It's the battle of the Panthers this weekend as FIU hosts Pittsburgh on Saturday, Sept. 13. Kickoff from Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium is set for noon ET. The game will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 1 with Craig Bolerjack (play-by-play) and Ryan Nece (color analyst) calling 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 game is presented by Doctor's Hospital.
 
The Panthers are coming off a 34-3 win over Wagner last Saturday. Sophomore Jonnu Smith and freshman Alex Gardner each had career nights, recording their first 100-yard outings in receiving yards and rushing yards, respectively.
 
FIU out-gained the Seahawks 377-212, holding Wagner to just 92 yards rushing on the night. The Panthers forced a school-record-tying six turnovers, resulting in 20 points for FIU, including a pair on interceptions. Redshirt-junior Richard Leonard returned a pick-six for 60 yards in the first quarter while freshman Shermarke Spence grabbed the first interception of his collegiate career on Saturday.
 
Four Panthers made their first-collegiate starts last weekend (Alex McGough, Gardner, Dieugot Joseph and Treyvon Williams).
 
Currently ranked No. 9 in the nation, the FIU defense added two more sacks versus Wagner to increase the team's total to eight on the year. The Panthers are giving up just 8.5 points-per-game which is good for No. 6 in the nation. Allowing just 91.0 yards-per-game on the ground (No. 26 in the nation) and 134.5 yards-per-game through the air (No. 17 in the nation), the Panthers' defense will have a good challenge this Saturday as Pittsburgh comes into Miami gaining 356.0 yards-per-game rushing (No. 4 in the nation) and are averaging 46.0 points-per-game (No. 18 in the nation).
 
Senior Demarkus Perkins and junior Denzell Perine lead the defense with 11 tackles apiece this season. Perkins had a season-high seven tackles (all solo) and recovered a fumble versus the Seahawks. Perine comes into Saturday's game as the team's leader in sacks with 3.5. He also has a team-leading 5.0 tackles for loss. Leonard's interception return for a touchdown was the third pick of Leonard's career and first that resulted in a touchdown. It was the team's first interception returned for a touchdown since Johnathan Cyprien did it against ULM on Nov. 19, 2011.
 
Offensively, the Panthers registered their best statistical outing this past weekend since last year's 396 yards of total offense versus UAB (Oct. 12, 2013). Under center, FIU unitized both McGough and junior E.J. Hilliard against Wagner. In his first start, McGough completed 9-of-18 passes for 60 yards and two touchdowns. The Tampa, Fla., native connected with Smith for 41 yards to get the scoring started early in the first quarter and found tight end Cory White for a 1-yard score late in the second quarter. The touchdown grab was the first of White's career. Hilliard was efficient on Saturday, completing 87.5 percent (14-of-16) of his passes for 169 yards.
 
Smith grabbed a season-high nine catches for 127 yards and one touchdown. The Ocala, Fla., native has caught at least one catch in each of the last 14 games and has led the Panthers in receiving nine times.
 
In the backfield, the Panthers rushed for 148 yards, including 138 by Gardner. The Jacksonville, Fla., native set the FIU freshman record in rushing yards, breaking the previous mark set by teammate Silas Spearman III last season at Southern Miss (136 yards). 
 
Saturday's game will be the third-straight home contest for the Panthers and the first of two-straight versus teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

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FIU hosts the Pittsburgh Panthers on Saturday, Sept. 13, at 12:00 p.m. from Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.
 
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 six home games features non-conference foes 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