FIU: (1-0, 0-0 C-USA) (1-0 away)
Indiana: (1-0, 0-0 BIG TEN) (1-0 home)
 
Date: Sept. 12, 2015
 
Location: Memorial Stadium (FieldTurf) (52,929) in Bloomington, Ind.
 
Kickoff: 8:00 p.m. ET
 
Press Box Phone: 812.855.2754
 
Television: Big Ten Network (BTN) - Chris Denari (play-by-play) and Chuck Long (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.espndeportesmiami.com/com
 
Live Stats: www.IUHoosiers.com
 
Live Video Streaming: N/A
 
Tickets: 305.FIU.GAME (348.4263) -or- www.FIUSports.com
 
Records: FIU enters Saturday's game with a 1-0 record following a 15-14 win at UCF on Thursday, Sept. 3. Indiana enters Saturday's action with a 1-0 record following a 48-47 win over Southern Illinois on Saturday, Sept. 5.
 
FIU Head Coach Ron Turner: Turner (Pacific, 1977) is in his third season at FIU (6-19, .240) and 12th season overall as a head coach (48-80, .375). Turner is 5-3 all-time versus the Hoosiers.
 
IU Head Coach Kevin Wilson: Wilson (North Carolina, 1984) is in his fifth season at Indiana (15-33, .312). Wilson has never faced the Panthers.
 
Series History: Saturday will mark the first meeting between the two schools.
 
Game Two – FIU Enters Big Ten Country Saturday
Coming off a big 15-14 win at UCF on Thursday, Sept. 3, the FIU football team travels to Bloomington, Ind., to take on the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday, Sept. 12. Kickoff from Memorial Stadium is set for 8 p.m. with the game being broadcast on the Big Ten Network (BTN). Chris Denari (play-by-play) and Chuck Long (color analyst) will call the action. Fans can also listen to the contest on 1210AM ESPN Deportes with Mike Levine (play-by-play) and Wes Carroll (color analyst) on the call.
 
FIU opened the season with a road victory on Thursday night. The win marked the first season-opening win since 2011 and first road win to start the season since 2004. A year ago, FIU's defense was one of the best in the nation (No. 35) and that trend carried over into the season opener as the Panthers held the two-time defending American Athletic Conference (AAC) champions to 295 total yards and just 46 yards on the ground.
 
Offensively, the Panthers moved the ball through the air (260 yards) and on the ground (131), running a total of 69 plays. Averaging 4.2 yards-per-carry, three different Panthers ran for 20-or-more yards in the game. Sophomore Alex Gardner led all running back with 75 yards on 15 carries, including one touchdown. The Jacksonville, Fla., native scored on a seven-yard scamper to pull FIU within five (14-9) in the third quarter. Freshman Anthony Jones ran the ball just once in the second half but it was electric as the first-year Panther gained 26 yards on his first collegiate carry.
 
Sophomore Alex McGough connected on 29-of-38 passes for a career-best 76.3 percent completion percentage on Thursday. The Tampa,, Fla., native recorded a career-best 260 yards through the air, while recording his first touchdown of the season (a three-yard completion to senior Ya'Keem Griner). Griner finished the night with four catches for 55 yards, including a career-long 47-yard catch in the fourth quarter. Gardner also added a career-high 74 yards receiving, registering five catches, including a career-long 27-yarder. Sophomore Thomas Owens grabbed a career-high 11 catches in his first-career start. The Boynton Beach, Fla., product was one catch shy of tying the school record for receptions in a game (12 by T.Y. Hilton at Akron – Oct. 8, 2011).
 
On the defensive side of the ball, FIU was led by linebackers Treyvon Williams and Anthony Wint. Williams recorded a career-high 11 tackles, including a career-best 1.5 tackles for loss. Wint also set a career-high in tackles (10) and tackles for loss (1.0). Senior Richard Leonard tied a career-high in tackles (10), while registering one pass breakup versus the Knights. Senior Darrian Dyson notched his first-career blocked kick, getting a paw on UCF's game-winning field goal attempt with 39 second left in the game. Dyson recorded four tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss in the contest.
 
