By Pete Pelegrin
Twitter: @Petepelegrin

The FIU defense would be wise not to stuff themselves at Thanksgiving dinner Thursday because the Panthers face the top quarterback and passing game in Conference USA the next day.

Western Kentucky quarterback Mike White, who leads C-USA with 3,471 passing yards and a 66.1 completion percentage, and the Hilltoppers visit FIU Stadium on Friday night.

WKU (6-5, 4-3 Conference USA) became bowl-eligible after defeating Middle Tennessee 41-38 in overtime last Friday. Like FIU (6-4, 4-3 C-USA), the Hilltoppers are seeking a seventh win to try and secure a bowl game.

There is no guarantee a team is invited to a bowl game despite six wins. WKU and FIU can just look at recent history when both teams were members of the Sun Belt Conference.

In 2011, WKU defeated FIU 10-9 on a last second field goal. WKU finished the regular season 7-5 and FIU was 8-4. However, the Panthers were invited to the St. Petersburg Bowl instead of the Hilltoppers even though WKU beat FIU head-to-head and had a better conference record (7-1) than the Panthers (5-3) that season.

Thus, the importance of Friday's game between the two six-win teams.

White throws for 315 yards per game and has 22 touchdown passes – second in C-USA to North Texas Mason Fine's 26 TDs. White has been asked to throw a lot more this season because of WKU's lack of a running game. The Hilltoppers are dead last in C-USA averaging just 68 yards on the ground per contest.

White threw for 274 yards and a touchdown in last year's win against FIU in Bowling Green, Ky. The Hilltoppers didn't need their quarterback much against the Panthers last season because Anthony Wales rushed for 111 yards and four touchdowns in the 49-21 win.

This season WKU puts up 27 points per game and its offense starts and ends with its passing game.

"They may be the most prolific passing attack that we've faced this entire season and that includes UCF," FIU coach Butch Davis said. "The quarterback is outstanding. They are going to throw it a significant amount of times.

"They keep you off balance because they do mix in the running game. If it's first-and-10 or second-and-one to five they are pretty much 50-50 in those downs but after those downs they are going to air it out and put a lot of pressure on your coverage, on your nickel and dime because they will change personnel groupings. They will be in 10 personnel with four receivers and they got some tight ends that can run almost as well as the receivers. It's a totally different challenge than maybe some of the teams we have played earlier."

Surprisingly, White has the lofty passing numbers even though WKU has allowed a league-high 37 sacks this season. The Hilltoppers have a big offensive line with several 6-5, 6-6, 325-pound-plus linemen.

The WKU defense is in the middle of the pack in C-USA, sixth overall, allowing 373 yards per game. The FIU defense is seventh in the league allowing 405 yards per game.

Like the WKU offensive line's penchant for allowing sacks, the Hilltoppers defense is next to last in sacks with just 10. UTEP is last in C-USA with nine sacks. However, WKU still brings pressure from all angles.

"On the defensive side they are thicker and bigger at the linebacker," Davis said. "[It's] going to be a big challenge as far as trying to establish the running game because they are a big physical front seven.

"They bring a lot of pressure. They will fire corners, safeties off the edges. They blitz their linebackers. They do a good job of trying to attack the gaps. It puts a lot of stress and what that does is eliminate any potential double-team type of blocks. You are not going to get a lot of two-on-one and then get to the second level because they got guys that are filling those gaps. It makes you establish the one-on-one blocking schemes."

The FIU/WKU series has been marked by streaks. FIU defeated WKU four straight games ranging from 2005 to 2010. The teams didn't meet every season while in the Sun Belt because that's how the conference schedule shook out and didn't meet every season since then because WKU joined C-USA after FIU.

Currently, the Hilltoppers are on a four-game winning streak against the Panthers ranging from 2011 through last season's win in Bowling Green, Ky.

FIU is 3-2 at home against WKU with the last Panthers win in the series happening in 2010.