MIAMI (Sept. 25, 2018) – FIU hosts its final non-conference game of the season on Saturday as the Panthers welcome Arkansas-Pine Bluff to Riccardo Silva Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff on Saturday, Sept. 29.
For the complete game notes, click
here.
ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF PREVIEW
Arkansas-Pine Bluff is 1-3 on the year, with its lone win coming against Cumberland, 55-0. The Golden Lions have lost contests against Morehouse College (34-30), South Dakota State (90-6) and Prairie View A&M (62-13).
LAST TIME AGAINST THE GOLDEN LIONS
The Panthers have never faced the Golden Lions on the football field, with Saturday marking the first meeting between the two schools.
LAST TIME OUT
FIU was defeated by Miami on the road last time out, by a margin of 31-17. The Panthers scored 17 points in the fourth quarter to narrow the gap, as
James Morgan and
CJ Worton hooked up twice on touchdown passes against the Hurricanes. Worton finished the game with five catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns.
The 17 points scored by FIU in the fourth quarter was the most by any Panther squad since putting up 17 against Akron on Sept. 8, 2012. The Panthers won that battle, 41-38, in overtime.
PANTHERS ON ESPN+
FIU will host Arkansas-Pine Bluff on ESPN+ Saturday, marking the Panthers' first appearance on the platform.
SACKMASTER SILVA
Senior
Fermin Silva earned two sacks against the Hurricanes on Saturday, to go along with his four tackles and one forced fumble.The defensive lineman earned his fourth two-sack game of his career and the first of this season for Silva. Silva ranks fourth all-time at FIU for sacks with 14.5 for his stellar career.
WILSON IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Stone Wilson is one of FIU's greatest punters of all-time, securing the top spot in career punts (179) and career punt yards (7,195), while ranking third in yards-per-punt (40.20).
LATE-GAME PANTHERS
Over the course of the 2018 season, the Panthers have outscored foes 31-3 in fourth quarter. The FIU defense has not allowed any points for 50:02 minutes of action, giving up its only points on an Indiana field goal at the 9:58 minute mark against the Hoosiers.
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 12-of-14 trips to the redzone. A total of 11 redzone scores have been touchdowns for FIU, with only one field goal which came last weekend against Miami.
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.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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