MIAMI (Nov. 15, 2014) -- Coming off a 38-28 come-from-behind victory over Middle Tennessee, FIU travels to Denton, Texas, to take on the North Texas Mean Green on Saturday, Nov. 15. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on the American Sports Network (ASN) with
Ron Thulin (play-by-play) and
Keith Moreland (color analyst) on the call. Fans can also listen to the contest on 1210AM ESPN Deportes with
Mike Levine (play-by-play) and
Pete Pelegrin (color analyst) calling the action.
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In the final home game of the season, FIU sent its 12 seniors off with a bang, upending Middle Tennessee on Nov. 15. Twenty-eight unanswered points helped the FIU football team (4-7, 3-4) battle back for a 38-28 come-from-behind victory over the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders on Saturday afternoon.
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Freshman quarterback
Alex McGough threw for 231 yards (17-of-24) and three touchdowns, all of which went to sophomore
Jonnu Smith. Smith finished the game with 140 yards (eight catches), while his three touchdown receptions is a career-high for the Ocala, Fla., native and the most for a single game in Panther football history. Redshirt junior
Richard Leonard had a career day on special teams, as the speedy returner ran for 167 yards.
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Defensively, the Panthers forced five turnovers (three interceptions and two fumbles), including a 79-yard interception for a touchdown by junior linebacker
Davison Colimon. The pick six was the first of Colimon's career and the second-longest interception return in school history.
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Offensively, the Panthers are led on the ground by redshirt junior
Anthon Samuel with 493 yards on the ground and five rushing touchdowns. The Opa Locka, Fla., native is coming off his second-straight, 100-yard rushing game, recording 120 yards on 19 carries, including one touchdown versus the Blue Raiders. Joining Samuel in the backfield is freshman
Napoleon Maxwell with 211 yards on 46 carries and one touchdown. On the year, FIU has rushed for 1,411 yards and 11 touchdowns.
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Through the air, McGough has thrown for 1,624 yards and 14 touchdowns, while completing 51.0 percent of his passes this season. His 14 TD passes are the third-most at FIU in a singles season. The Tampa, Fla., native has also registered four rushing touchdowns.
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McGough's top target is Smith, who has 57 catches for 695 yards and eight touchdowns. His 695 yards receiving are a single-season record for a tight end at FIU and rank seventh overall among Panther receivers all-time. His 57 catches this season are 35.7 percent of the Panthers' total receptions (160), while his eight touchdowns account for 57.1 percent (14). Redshirt senior
Glenn Coleman is second on the team in receptions and the top wide receiver with 22 catches for 456 yards and three touchdowns. Coleman is averaging 20.7 yards-per-catch and has had 10 plays of 20 yards-or-more this season.
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Defensively, the Panthers come into this week's action ranked No. 44 in the nation in total defense, allowing 372.6 yards-per-game. FIU has forced 31 turnovers (No. 1 in the nation), including a nation's-best 19 fumble recoveries. Those turnovers have resulted in 98 points for the Panthers.
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FIU is led defensively by senior
Demarkus Perkins who enters Saturday's contest with 66 tackles (47 solo).The Bradenton, Fla., native picked off his second pass of the season on Saturday and comes into this final collegiate game with 4.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two pass breakups, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble in 2014. Freshman linebacker
Anthony Wint returned to action last Saturday and is tied for second on team with senio
r Justin Halley with 43 total tackles. Wint registered a forced fumble in the redzone versus the Blue Raiders (the eighth forced fumble in the red zone for the Panthers this season). Leonard leads the team with five interceptions and ranks No. 18 nationally in interceptions-per-game (0.50). The Miami native also leads the team in passes defended (7).
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FIU travels to Denton, Texas, to take on the North Texas Mean Green on Saturday, Nov. 22. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET from Apogee Stadium.
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The game will be broadcast live on 1210AM with Mike Levine (play-by-play) and
Pete Pelegrin (color analyst) calling all of the action.
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For FIU football ticket information, log onto
www.FIUSports.com or contact the University Credit Union Box Office at 305-FIU-GAME (348-4263).
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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.Â
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.eduÂ