FIU: (2-3, 0-1 C-USA) (1-0 home)
UTEP: (2-3, 0-1 C-USA) (1-2 road)
 
Date: Oct. 10, 2015
 
Location: Ocean Bank Field at Stadium (FieldTurf) (20,000) in Miami, Fla.
 
Kickoff: 12:00 p.m. ET
 
Press Box Phone: 305.348.1898
 
Television: American Sports Network (ASN) - Jeffrey McCarragher (play-by-play) and Michael Young (color analyst) will call the action.
 
Radio: 1210 ESPN Deportes (WMNA 1210 AM) - Mike Levine (play-by-play) and Wes Carroll (color analyst) on the call. Fans can listen by tuning into 1210 on their AM dial or by logging onto either www.FIUSports.com or www.1210ESPNdeportes.com
 
Live Stats: www.FIUSports.com
 
Live Video Streaming: N/A
 
Tickets: 305.FIU.GAME (348.4263) -or- www.FIUSports.com
 
Records: FIU enters Saturday's game with a 2-3, 0-1 C-USA record following a 24-14 loss at UMass on Saturday, Oct. 3. UTEP enters Saturday's action with a 2-3, 0-1 C-USA record following a 25-6 loss to UTSA on Saturday, Oct. 3.
 
FIU Head Coach Ron Turner: Turner (Pacific, 1977) is in his third season at FIU (7-22, .241) and 12th season overall as a head coach (49-83, .371). Turner is 0-1 all-time versus the Miners
 
UTEP Head Coach Sean Kugler: Kugler (UTEP, 1989) is in his third season at UTEP (11-19, .367). Kugler is 1-0 all-time versus the Panthers.
 
Series History: Saturday will mark the second meeting all-time between the two programs with UTEP holding a 1-0 edge in the series history. The last meeting between the two schools resulted in a 33-10 win for the Miners on Nov. 16, 2013, in El Paso, Texas.
 
Game Six – FIU Returns Home to Host UTEP in C-USA Home Opener
After playing four of its first five games on the road, the FIU football team returns home to host the UTEP Miners in the team's Conference USA home opener on Saturday, Oct. 10. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. as the game will be broadcast on the American Sports Network (ASN). Jeffrey McCarragher (play-by-play) and Michael Young (color analyst) will call the action. Fans can also listen to the game on 1210AM ESPN Deportes with Mike Levine (play-by-play) and Wes Carroll (color analyst) on the call.
 
The Panthers are coming of a tough 24-14 loss at UMass on Saturday, Oct. 3, as FIU was out-gained by the Minutemen, 495-188, in total offense. Despite winning the turnover battle, the Panthers suffered the 10-point loss as UMass racked up 363 yards through the air, resulting in three touchdowns.
 
Sophomore Alex McGough completed 22-of-34 passes for a season-low 155 yards and one touchdown. McGough connected with sophomore Thomas Owens late in the second quarter for the Boynton Beach, Fla., native's fifth touchdown receptions of the season. Owens has now caught a TD pass in four-straight games.
 
Sophomore Alex Gardner recorded his third rushing touchdown on the year last weekend. The Jacksonville, Fla., native carried the ball 17 times for 59 yards. He also registered a career-high 10 receptions for 58 yards.
 
FIU's defensive was in a "bend but don't break" mode most of the game on Saturday, holding UMass to just 24 points despite totaling 495 yards of total offense. The Panthers recovered two fumbles which resulted in 14 points for FIU. The team also recorded its second blocked field goal of the season as Vontarius West blocked a 19-yard attempt by UMass.
 
FIU was led defensively by senior Jephete Matilus, who was credited with a career-high 12 tackles, including his first-career sack – a 15-yard loss. Sophomore Anthony Wint notched his third outing with double-digit tackles this season, tallying 10 versus the Minutemen, while recovering a fumble.
 
The Panthers enter this week's action averaging 21.4 points-per-game (No. 113 in the nation) and 356.6 yards of total offense-per-game (No. 99 in the nation).
 
