MIAMI (Oct. 23, 2018) – After spending over a month at Riccardo Silva Stadium, FIU ventures north to WKU for just its third road game of the season when the Panthers take on the Hilltoppers on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
For the complete game notes, click
here.
WKU PREVIEW
WKU is coming off one of the wildest finishes to a college football this season, after the Hilltoppers suffered a loss to Old Dominion to drop to 1-6 overall and 0-3 in conference play. WKU's lone win this season came at Ball State, with the Hilltoppers owning a 28-20 victory. WKU has dropped games to Power 5 foes Wisconsin (34-3) and Louisville (20-17).
LAST TIME AGAINST THE HILLTOPPERS
The Panthers scored 21 unanswered second half points to win going away 41-17 against the Hilltoppers on FIU's Senior Day last year.
FIU scored five different ways including a fake field goal that manifested into a touchdown catch for
Pharoah McKever from none other than
Stone Wilson.
Alex McGough threw for 227 yards while
Shawndarrius Phillips added 69 yards on the ground and a touchdown.
LAST TIME OUT
FIU fell behind early, but ultimately routed Rice 36-17 behind a 20-point second half.
James Morgan led FIU with 229 yards on 20-of-29 passing and three total scores, while
Maurice Alexander tacked on a 51-yard rushing touchdown.
LATE-GAME PANTHERS
Over the course of the 2018 season, the Panthers have outscored foes 52-6 in fourth quarter. The Panther defense has not yielded a touchdown in the fourth quarter since 3:54 of the 2017 Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl.
BEING GREAT ON BEIN SPORTS
FIU is 5-0 all-time on beIN Sports under head coach
Butch Davis and 3-0 this season alone.
BIG PLAY CATS
The big play FIU offense has produced more plays of 40 yards or longer (11), 50 yards or longer (6), 60 yards or longer (4) and 70 yards or longer (3) than any other C-USA team this season. The Panthers are averaging a league-best 6.40 yards per play.
THROW IT TO WORTON
Redshirt junior
CJ Worton has been highly productive this season, catching 23 passes for 495 yards. Worton averages 21.5 yards per catch, which tops the C-USA.
MORGAN'S GOLDEN YEAR
Graduate transfer
James Morgan has had a great year for FIU this season, ranking among the top of most C-USA passing categories.
Category - Total (C-USA Ranking) (NCAA Ranking)
TDs Responsible For - 17 (2nd)
Passing TDs - 16 (2nd)
Passing Yards - 1,597 (6th)
Passing Yards Per Attempt - 9.2 (1st) (7th)
Passer Rating - 168.2 (1st) (7th)
EARLY BOWLING FOR FIU
If FIU defeats WKU on Saturday it will mark the earliest date that the football program has been bowl eligible in program history. The fastest total was in 2017, when the Panthers won their sixth game of the season on Nov. 4 against UTSA (14-7).
LEWIS AMONG NATION'S BEST
Redshirt junior
Sage Lewis has earned 80 tackles this season, averaging 11.4 tackles per contest. That total ranks second in the C-USA and 14th in the nation.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Get all the latest information on the team by following @FIU.Football on Instagram and @FIUFootball on Twitter and Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.
