MIAMI (Nov. 24, 2018) – FIU gave a valiant effort on Saturday afternoon, but Marshall edged out the Panthers, 28-25, to close out the regular-season slate.

With the loss, FIU falls to 8-4 overall and 6-2 in league play, while Marshall improves to 8-3 and 6-2 in conference action. The loss guarantees Middle Tennessee the C-USA East Division crown, as a three-way tie between FIU, Marshall and MT would be broken by division record. The Blue Raiders are in action this afternoon against UAB, with a win earning the title outright and a loss going to the above-mentioned tiebreaker.
 
FIU was led by Napoleon Maxwell, who earned 96 yards on the ground and a score. Sage Lewis finished the game with nine tackles, which gives him 126 on the year. That total is the most in school history for a single-season by any Panther. Marshall's Isaiah Green threw for two touchdowns and 176 yards, while Brenden Knox ran for 109 yards on 19 carries.
 
The Herd stormed out to a 14-0 lead quickly in the first quarter after a pair of FIU miscues, but the Panthers did not falter. Following a 22-yard field goal from Jose Borregales, the Panthers drove 56 yards in only 10 plays with Anthony Jones punching in a score from one-yard out.
 
With the score at 14-10, the Herd drove the length of the field but shanked a 25-yarder to keep the deficit at just four points. FIU returned the favor just before half as the Panthers couldn't cash in on a 28-yarder to leave the score at 14-10 in Marshall's favor heading into the locker room.
 
Coming out of the break, the two teams traded turnovers until the Herd capitalized on a punt block that ended up with Marshall recovering the ball in the endzone. Trailing 21-10, the Panthers responded with Christian Alexander under center as the quarterback led FIU on a scoring drive after rushing around the edge for an eight-yard touchdown. The Panthers narrowed the deficit to just three as Maurice Alexander and Christian Alexander swapped roles to see No. 1 toss it to No. 8 for the two-point conversion.
 
With the momentum swinging firmly in favor of the Panthers, the Herd took back control after a nine-play, 59-yard drive that was capped with a three-yard pass from Green to Tyre Brady. The Panthers wouldn't go away later in the fourth quarter as Maxwell crossed the line for a one-yard score to make it 28-25 with only 4:47 remaining. Marshall sealed the game however with a couple of first downs to follow on offense, as the Herd ran out the clock and with it FIU's chance at victory.
 
UP NEXT
FIU will await the announcement of its bowl destination, as the Panthers will go bowling for the fourth time in school history and second-straight under head coach Butch Davis.
     
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.