MIAMI (Oct. 18, 2014) – Despite an early lead, the FIU football team (3-5, 2-2) fell to the 25^th-ranked Marshall Thundering Herd, 45-13, Saturday evening from Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.

Freshman running back Alex Gardner finished the night with 104 yards on the ground, marking his third career 100-yard game. Freshman quarterback Alex McGough threw for 176 yards on 14 completions with a long of 46 yards to redshirt senior Cory White in the first quarter. The reception is also the longest catch of White's career. McGough also ran for a touchdown in the effort. Sophomore Jonnu Smith paced the receiving corps with a team-high 74 yards, highlighted by a 24-yard route on the Panthers' first scoring drive.

The Herd's Rakeem Cato moved Marshall to mid-field with a 12-yard route after both teams were forced to punt on its opening series. After a deep pass 10 yards beyond the receiver on second down, junior Jeremiah McKinnon came up with a key pass break-up on the following play to force a Marshall punt.

The Panthers answered with the game's first score on the ensuing drive. Gardner ran for 46 yards during the 13-play 80-yard drive. His 11-yard carry was part of back-to-back 10-yard-plus rushes along with junior De'Andre Jasper. On third and 14, McGough connected deep down field with Smith for 24 yards, moving the Panthers to the Herd's 26-yard line. Gardner's second big rush moved FIU to the Herd's six-yard line on third and four. A one-yard quarterback sneak by McGough capped off the 80-yard drive.

The Herd evened the game with a four-play 74-yard drive of its own with five seconds remaining in the first quarter. The go-ahead score for Marshall came on its next drive. Cato's 13-yard pass to Angelo Jean-Louis completed a four-play, 63-yard drive.

The Panthers' defense came up with its 25^th forced turnover of the season with the Herd driving deep in FIU's zone during the final two minutes of the half. Redshirt junior Richard Leonard picked up his team-leading fifth interception on third and six from FIU's 16-yard line, giving him eight for his career, which ties him for No. 3 all-time.

The game went into half time with Marshall up by one touchdown, 14-7. The Panthers' dominated time of possession by nearly 11 minutes, 20:33 to 9:27 through two quarters.
After a 35-yard Herd field goal on its first drive of the third quarter, McGough hit Smith for seven yards on third and six. The Tampa, Fla., native then found junior Akil Dan-Fodio for 10 yards on third and 10, moving the Panthers towards midfield. Two incomplete passes forced the Panthers to punt.

Marshall went up 24-7 after Cato's nine-yard pass granted the Herd a fresh set of downs at FIU's 45. A 46-yard route on the following play sealed the 69-yard drive.

A 21-point fourth quarter for Marshall left the Panthers trailing 45-7 with a little under five minutes to play in the game. With junior E.J. Hilliard under center for FIU, a four-yard pass to junior Clinton Taylor led the Panthers to a late touchdown and a final of 45-13, following a missed point after attempt.

FIU is back in action in two weeks, when it hosts the Rice Owls. Kickoff is scheduled for noon on Nov. 1.

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.
 
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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 FIU Arena and Ocean Bank 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 54,000 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