The Panthers enter Saturday's game looking to start 2-0 for the first time since 2011. In the team's first trip to Bloomington, FIU will look to pick up its first win over a Big Ten School (0-8). Head Coach Ron Turner is no stranger to the Hoosiers, owning a 5-3 record versus Indiana.
 
Game Notables
-  FIU opens the season with 4-of-5 contests on the road.
-  Saturday will mark the 26th game for Head Coach Ron Turner at FIU.
-  Saturday will mark Turner's 129th game as a college head coach.
-  Saturday will mark FIU's first meeting with Indiana.
-  FIU is 0-8 all-time versus the Big Ten Conference.
-  FIU will be looking to record its 19th road victory all-time on Saturday.
-  Saturday will mark the 156th game in FIU history.
-  Saturday will mark the 82nd televised game in FIU history.
-  Saturday will mark the third game in FIU history to be televised on the Big Ten Network.
-  FIU will be looking to improve to 2-0 to start the season for the first time since the 2011 season.
-  Indiana will be the first of four first-time opponents this season.
-  Coach Turner is 5-3 all-time versus the Hoosiers.
 
A Quick Look at Indiana
Indiana opened the season with a 48-47 win over Southern Illinois on Saturday, Sept. 5. The Hoosiers out-scored the Salukis 27-15 in the second half to claim the season-opening victory.
 
IU was led by former UAB running back Jordan Howard, who rushed for 145 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Nate Sudfeld completed 19-of-32 passes for 349 yards and one touchdown - a 57-yard completion to Ricky Jones. Jones caught six passes for 186 yards. 
 
A Look Back at the UCF Game
-  Alex Garnder's 27-yard reception was the longest of his career.
-  Jonnu Smith extended his streak of consecutive games with a catch to 25.
-  Austin Taylor's field goal in the first quarter produced the first points of the 2015 college football season.
-  Stone Wilson's first-collegiate punt went for 52 yards.
-  Treyvon Williams had a career-high 11 tackles.
-  Anthony Wint set a career-high in tackles (10).
-  Richard Leonard tied his career mark in tackles (10).
-  FIU held UCF to just 46 yards rushing.
-  Ya'Keem Griner recorded a career-long 47-yard reception.
-  Anthony Jones' first-collegiate touch went for 26 yards (a rush).
-  Alex McGough set career marks in completions (29), attempts (38) and yards (260).
-  Michael Wakefield notched the team's first sack of the season (11th of his career)
-  Thomas Owens was one reception shy of tying the school record for catches in a game (12 - T.Y. Hilton at Akron - 10/9/11)
-  FIU improved to 5-3 all-time in games played on Thursday and 3-0 in Thursday season openers.
 
25 and Counting
Junior Jonnu Smith enters Saturday's game having caught a pass in 25-straight games. That currently ranks tied for No. 10 among all active players, nationally.
           
Get Your Popcorn Ready
"Get your popcorn ready" is a phrase TO (Terrell Owens) made popular in NFL as a way to let people know that a good show was coming. FIU's TO (Thomas Owens) put on a show on Thursday, Sept. 3, recording 11 catches for 78 yards. In the sophomore's first-career start, the 11 catches were one shy of the school record set by T.Y. Hilton (Oct. 8, 2011 at Akron). 
 
First Starts
During FIU's 15-14 win at UCF, three Panthers made their first-career starts - Niko Gonzalez, Thomas Owens and Daquane Wilkie.
 
Panther Debuts
Nine Panthers made their FIU debuts last Thursday - Mark Bruno, Chris Flaig, Xavier Hines, Anthony Johnson, Anthony Jones, Jephete Matilus, Fermin Silva, Daquane Wilkie, Stone Wilson,
 
Record Watch - Richard Leonard
Senior Richard Leonard enters this Saturday's game ranked No. 3 in career kick returns (60), No. 3 in career kick return yards (1,581) and No. 2 in total return yards (2,363) in the FIU record books.
 
