MIAMI (December 1, 2017) – FIU concludes its regular season schedule against UMass at Riccardo Silva Stadium. The game was added to the Panthers schedule after an early season game against Indiana was postponed due to Hurricane Irma.
 
The Panthers and the Minutemen have met twice before with both games played in Amherst, Massachusetts. UMass won both previous meetings against FIU. The Minutemen defeated the Panthers 21-13 last season. UMass beat FIU 24-14 in 2015.
 
FIU (7-4) is coming off a resounding 41-17 win over Western Kentucky last Friday. UMass (4-7) defeated BYU 16-10 on Nov. 18 in Provo, Utah. The Minutemen did not play last week and will be playing for the first time in two weeks.
 
The Panthers seek their eighth win of the season which would tie the program record for most wins in a season set by the 2011 FIU team. FIU is also trying to shore up its postseason bowl berth with a victory. 
 
After opening the season with six straight losses, UMass has won four of its last five games, including a 30-27 double overtime win over Sun Belt Conference power Appalachian State.
 
FIU scored five different ways to defeat WKU last week. Quarterback Alex McGough threw a touchdown pass. Running back Shawndarrius Phillips ran for two scores. Kicker Jose Borregales kicked a pair of field goals. Freshman D'Vonte Price returned a fumble for a touchdown and punter Stone Wilson threw a touchdown pass off a fake field goal. The first time an FIU punter had ever thrown a pass in team history.
 
Game Notables
- The Panthers look to pick up win No. 8 which would tie a program-best eight wins, which the 2011 team accomplished.
- Saturday is the 12th game for Butch Davis at FIU (7-4), and 133rd of his collegiate head coaching career.
The 7-4 mark is the best record of any first year head coach in FIU history.
- FIU is 32-of-33 (97%) when it gets inside its opponents red-zone, which ranks second nationally.
- FIU is 6-1 when scoring first this season.
- FIU has forced 11 turnovers and recorded 16 sacks in its last six games.
- In his last five games, McGough has completed 104-of-151 passes for a 69% completion percentage. He has nine touchdown passes and one interception in that span. McGough has not thrown an interception in his last 109 pass attempts.
 
Recapping WKU
- Freshman receiver Bryce Singleton had a career-high 44 yards receiving on two catches.
- Sophomore receiver Darius Scott's 42-yard TD catch was his season-long reception and second TD of the season.
- Freshman running back D'Vonte Price's 38-yard fumble recovery for a TD was the first time since 2014 that a Panther had a fumble recovery for a TD. Richard Leonard returned a fumble 100 yards at North Texas on Nov. 22, 2014.
- Redshirt freshman kicker Jose Borregales' 11 points against WKU gave him 73 points which moved him into fifth place all-time in a single season with Rashod Smith (2004). The 73 points are fourth-most scored by a kicker in a season. He is one point shy of Austin Taylor (74 points, 2014). His two field goals against WKU gave him 14 field goals made on the season, which moved him into a tie for fourth in a single-season with Adam Moss (14-of-22 in 2003).
- Senior tight end Pharaoh McKever had an FIU-career-high 62 receiving yards on three catches. His 24-yard TD reception was the longest scoring play for him since joining the Panthers and his second-longest reception of the season. 
 
The Last 6
FIU's three-game win streak was snapped by Old Dominion, but the Panthers' have still been showing up strong in the last six games. Here's a look at some key numbers during the stretch.
 
- FIU is averaging 28.8 points per game.
- FIU is averaging 158.8 rushing yards and 234.0 yards through the air. Overall, FIU is averaging 392.8 yards per game.
- FIU has forced 11 turnovers – seven fumbles and four interceptions.
- The defense has recorded 11 sacks.
- FIU matched a season-high three turnovers against WKU - all fumble recoveries, one that went for a TD return. The Panthers had three turnovers against Marshall –two interceptions and one fumble.
- Senior quarterback Alex McGough has completed 121-of-182 passes for 1404 yards with 10 touchdowns and three INT's. McGough's completion percentage sits at 66.3 percent with a 145.01 passing efficiency. McGough has accounted for 1,437 yards of total offense.
- Senior running back Alex Gardner has led the ground attack gaining 351 yards on 82 carries averaging 4.4 yards per carry. He's scored three touchdowns. Junior Napoleon Maxwell is averaging 4.6 yards per carry while sophomore RB Shawndarrius Phillips is averaging 4.3 yards per carry coming off a season-high 69 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns against WKU.
- WR Thomas Owens had 32 catches for 425 yards and three touchdowns, while averaging 13.3 yards per catch and 106.2 receiving yards per game.
- Linebackers Anthony Wint (35), Treyvon Williams (35), defensive back Niko Gonzalez (32) and defensive end Fermin Silva (30) have combined for 132 tackles.
- Defensive linemen, Newton Salisbury and Fermin Silva have combined for 12.0 tackles for loss and 7.0 sacks while Anthony Johnson has 5.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.
- Senior cornerback Brad Muhammad has all three interceptions and three pass breakups.
- Kicker Jose Borregales is 8-of-9 in field goals and 21-of-21 in PAT's.
- Punter Stone Wilson is averaging 41.2-yards per punt on 26 punts with 11 fair-caught, 12 downed inside the 20 and seven 50 plus yard punts.
 
Home Sweet Home
FIU has a 5-1 record in home games which also includes a win in Birmingham. As the home team, the Panthers have fared well this season:
 
- The Panthers are averaging 25.8 points per game and allowing just 18.3 points per game. FIU has outscored opponents 97-40 in the second half and 40-16 in the fourth quarter at home this season.
- FIU is averaging 432.2 yards of total offense while limiting opponents to 352.2 yards on the ground. The Panthers  average 169.2 yards rushing and 263.0 yards through the air.
- The defense has 18 sacks while the offense has given up just four sacks.
- The offense has converted 20-of-21 (95%) red zone chances with 15 touchdowns scored.
- Kicker Jose Borregales is 7-of-9 in field goals and 18-of-18 in PAT's.
- Punter Stone Wilson is averaging 40.8-yards per punt on 23 punts with eight fair-caught, 12 downed inside the 20 and six 50 plus yard punts.
- Quarterback Alex McGough has completed 64 percent of his passes (122-of-191) for 1,1519 yards and seven touchdowns.
- FIU's top three rushers are averaging more than 4.0 yards per carry - Napoleon Maxwell (4.6), Alex Gardner (4.4) and Shawndarrius Phillips (4.4).
- Defensive end Fermin Silva has 8.0 tackles for loss including 5.0 sacks for 24 yards loss while Anthony Johnson has 4.5 sacks and Newton Salisbury has 4.0 tackles for loss.