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MIAMI (Sept. 1, 2014) -- With the 2014 season underway, the FIU football team welcomes the Wagner Seahawks to Miami, as Saturday will mark the first-ever meeting between the two teams. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. Fans can watch the game on PantherVision (FIUSports.com) as well as listen to all of the action on 1210AM ESPN Deportes.  Mike Levine (play-by-play) and Pete Pelegrin (color analyst) will call the action.
 
The Panthers are coming of a 14-12 loss to the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats on Saturday, Aug. 30. A failed field goal attempt with under a minute to play resulted in the Panther's first loss of the season. Senior Richard Leonard set a school record for punt return yards (148) in the loss.
 
Saturday's contest will be the second of four-straight home games and will feature the first of four first-time opponents this season for FIU.
 
Five true freshmen made their FIU debuts last Saturday (Shermarke Spence, Alex Gardner, Anthony Wint, Dennis Turner and Alex McGough). Wint was also one of five Panthers who made their first-career starts (Delmar Taylor, Richard Burrows, Imarjaye Albury, Jordan Guest and Wint).
 
The FIU defense registered six sacks (No. 1 in the nation) versus the Wildcats, with junior Denzell Perine leading the squad with a career-high 2.5 sacks. The six sacks were the most by a Panther squad since FIU recorded a half-a-dozen sacks versus UCF on Sept. 17, 2011. Perine finished the night with a career-best eight tackles (5 solo). Wint, in his first collegiate start and appearance, followed Perine with seven tackles (4 solo).
 
On the offensive side of the ball, a pair of freshmen led the way statistically for the Panthers. McGough finished the night versus B-CU with 117 yards on 13-of-27 passing, including his first collegiate touchdown – a five-yard pass to junior T.J. Lowder with 5:16 left in the game. Gardner carried the ball 12 times for 47 yards. The Jacksonville, Fla., native tore off a team-best 22-yard run in the second quarter. 
 
Sophomore Jonnu Smith recorded two catches for 20 yards on Saturday to move the Ocala, Fla., native into second place in career receptions for tight ends at FIU (41). He surpassed Joe Struyf (2002-03, 2005). His 20 receiving yards moved his career total for yards to 408. He is just the third tight end in FIU history to have 400-or-more yards for a career.  Fellow tight end Ya'Keem Griner led all receivers with three catches for 36 yards on Saturday.
 
The spotlight of the night shined brightly Leonard, whose 148 yard gained on punt returns (5) broke the school's previous record held by current Indianapolis Colt T.Y. Hilton. Hilton registered 97 yards versus Florida Atlantic on Nov. 12, 2011. Including a 54-yard kickoff return, the Miami native registered 202 return yards (third-most in school history for a single game). The 148 punt return yard also rank tied for third in C-USA history (Travis Williams – East Carolina vs. Memphis – 11/20/2004). Leonard also returned a punt for 71 yards during Saturday's contest, which set up a touchdown late in the fourth quarter for the Panthers. The 71-yard punt return was the fifth-longest in school history and the longest non-scoring punt return in program history.

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All FIU games will broadcast live on 1210AM with Mike Levine (play-by-play) and Pete Pelegrin (color analyst) calling the action.  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 remaining seven home games features non-conference foes 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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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