In Thursday Games
With FIU's 15-14 win at UCF on Thursday, Sept. 3, the Panthers improved to 5-3 all-time on games played on Thursday. It also marked the third time in school history that FIU started the season on a Thursday night, improving the Panthers' record to 3-0 all-time in those contests
 
First-Time Opponents in 2015
- FIU will face four first-time opponents in 2015.
- In its history, 2002-14, FIU is 16-41 in first-time meetings with its 57 all-time opponents.
- Three of FIU's four first-time opponents will be visiting Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium this season.
 
Accurate in Orlando
During FIU's 15-14 win at UCF, sophomore quarterback Alex McGough set career marks in completions (29), attempts (39) and yards (260). The Tampa, Fla., native finished the night with a 76.3 percent completion percentage, which was the sixth-highest (minimum 10 attempts) and second-best (minimum 20 attempts) in school history. His 29 completions were the most by an FIU quarterback since Wes Carroll completed 35 of his passes at Maryland (9/25/10).
 
Road Trip
With only four road games during the 2014 season, FIU will play seven games away from Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium, including four of its first five games to start the season.
 
On the Big Ten Network
Saturday will mark the third game FIU has played on the Big Ten Network during the program's history. The Panthers are 0-2 all-time on BTN, with their last appearance coming on Sept. 6, 2008, versus Iowa (L, 42-0).
 
Consecutive Passes
Sophomore Alex McGough enters Saturday's game having thrown 38-straight passes without a pick.
 
Turner Versus Indiana
Although the Panthers have never faced Indiana, Head Coach Ron Turner is no stranger to the Hoosiers. During his eight years with Illinois, Coach Turner faced the Hoosiers eight times and compiled a 5-3 record against the team from Bloomington.
 
11/1/97      at Indiana            L, 23-6
11/7/98      Indiana                W, 31-16
10/2/99      at Indiana            L, 34-31 (OT)
11/4/00      Indiana                W, 42-35
10/13/01     at Indiana            W, 35-14
10/26/02     Indiana                W, 45-14
11/8/03      at Indiana            L, 17-14
11/6/04      Indiana                W, 26-22
 
The Defense Continues to Dominate
FIU's defense had a stellar 2014 season, finishing the year ranked No. 35 in total defense. The Panthers continued that trend this past Thursday, hold UCF to 295 total yards (No. 41 nationally), including 46 yards on the ground (No. 18 nationally).
 
FIU and the Sunshine State
- In its 14-year history, FIU has played against eight of 10 FBS or FCS programs in Florida.
- FIU will play two Sunshine State schools in 2015 (UCF and Florida Atlantic).
- FIU has played Bethune-Cookman (0-4), Florida (0-1), Florida A&M (0-0/2-0#), Florida Atlantic (3-9/4-9#), Jacksonville (1-0/2-0#), Miami (0-2), UCF (2-2) and USF (0-2). [# - wins from 2003-05 were vacated].
- The only FBS or FCS schools FIU has not faced are Florida State and Stetson, which just brought back its football program in 2013.
 
FIU Versus the Big Ten
FIU enters Saturday's game having faced four teams from the current Big Ten. The Panthers will be looking for their first win versus a Big Ten team, having lost the previous eight meetings.
 
9/23/06      at Maryland         L, 14-10
9/1/07        at (17) Penn State     L, 59-0
9/8/07        Maryland             L, 26-10
9/6/08        at Iowa                L, 42-0
9/19/09      at Rutgers           L, 23-15
9/11/10      Rutgers               L, 19-14
9/25/10      at Maryland         L, 42-28
8/31/13      at Maryland         L, 45-13
 
Visiting the Hoosier State
Saturday's game with the Indiana Hoosiers will mark the Panthers second trip to the state of Indiana. FIU opened the 2003 season at Indiana State, falling to the Sycamores, 13-10.