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The FIU football team begins its 13th season, hosting the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats on Saturday, Aug. 30. The game, which will air on the American Sports Network, is slated to kick off at 7:04 p.m. ET. Dave Armstrong (play-by-play) and Keith Moreland (color analyst) will call the action. The game can also be heard on 1210AM ESPN Deportes with Mike Levine (play-by-play) and Pete Pelegrin (color analyst) on the call. Saturday's contest will also mark "Band Day" with both FIU and Bethune-Cookman's bands performing at halftime.
 
FIU will look to avenge a 34-13 loss to the Wildcats last season (Sept. 14) at Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium. With the game tied at 7-7 midway through the second quarter, B-CU scored four-straight touchdowns to hand the Panthers the loss.
 
Saturday's game will mark the first of four-straight at home for FIU. The Panthers have a school-record eight home games this season. Saturday's season opening game at home will mark just the fourth time FIU has started the season at home. In those games, FIU is 2-1 with the team's last season-opening game at home taking place in 2011 when the Panthers defeated the North Texas Mean Green, 41-16 (Sept. 1).
 
The Panthers return 19 starters from last season (nine on offense, seven on defense, three on special teams) and total of 54 letterwinners from the 2013 campaign. A total of 30 players come into Saturday's game with a combined 202 starts from a year ago. That number has doubled from last year as the 2013 squad has 101 combined starts among 19 players.
 
Leading the FIU offense will be junior quarterback E.J. Hilliard, who comes into this season with 1,420 career passing yards, while completing 62.8 percent of his passes, including seven touchdowns. The Miami native enters the year as the team's starting quarterback having appeared in 16 games during his first two seasons with the Panthers. Hilliard threw his first touchdown pass of the 2013 season versus Bethune-Cookman, connecting with tight end Jonnu Smith late in the game.
 
In the backfield will be junior Lamarq Caldwell, who appeared in all 12 games last season, starting in 11.  In his first full season of action in the backfield, Caldwell amassed 504 yards on the ground. Junior Shane Coleman will split time in the backfield with Caldwell.  Coleman appeared in four games for FIU last season.
 
At tight end, Smith returns as the only Panther to have recorded at least one reception in each of the team's 12 games last season. A C-USA all-conference honorable mention selection and a member of the C-USA All-Freshman Team, the Ocala, Fla., native registered team-high 39 receptions for 388 yards and two touchdowns as a true freshman.
 
Juniors T.J. Lowder and Clinton Taylor return as the receiving corps top two pass catchers from a year ago. Lowder grabbed 24 passes for 307 yards and a team-high three touchdowns, while Taylor recorded 19 catches for 238 yards.
 
On the defensive side of the ball, senior Justin Halley comes into this weekend's action as the team's leading tackler from a year ago (53 total, 39 solo). The Boca Raton, Fla., native also led the team in pass breakups (8) and interceptions (3). Sophomore Jordan Davis registered 47 total tackles (28 solo), while linebacker Luis Rosado tallied 44 tackles (26 solo) in 2013. 
 
Richard Leonard enters his senior season in the FIU record books, ranking No. 4 all-time in punt returns (33) and punt return yards (902), while ranking No. 5 all-time in total return yards with 1,102. In 25 games as a Panther, the Miami native has totaled 102 tackles (75 solo), three interceptions and 13 pass breakups.

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The 2014 FIU football season kicks off on Aug. 30 when the Panthers host the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats.
 
All 12 games will broadcast live on 1210AM with the home opener taking place on Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. from Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium. 1210AM ESPN Deportes will also feature full coverage of FIU football, including pre- and post-game analysis, as well as interviews with coaches, players and staff leading up to each game.
 
FIU's 2014 eight-game home schedule features non-conference foes Bethune-Cookman (Aug. 30), Wagner (Sept. 6), Pittsburgh (Sept. 13) and Louisville (Sept. 20) and C-USA opponents Florida Atlantic (Oct. 2), 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.
 
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2014 FIU Football Schedule
Aug. 30 BETHUNE-COOKMAN (ASN); 7:00 p.m.
Sept. 6 WAGNER; 6:00 p.m.
Sept. 13 PITTSBURGH (FOX Sports 1); 12:00 p.m.
Sept. 20 LOUISVILLE (FOX Sports 1 or FSN)
Sept. 27 at UAB* (ASN) 3:30 p.m.
Oct. 2 FLORIDA ATLANTIC* (FSN); 7:00 p.m.
Oct. 11 at UTSA* (Fox College Sports); 7:00 p.m.
Oct. 18 MARSHALL*; 6:00 p.m.
Nov. 1 RICE* (ASN) 12:00 p.m.
Nov. 8 at Old Dominion* (ASN) 3:30 p.m.
Nov. 15 MIDDLE TENNESSEE* (ASN) 3:30 p.m.
Nov. 22 at North Texas* (ASN) 3:30 p.m.
 
* denotes Conference USA Games
 Home games at Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium are capitalized;
 
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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