FIU: (0-3, 0-0 C-USA) (0-2 home)
	UCF: (1-2) (0-1 away)

 

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Date: Sept. 24, 2016
 Location: Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium (FieldTurf) (20,000) in Miami, Florida.
 Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. ET
 Press Box Phone: 305.348.1898
 Television: beIN Sports - Matt Martucci (play-by-play), Brett Romberg (color analyst) and Jordan Daigle (sideline) will call the action.
 Radio: AM 790 The Ticket (WAXY AM 790) - Josh Appel (play-by-play) and Wes Carroll (color analyst) on the call. Fans can listen by tuning into 790 on their AM dial or by logging onto either www.FIUSports.com or www.theticketmiami.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 an 0-3 record following a 21-13 loss at UMass on Saturday, Sept. 17. UCF comes into this week's action with a 1-2 mark after a 30-24 (2OT) loss versus Maryland on Saturday, Sept. 17.
 FIU Head Coach Ron Turner: Turner (Pacific, 1977) is in his fourth season at FIU (10-29, .256) and 13th season overall as a head coach (52-90, .366). Turner is 1-1 all-time versus UCF.
 UCF Head Coach Scott Frost: Frost (Nebraska, 1997) is in his first season at UCF (1-2, .333). Frost has never faced the Panthers.
 Series History: Saturday will mark the fifth meeting all-time between the two programs with the series tied, 2-2. The last meeting between the two teams resulted in a 15-14 win for FIU on Sept. 3, 2015, in Orlando, Florida.

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After hitting the road last weekend, the Panthers return to the friendly confines of Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium Saturday, hosting the UCF Knights. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on beIN Sports with Matt Martucci (play-by-play), Brett Romberg (color analyst) and Jordan Daigle (sideline) calling the action. Fans can also listen to the game on AM 790 the Ticket, the Panthers' official radio broadcast home for the 2016 season. Josh Appel (play-by-play) and Wes Carroll (color analyst) will be in the booth all season long.
 
Saturday will mark the Coach to Cure MD game in which Head Coach Ron Turner and his staff will wear special arm patches in honor of the AFCA's Coach to Cure MD program. This is the ninth year coaches around the country join together to raise funding and awareness of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
 
As part of the program, Alex Casals, who is battling against Duchenne muscular dystrophy, will serve as the team's honorary captain during the coin toss.
 
The Panthers are coming off a tough road loss to UMass last weekend, 21-13, in Amherst, Massachusetts. Junior Alex Gardner led all Panthers with 130 yards on the ground and one touchdown, while senior Austin Taylor remained perfect on the year converting both field goal tries in the contest (47 and 35 yards). Gardner's 130 yards rushing versus the Minutemen marked the Jacksonville native's second-straight, 100-yard performance (109 versus Maryland – 9/9) and the sixth 100-yard game of his FIU career (No. 3 all-time).
 
FIU will be looking for its first win of the season and second-straight versus the Knights. FIU comes into this week's game averaging 13.3 points-per-game and 339.3 yards of total offense-per-game. The Panthers are led by Gardner, who comes into the UCF game with 262 yards rushing on 49 carries and three touchdowns. Quarterback Alex McGough has thrown for 480 yards on 48-of-90 passing through three games. Senior Jonnu Smith leads FIU in receiving with 16 catches for 176 yards. The Ocala, Florida, product has caught a pass in 35-conseutive games played (second-longest streak in school history – 44-straight by Cory McKinney (2002-2005). Freshman Stantley Thomas had a career-high eight catches versus the Minutemen. Thomas has registered 11 catches for 164 yards on the year.
 
Defensively, FIU is led by junior Anthony Wint, who is coming off an 11-tackle performance at UMass. The Homestead, Florida, native leads Conference USA in tackling, averaging 10.7 tackles-per-game. Joining Wint among the team leaders is fellow linebacker Treyvon Williams (29 tackles) and safety Niko Gonzalez (24 tackles).  The opposition is averaging 32.0 points-per-game and 452.3 yards of total offense-per-game. FIU is coming off an outing where the defense held UMass to 3.2 yards-per-carry as the Panthers enter this week's contest allowing 200.3 yards rushing-per-game.
 
This week will mark the fifth meeting all-time between the two schools as the series history is tied at 2-2. FIU grabbed a season-opening victory last year, defeating the Knights 15-14 at Bright House Networks Field thanks in part to a blocked UCF field goal attempt by former Panther Darrian Dyson as time expired. This will be the Knights' third trip to The Cage as FIU and UCF have split the previous two meetings.   
 
