first half, Shawn Moffitt converted a 37-yard field goal to extend the UCF lead to 17-0. Another TD run by Storm, this time from 15 yards out at the 3:50 mark, gave the Knights a 24-0 halftime advantage.

In the third quarter, UCF came up with an FIU fumble recovery which led to Johnson's third touchdown of the night. The score and successful PAT pushed the Knights' lead to 31-0 with 7:30 remaining in the period. Bortles would later pass to J.J. Worton for a five-yard TD to close out the scoring for the contest, as UCF came away with a 38-0 victory.

The Panthers return to action next Saturday, Sept. 14, when FIU hosts Bethune-Cookman. Kick-off is set for 6 p.m. at Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium.

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/

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