EL PASO, Texas (Oct. 8, 2016) -- Buoyed by 100-yard performances from Alex Gardner, Anthony Jones, Thomas Owens and a season-high in touchdown passes by Alex McGough, FIU turned in its best offensive performance of the season in a 35-21 victory over UTEP Saturday night in El Paso, Texas.

Gardner rushed for 141 yards to give him four 100-plus yard rushing games this season and tie the program record of eight held by former FIU running back Kedrick Rhodes. Jones rushed for 128 yards to give FIU two or more 100-yard rushers in the same game for just the second time in program history.

FIU had three rushers go for more than 100 yards each in 2010 against Troy. The Panthers rushed for a program-record 448 yards that day with Darriet Perry, T.Y. Hilton and Darian Mallary all rushing for more than 100 yards in the game.

Owens had 125 receiving yards and scored two touchdowns to lead FIU. McGough finished 21-of-31 for 241 yards and three touchdown passes.

The Panthers trailed 7-3 midway through the second quarter before scoring 17 unanswered points to take control of the game. Tight end A.J. Branisel had his first touchdown in an FIU uniform to give the Panthers the lead. McGough found Branisel in the back of the end zone on the 1-yard touchdown pass with 7:23 left in the second quarter. FIU took the lead 10-7.

Early in the third quarter FIU made it 20-7 on the first of two receiving scores by Owens. The junior receiver caught his second touchdown – a nifty grab in the corner of the end zone for 23 yards. That score extended the FIU lead to 28-14 with 1:59 left in the third quarter.

FIU finished its scoring in the fourth quarter. This time the Panthers did it on the ground. Jones ripped off a 48-yard run to the UTEP 8. Two plays later Gardner coasted into the end zone from 9 yards out to make it 35-14 Panthers.

FIU heads to North Carolina next Saturday. The Panthers take on the Charlotte 49ers at 6 p.m. from Jerry Richardson Stadium.

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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/.