Game Notables
-  Saturday will be the third home game for the Panthers this season.
-  FIU will look to improve to 1-3 on the year.
-  FIU will look to improve to 13-41 all-time in the month of September.
-  Saturday will mark the 40th game for Head Coach Ron Turner at FIU.
-  Saturday will mark Turner's 143rd game as a college head coach.
-  FIU will look to improve to 5-10 all-time in the month of September under Turner.
-  Saturday will mark the fifth meeting all-time between FIU and UCF.
-  The series is tied at 2-2.
-  FIU won the last meeting, 15-14, on Sept. 3, 2015.
-  FIU is 2-5 all-time versus teams from the American Athletic Conference (AAC).
-  Saturday will mark FIU's 93rd televised game all-time (25-67).
-  Saturday will mark the Panthers' first game on beIN Sports.
-  FIU will be looking to record its 34th home victory all-time on Saturday.
-  Saturday will mark the 170th game in FIU history.
-  Coach Turner is 1-1 all-time versus UCF.
 
Familiar Faces
The 2016 FIU schedule features no first-time opponents on it. This marks the first time in FIU history that the Panthers will not face at least one first-time opponent in a season. In the 15-year history of FIU football, the Panthers have faced 61 different schools from 23 different states as well as the District of Columbia.
 
Old Versus New
Saturday's opponent, UCF, hasn't been playing football as long as FIU's first three opponents (UMass, Maryland and Indiana have combined for 386 years of college football), but the Knights have been playing football since 1979 (37 years). That is 22 years longer than FIU which is in its 15th season.
 
Versus the Sunshine State
Saturday's game with UCF will be the first of two-straight versus teams from the state of Florida. The Panthers have faced a total of seven schools from the Sunshine State and own a 6-21 record versus those schools. FIU has the most victories over Florida Atlantic (4) followed by two versus UCF.
 
Coach to Cure MD
This week Coach Turner and the FIU coaching staff will be wearing special arm patches in honor of the AFCA's Coach to Cure MD program. This is the ninth year coaches around the country join together to raise funding and awareness of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Fans are encouraged to donate by texting "CURE" to 90999 or visiting www.CoachtoCureMD.org.
 
            - Coach to Cure MD is a partnership between the American Football
            Coaches Association (AFCA) and Parent Project MD.
            - The program has raised more than $1.2 million over the last eight years.
            - Last year, more than 10,000 coaches at 525 colleges at all levels participated.
 
Alex Casals, a 9-year-old who is battling against Duchenne muscular dystrophy, will serve as the team's honorary captain during the coin toss. Alex met with the Panthers following a practice earlier this week.
 
Continuing to Find the Endzone
Junior Alex Gardner notched a two-yard rushing touchdown during FIU's game versus UMass last Saturday. The score marked the fourth-straight game (dating back to last season) in which the Jacksonville product has recorded a rushing touchdown. 
 
First Pick for Wilson
On Saturday, Sept. 17, Deonte Wilson recorded the first interception of his collegiate career with a first-quarter pick versus UMass. The FIU senior returned the INT 31 yards to set up the Panthers' first drive of the game.   
 
More on Gardner
On Saturday, Sept. 17, Alex Gardner posted 130 yards on the ground on 23 carries for 5.7 yards-per-carry. The 130 yards were the second-most for the native of Jacksonville. His career-best was 138 vs. Wagner (9/6/14).
 
35-Straight
With three catches versus the UMass Minutemen on Saturday, Sept. 17, Jonnu Smith extended his streak of consecutive games with a reception to 35. The FIU record for consecutive games with a reception is 44 held by Cory McKinney (2002-2005).
                                    
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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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2016 FIU Football Schedule
Sept. 1          INDIANA – L, 13-34
Sept. 9          MARYLAND – L, 14-41
Sept. 17         at UMass – L, 13-21
Sept. 24         UCF [beIN]; 7:00 p.m.
Oct. 1            FLORIDA ATLANTIC* [beIN]; 7:00 p.m.
Oct. 8            at UTEP; 8:00 p.m.
Oct. 15          at Charlotte; 6:00 p.m.
Oct. 22          LOUISIANA TECH* [ESPN3] (Homecoming); 7:00 p.m.
Oct. 29          MIDDLE TENNESSEE* [ESPN3]; 7:00 p.m.
Nov. 5           at WKU* [beIN]; 5:30 p.m.
Nov. 19          MARSHALL* [ASN]; 7:00 p.m.
Nov. 26          at Old Dominion* [ESPN3]; 3:30 p.m.
 
* denotes Conference USA Games
 Home games at Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium are capitalized and bolded;

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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/.