McGough has completed 122-of-189 passes for 1,129 yards and 10 touchdowns. The Tampa, Fla., native ranks No. 33 in the nation in total yards, No. 15 in the nation in passing touchdowns and No. 36 in the nation in completion percentage (64.6 percent). Last season, McGough finished the year with 1,680 yards and 14 touchdowns.
 
Owens leads FIU's receivers with 29 catches for 349 yards and five scores. Owens ranks No. 9 in the nation in receiving touchdowns and No. 36 in receptions-per-game (5.8), nationally. Gardner is second on the team in receptions with 26 after collecting 19 in the Panthers' last two outings.
 
The FIU defense has allowed 23.0 points-per-game (No. 58 in the nation) and 382.0 yards of total offense-per-game (No. 67 in the nation).
 
Wint leads all Panthers with 41 total tackles. Fellow linebacker, who missed action last week due to injury, is second on the team in total tackles with 33.  Defensive ends Michael Wakefield and Denzell Perine have been in the opponent's backfield quite a bit this season as the duo has combined for 6.0 sacks and 12.0 tackles for loss.  
 
Saturday's game will mark just the second meeting all-time between FIU and UTEP with the Miners holding a 1-0 edge in the series history. The last meeting between the two programs resulted in a 33-10 win for UTEP on Nov. 16, 2013 in El Paso, Texas.
 
Game Notables
-  Saturday will mark FIU's second home game of the season.
-  Saturday will mark the C-USA home opener for the Panthers.
-  Saturday will mark the 30th game for Head Coach Ron Turner at FIU.
-  Saturday will mark Turner's 133rd game as a college head coach.
-  Saturday will mark the second-meeting all-time versus FIU and UTEP.
-  The Miners hold a 1-0 edge in the series history having won the last meeting between the two teams, 33-10, on Nov. 16, 2013 in El Paso, Texas.
-  FIU will be looking to record its 31st home victory all-time on Saturday.
-  Saturday will mark the 160th game in FIU history.
-  FIU will be looking to improve to 3-3 to start the season.
-  FIU will be looking for its second-straight C-USA home opening victory.
-  Coach Turner is 0-1 all-time versus UTEP.
-  Saturday will mark the team's seventh appearance on ASN (2-4 all-time).
-  Saturday will mark the team's 76th televised game.
-  Sophomore Thomas Owens enters Saturday having caught a touchdown pass in four-straight games.
-  Junior Jonnu Smith enters Saturday having caught a pass in 29-straight games.
 
A Quick Look at UTEP
Michael Egwuagu scored two touchdowns off UTEP turnovers in the second half as UTSA pulled away for a 25-6 victory over the Miners in the Conference USA opener for both teams on Saturday in the Sun Bowl.
 
The Roadrunners (1-4, 1-0 C-USA) led the Miners (2-3, 0-1 C-USA) 3-0 following a first half that featured two lightning delays, making it difficult for either team to get anything going.  But it was all UTSA over the final 30 minutes as the Miners were only able to mount one scoring drive.  UTEP turned it over five times, three times in the second half, as Ryan Metz was picked off four times in a game that lasted four and a half hours.
 
Unable to get the ground game going, the Miners finished with 275 yards of offense, 216 through the air.  Metz was 23-for-49 for 216 yards.
 
UTEP managed only 95 yards on its first 12 drives.  On nine of the 12 drives, the Miners ran three plays or less.
 
A Look Back at the UMass Game
-  The game marked the Panthers' first trip to Amherst, Mass., and McGuirk Stadium.
-  UMass marked the third first-time opponent for the Panthers this season. With today's loss FIU is now 1-2 versus first-time opponents this season.
-  With last Saturday's loss, FIU is now 4-3 versus teams from the MAC
-  FIU lost the coin toss for the first this season. UMass elected to receive the opening kick.
-  Madison Kubat, Milord Juste, Shawn Abrams made their FIU debuts on Saturday.
-  Chris Miller (OG) made his first-career start,
-  Jonnu Smith extended his streak of consecutive games with a reception to 29 games.
-  Vontarius West blocked a 19-yard FG attempt in the first quarter. That was the second blocked FG attempt by the Panthers this season.
-  Thomas Owens caught a one-yard touchdown pass from Alex McGough late in the second quarter. The touchdown was the fifth of the season for the Boynton Beach, Fla., native, who has now caught a TD pass in four-straight games.
-  Alex Gardner caught a career-high 10 receptions on Saturday. 
-  Gardner finished the game with 10 catches for 58 yards.
-  Julian Williams had a career-high five catches for 24 yards. 
-  FIU recovered two fumbles on Saturday with both turnovers resulting in 14 points for the Panthers.
-  Jephete Matilus had a career-high 12 tackles including his first-career sack.
 
