MIAMI (Sept. 18, 2018) – FIU ventures to Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 22 as the Panthers take on the Miami Hurricanes. Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET, with the game broadcast live on ESPN2.
 
For the complete game notes, click here.
 
MIAMI PREVIEW
UM is 2-1 on the year, after wins over Savannah State and Toledo. The Hurricanes stumbled to open the season as LSU asserted its dominance over UM for a 33-17 victory. UM comes into the contest ranked 20th overall in the Amway Coaches Poll and 21st in the Associated Press Top 25.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST THE HURRICANES
The Panthers and Hurricanes have met twice on the gridiron, with Miami holding a lead in the all-time series at 2-0. Last time out, the Panthers fell in a 23-9 decision in 2007.
 
The Hurricanes jumped out to a 13-point lead first half lead before FIU got on the board by way of a Chris Abed field goal. Miami tacked on 10 more points before quarterback Wayne Younger found Trenard Turner for a 65-yard TD pass.
 
On a day that saw the Panthers struggle to move the ball, the redshirt freshman Younger passed for 105 yards and a score on 6-for-14 passing, while rushing for an additional 66 yards.
 
LAST TIME OUT
FIU throttled UMass at home last week, bombarding the Minutemen, 63-24. The 63 points scored tied a program-best, set last year against UMass.
 
FIU was led on the ground by Shawndarrius Phillips who rushed for a career-high 117 yards and two touchdowns. Wideout Maurice Alexander found the endzone twice, hauling in a receiving touchdown and taking a punt return 69 yards to the house.
 
FIU AGAINST TOP 25 FOES
FIU is 0-8 all-time against opponents ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. The last time the Panthers took on a ranked foe was on Oct. 18, 2015 against No. 25 Marshall, with FIU dropping the contest 45-13. No. 21 UM will be the highest ranked foe FIU has taken on since No. 7 Louisville on Sept. 21, 2013, which resulted in a 72-0 loss.
 
PANTHERS ON ESPN2
Saturday's game on ESPN2 will mark FIU's third game on the channel, with the last coming against Troy on Oct. 25, 2011. FIU is 1-1 overall on ESPN2.
 
DAVIS AGAINST MIAMI
Saturday's game will mark the fifth time Butch Davis has coached against Miami, with the legendary head coach holding a 3-1 record over the Hurricanes.
 
Davis' previous four games all came while he was coaching at UNC, as he won his first three meetings over UM, before dropping his first contest to the Canes in 2010.
 
ALEXANDER MAKES HISTORY
Wideout Maurice Alexander made history last weekend against UMass, becoming the first Panther to score a receiving and punt return touchdown in the same game.
 
Alexander scored on a 38-yard strike, before putting on a juke-clinic on a 69-yard punt return for a score later in the game.
 
THREE-WAY SCORING
FIU scored three ways against UMass last Saturday, earning a touchdown on offense, defense and special teams in the same game. The feat marked just the fourth time in program history that a Panther squad has achieved the feat and first since Nov. 7, 2015 against Charlotte.
 
REDZONE PROWESS
FIU ranked first in the nation last season for redzone scoring, converting on 40-of-41 attempts in 2017.
 
This season, the Panthers have scored on 10-of-12 trips to the redzone. Last week against UMass, FIU scored on 5-of-6 attempts. All 10 redzone scores have been touchdowns for the Panthers this season.
 
WELCOME TO THE ENDZONE
A pair of freshmen earned their first career touchdowns last week against UMass as tight end Sterling Palmer and linebacker Rocky Jacques-Louis found the endzone in their own unique way.
 
For Palmer the score came on a 16-yard strike as the big man hauled in his first touchdown at the back of the endzone.
 
For Jacques-Louis, the linebacker earned a pick-6 after taking an errant UMass pass 59 yards the other way for a score.
 
YEAR TWO SUCCESS FOR DAVIS
The FIU football program enters años dos in the Butch Davis era, which historically has been a very good season for Davis during his head coaching career.
 
At Miami (1996), Davis led the team to a 9-3 record and a share of the Big East title, while at North Carolina (2008) he turned around the Tar Heels for an 8-5 mark and earned the program's first ranking in almost seven years. Furthermore, Davis earned success in his second season with the Cleveland Browns as well, as he led the squad to a 9-7 record and a NFL playoff berth in 2002 -- the last since for the organization.
 
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