MIAMI (Sept. 18, 2019) - FIU football travels to Louisiana Tech on Friday night, as the Panthers look to earn their first conference victory of the season. 

Kickoff between the Panthers and Bulldogs is slated for 8:00 p.m. ET, with the game set to air on CBS Sports Network. For complete game notes, click here. 

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Louisiana Tech is 2-1 on the year, with wins over Grambling and Bowling Green. The Bulldogs dropped their season opener to Texas. Last season, La Tech earned a 8-5 record overall, earning a trip to the Hawaii Bowl where they beat Hawaii by the score of 31-14.

LA Tech ranks 26th in the nation and second in the C-USA for passing offense after earning 294.7 yards per game this season. J'Mar Smith has led the Bulldogs at QB, earning 818 yards passing and five scores on 70-of-102 (73.1%) . On the ground, Justin Henderson leads the rushing attack with 136 yards and one touchdown. 

Defensively, LT ranks 97th overall in the country and 10th in the league for total defense. Additionally, the Bulldogs rank 111th in the country for rushing defense and 68th against the pass. James Jackson has earned 25 total tackles to top the team in that category, while also earning a forced fumble.

FIU ON CBS SPORTS NETWORK
FIU is 1-4 all-time on CBS Sports Network, with its lone win coming against UCF in 2015. The Panthers have not played on the platform since last season's opener against Indiana.

RUN THE DANG BALL
FIU had a successful day running the ball last time out,  with the Panthers earning 310 yards on the ground. The 310 yards ranks as the seventh-most for a single game for any FIU squad. 

SECURE THE BAG
The Panthers have done a great job at not turning the ball over this season, with FIU ranking second in the C-USA and 16th in the nation for that category. So far this season, FIU has only given the ball away twice. 

WIGGINS SHINES IN FIRST START
Kaylan Wiggins broke FIU's record for most rushing yards by a quarterback last time out, as he earned 187 yards on the ground and two scores against New Hampshire. Wiggins also threw 127 yards passing as well in his first start at QB.

BOOMIN' FROM THE SOONER STATE
JC transfer Tommy Heatherly has had a great start to his career at FIU, with the Oklahoma native dominating the punting game. The junior has earned a 44.1 average for punts this season, with seven over 50 so far for the year and a long of 60 against New Hampshire. Heatherly has also hit four punts inside the 20. Heatherly ranks second in the league for his 44.1 average and 31st in the nation. 

LEWIS GRABS FIRST CAREER INT
Last week against New Hampshire, Sage Lewis earned his first career interception as a Panther after his pick in the second quarter. 

UP NEXT
After this Friday's trip to Ruston, the Panthers will have a bye week before returning home to host UMass on Saturday, Oct. 5. For more information, or to order your tickets by phone, please call (305) FIU-GAME or click here. 

SOCIAL MEDIA
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