SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Oct. 11, 2014) – The FIU football team (3-4, 2-1 C-USA) dropped a heartbreaker to the UTSA Roadrunners on Saturday in the Alamodome. With the game knotted up at 13, the Roadrunners connected on a 39-yard field goal with 50 seconds to go to secure the 16-13 victory.

Offensively, the Panthers turned the ball over a season-high four times in the loss. FIU forced three turnovers and allowed 317 total yards of total offense to the Roadrunners. Additionally, FIU held UTSA to just three of 14 on third downs.
After a scoreless first quarter, FIU took a 3-0 lead following a 42-yard field goal by sophomore Austin Taylor with 14:11 left in the half. The score was set up after senior Giovani Francois sacked quarterback Austin Robinson, forcing a fumble, which was returned 14 yards to the UTSA 21-yard line by junior Denzell Perine. The forced fumble was the team's nation-leading 14^th of the year.

The Panthers extended their lead to 10-0 when freshman quarterback Alex McGough connected with sophomore Jonnu Smith for a 15-yard touchdown with 3:24 left in the first half. The score capped a four-play, 28-yard drive which took 1:33 and started from the Roadrunners' 28-yard line. The good field position was set up after FIU recovered a muffed punt for the Panthers' second turnover forced in the game.

UTSA pulled within three points with a two-yard touchdown run by Jarveon Williams with 39 seconds left in the half. The scored finished a nine-pay, 74-yard drive that lasted 2:45.

Following a pair of empty drives by both teams to open the second half, UTSA pieced together an eight-play, 46-yard drive resulting in a 42-yard field goal by Sean Ianno to tie the game up at 10-all.

 FIU put together a nice drive with over six minutes remaining in the third quarter, which included a 43-yard connection from McGough to senior Glenn Coleman. With the ball inside the UTSA five, FIU turned it over, costing the Panthers a scoring opportunity. The Roadrunners were driving after the turnover, but FIU returned the favor, as junior Richard Leonard recovered a fumble to give FIU possession.

On the ensuing drive for the Panthers, Taylor converted a 24-yard field goal to give FIU a 13-10 lead with 11:03 left in the game. FIU drove 60 yards in 14 plays, which took five minutes off the game clock.

With 1:54 to go in the contest, the Roadrunners tied it up on a 27-yard field goal. On the ensuing kick-off, FIU fumbled on the return which set up for the eventual game-winning kick for UTSA.

FIU had the ball at the UTSA 45 with 10 seconds to. The hail mary pass was picked off in front of the endzone to end the game.

#####
 
FIU returns home to face the Marshall Thundering Herd on Saturday, Oct. 18, at 6:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the American Sports Network.
 
The game will be broadcast live on 1210AM with Mike Levine (play-by-play) and Pete Pelegrin (color analyst) calling all of the action. FIU's remaining four home games features C-USA opponents Marshall (Oct. 8), Rice (Nov. 1) and Middle Tennessee (Nov. 15).
 
For FIU football ticket information, log onto www.FIUSports.com or contact the University Credit Union Box Office at 305-FIU-GAME (348-4263).
 
For the latest information on Panthers football, follow us on Twitter, @FIUFootball, and check out Pete Pelegrin's in-depth coverage of FIU Athletics on his official blog, The Prowl, at www.FIUSports.com.
 
#####

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 FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offer more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member ofConference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.