MIAMI (Sept. 22, 2014) -- The FIU football team hits the road for the first time in 2014 as the Panthers travel to Birmingham, Ala., to take on the UAB Blazers on Saturday, Sept. 27. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET with the game being broadcast on the American Sports Network (ASN). Dave Armstrong (play-by-play) and Michael Young (color analyst) will call the action. Fans can also tune into 1210AM ESPN Deportes with Mike Levine (play-by-play) and Pete Pelegrin (color analyst) on the call.

The Panthers are coming off a 34-3 loss to the Louisville Cardinals on Saturday, Sept. 20. Despite holding the Cardinals to just 12 yards rushing in the game, FIU suffered its second-straight loss to close out its season-opening, four-game homestand. The defense found Louisville's quarterback four times to increase the team's sack total to 15 (total number of sacks the team had in 2013).

The Panthers open Conference USA play this week with league's top rated defense (No. 18 nationally), allowing 302.3 yards-per-game. Led by senior Demarkus Perkins, who posted a career-high 12 tackles versus Louisville, the FIU defense held the Cardinals to their ninth-lowest rushing total in program history (96 years of football). Perkins has tallied a team-high 29 tackles (21 solo) this season. Junior Michael Wakefield picked up two sacks on Saturday to increase his season total to four and a-half sacks. The native of Valdosta, Ga., currently ranks No. 16 in the nation in sacks (1.13 per game) and No. 26 among all FBS players in tackles for loss, averaging 1.60 per game. On the year, Wakefield has totaled 11 tackles (nine solo) with three pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Freshman Anthony Wint is second on the team in tackles with 19 (11 solo). The Homestead, Fla., native has started all four games as a true freshman. Junior Denzell Perine is also among the nation's leaders in sacks having totaled four this season. Perine ranks No. 20 in the nation, averaging 1.00 sack-per-game.

Offensively, the Panthers are led by freshman Alex Gardner, who leads the team in rushing with 251 yards on 45 carries (5.6 yards-per-carry). Freshman Alex McGough has started under center in each of the team's last three games. The native of Tampa, Fla., has completed 42-of-88 passes for 448 yards and five touchdowns. Junior E.J. Hilliard comes into Saturday's game having registered 277 yards on 27-of-39 passing this season.

The favorite target for both McGough and Hilliard has been sophomore Jonnu Smith, who has 22 catches this season for 236 yards and two touchdowns. Smith, who has caught a pass in 16-straight games, is No. 3 in C-USA in receptions-per-game (5.5). Smith and redshirt senior Glenn Coleman had a team-high four catches apiece versus Louisville.  Smith has led the team in receiving 11 of his 16-career games at FIU.

Redshirt junior Richard Leonard comes into this weekend's contest as one of the nation's top return men. The Miami native leads the conference and ranks No. 6 in the nation in kickoff returns, averaging 33.2 yards-per-return. Leonard is also averaging 21.4 yards-per-put return good for No. 1 in C-USA and No. 9 in the nation. Leonard is currently ranked no. 3 all-time in career kickoff return yards (1,011) and career return yards (1,442) in the history of FIU.

Saturday will mark the second-ever meeting between FIU and UAB with the Panthers looking to earn their first-ever win versus the Blazers.

Head Coach Ron Turner is also looking for his first-career victory versus the Blazers (0-1 all-time).  

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FIU travels to Birmingham, Ala., to face the UAB Blazers on Saturday, Sept. 27, at 3:30 p.m. from Legion Field.
 
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 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. 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 of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.