Record Watch - Richard Leonard
Senior Richard Leonard enters this Saturday's game ranked No. 2 in career kick returns (69), No. 2 in career kick return yards (1,789) and No. 2 in total return yards (2,603) in the FIU record books.
 
C-USA Home Openers
Saturday will mark FIU's third C-USA home opener with the Panthers owning a 1-1 mark. FIU dominated Florida Atlantic last season, defeating the Owls, 38-10, on Oct. 2. Two seasons ago, the Panthers dropped a 27-24 decision to UAB in the program's first C-USA contest at Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium (Oct. 12, 2013).
 
Good Decisions
Sophomore Alex McGough enters Saturday's game having tossed just two picks in 189 attempts this season. The Tampa native has currently thrown 104-straight passes without an interception. That is the fourth-longest streak in FIU history.
 
Sack Master
Senior Denzell Perine has wreaked havoc in opposing team's back fields this season. The Mobile, Ala., native has recorded 4.0 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss in 2015. Perine currently ranks No. 32 in the nation in sacks-per-game (0.80) and No. 47 in the nation in tackles for loss-per-game (1.3).
 
29 and Counting
Junior Jonnu Smith enters Saturday's game having caught a pass in 29-straight games. That currently ranks tied for No. 9 among all active players, nationally.
 
            Rk.       Player   School  No.                 
           1.         D.J. Foster                   Arizona State                45                                            
            2.         Alonzo Russell              Toledo                          42                                           
            3.         Tajae Sharpe                 UMass                          39                                           
            4.         Tommylee Lewis            Northern Illinois             32                                           
            5.         Bryce Treggs                California                      31                                           
                        Shaq Washington          Cincinnati                      31                                            
            7.         Rashard Higgins            Colorado State              30                                           
                        Nelson Spruce              Colorado                      30                                           
            9.         Jonnu Smith                  FIU                               29
                        Tyler Boyd                    Pittsburgh                     29                                           
                        Zach Pascal                  Old Dominion                29                                           
 
FIU on ASN
Saturday's game versus UTEP will mark FIU's seventh appearance on the American Sports Network (ASN). The Panthers are 2-4 all-time on ASN, including 1-2at Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium. FIU's last home game on ASN resulted in a 38-28 win for the Panthers over Middle Tennessee (Nov. 15, 2014).
 
TO = TDs
Sophomore Thomas Owens enters Saturday's game with a team-high five touchdown receptions this season. The Boynton Beach, Fla., native has caught a touchdown pass in each of the team's last four games.
 
200+
Sophomore Alex McGough enters Saturday's game with 1,129 yards on 122-of-189 passing (64.6 percent) and 10 touchdowns. The Tampa native has thrown for over 200 yards in four of the Panthers' first five contests.
                                      
The Panthers in September
FIU finished the month of September with a 2-2 record, averaging 398.8 yards-per-game of total offense while scoring 93 points. A year ago, the Panthers went 2-2 during the month of September, averaging 293.0 yards-per-game of total offense and scored 96 points.
 
In 2014, FIU had three home games in September (1-2). This year, the Panthers have had only one home game (1-0).
 
Offensively, the Panthers have recorded 262 more passing yards and 161 more rushing yards than a year ago.
 
The difference from a year ago defensively is in the turnover category. This year, FIU had four interceptions and no fumble recoveries. A year ago, the Panthers totaled seven picks and 10 fumble recoveries during the month of September.
 
McGough Climbing the Charts
In just his second season under center, sophomore Alex McGough is already in the school's top 10 in career completions (261 – 5th), attempts (463 – 5th), passing yards (2,809 – 5th) and passing touchdowns (24 – 4th).