MIAMI (Sept. 19, 2015) -- FIU debuted new blue uniforms Saturday evening in its home opener against North Carolina Central. The jerseys featured shiny gold numbers and the Panthers were sporting new bright gold facemasks.

However, the result against the Eagles from the FCS was the same as the last time an FCS team visited FIU Stadium. FIU in a rout, 39-14. The Panthers played a similar game last year when Wagner visited FIU. That was a 34-3 victory.

FIU needed nearly the entire first quarter to score its first touchdown. After a couple of field goals by Austin Taylor (32 and 36 yards) put the Panthers ahead 6-0, quarterback Alex McGough struck through the air.

McGough, who earlier just missed Dennis Turner for a potential long touchdown, connected with the sophomore receiver on a 64-yard touchdown. FIU led 12-0 after the extra point was no good. Turner led FIU with 72 yards receiving.

The touchdown was Turner's second of the season. With the touchdown pass, McGough threw his 19^th career touchdown pass and moved into fourth on the FIU all-time passing touchdown list.

Less than three minutes later, Eagles defensive back Jaquell Taylor eyed a McGough pass and picked it off to return the interception 30 yards for a touchdown. The FIU lead was narrowed to 12-7 late in the first quarter but it was as close as NCCU would get.

The Panthers re-gained control of the contest with back-to-back touchdowns in the second quarter. Jonnu Smith caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Alex McGough to make it 19-7.

On the ensuing NCCU drive FIU safety Niko Gonzalez recorded his first career interception setting up the Panther offense deep in Eagles territory. It was one of three interceptions for FIU with Anthony Wint and Jordan Davis also picking off passes.

On the very next play freshman Anthony Jones wiggled through the NCCU defense for a 26-yard touchdown run. FIU extended its lead to 26-7.

The Panthers added two more touchdowns in the second half to cap off the scoring. Three minutes into the third quarter, McGough hit Thomas Owens on a slant for a 16-yard touchdown. McGough finished the night 22 of 36 for 242 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

Alex Gardner added a 1-yard touchdown run near the end of the third quarter to extend the FIU advantage to 39-14. Gardner led FIU with 81 yards rushing.

FIU gained 490 total yards in the game and it was a balanced attack with 248 yards coming on the ground.

The Panthers get back on the road next week with a first-ever visit to Ruston, Louisiana to take on Louisiana Tech. Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m.

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FIU Football 2015 season ticket packages as well as single game tickets are currently available. Fans can purchase online at FIUSports.com or over the phone by calling (305) FIU-GAME.
 
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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 $8.9 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/.