CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The FIU football team scored touchdowns on each of its opening four possessions and forced five turnovers as it cruised to a 34-15 road win over Charlotte on Saturday afternoon at Jerry Richardson Stadium.
 
The Panthers (3-4, 1-2 C-USA) opened up a 27-0 lead after the opening 30 minutes with an all-around performance that saw the defense force a total of three turnovers and limit the Charlotte offense to just 100 yards in the first half.
 
The defense set the tone early for FIU with a strip sack and fumble recovery by junior linebacker Shaun Peterson Jr. – before following by forcing three more Charlotte turnovers prior to intermission.  The 49ers only managed 10 rushing yards in the first 30 minutes as they were shut out in a half for the first time since the 2020 season.
 
Meanwhile, the FIU offense churned out a total of 252 yards in the opening half and a total of 449 for the game.
 
FIU sophomore Grayson James directed the offense while completing 26-of-34 pass attempts for 306 yards and a touchdown.  He also rushed for a pair of scores while notching 53 ground yards.
 
Leading the rushing attack for the Panthers was junior Lexington Joseph, who tabbed 72 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 17 carries.
 
Senior Tyrese Chambers returned to action after missing last week's game with an injury and recorded 10 catches for a season-best 143 yards.  Sophomore Kris Mitchell added a career-high eight receptions for 84 yards and a TD.
 
Donovan Manuel led the defense with 10 stops – his third game this season finishing with double-figure tackles.  Peterson posted three of FIU's season-high five sacks in the victory.
 
Peterson set the tone with a strip sack of Charlotte's Chris Reynolds on the second play of the game, which he recovered to set up the Panthers' offense at the 49ers' 32-yard line – just 18 seconds into the contest.
 
The FIU offense took it from there as James put the Panthers up 7-0 with a 12-yard touchdown run at the 13:31 mark of the opening quarter.
 
The Panthers once again benefited from solid field position on their following drive after a shanked punt by Charlotte, that went only eight yards and set up FIU once again deep inside Charlotte territory at the 29-yard line.  James scored his second rushing TD just six plays later to extend the early lead to 14-0 with 8:48 left in the first.
 
The FIU offense pushed the lead to 21-0 with its third consecutive touchdown drive to open the game on a one-yard burst by Joseph at 12:02 of the second quarter that capped a 14-play, 78-yard scoring drive.

FIU linebacker Alex Nobles made another big play for the defense with a forced fumble and recovery following a Charlotte reception on the opening play of the ensuing drive – setting up FIU at the Charlotte 40. 
 
Following an 18-yard pass completion from James to Mitchell and a seven-yard scramble by James, Joseph punched it in once again from one-yard out to up the margin to 27-0 with 10:04 left before the break.  The extra point attempt was blocked by Charlotte.
 
FIU's defense forced the third Charlotte turnover in the opening half three plays later when freshman Demetrius Hill recorded the first interception of his collegiate career to give the Panthers the ball at their own 41. FIU was unable to come away with points after a 21-yard FG attempt by Chase Gabriel was blocked.
 
The Panther offense got back on the board in the second half when Mitchell snagged a five-yard pass from James for a score at the 2:54 mark of the third – increasing the advantage to 34-0.  The drive was FIU's longest of the afternoon as it stretched 91 yards on eight plays.
 
Charlotte (1-7, 0-4 C-USA) avoided the shutout on a two-yard TD run by Reynolds with 12:10 left in regulation – his first rushing score of the season.
 
The 49ers added a touchdown late in the fourth quarter on a five-yard toss from James Foster to Shadrick Byrd with under 90 seconds remaining – they were also successful on the ensuing two-point conversion attempt.
 
UP NEXT
The Panthers return home next week for a nationally televised showdown on Friday, Oct. 28 vs. Louisiana Tech on CBS Sports Network.  Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• Saturday's win marked the first time that FIU has posted victories in consecutive road games since the 2018 season when it won road games at UTSA (45-7/Nov. 10) and Charlotte (42-35/Nov. 17).
• The last time that FIU forced five or more turnovers was on Nov. 15, 2014 vs. Middle Tennessee (3 INT/2 FR).
• Freshman Demetrius Hill recorded the first interception of his collegiate career at the 8:46 mark of the second quarter.
• FIU scored a touchdown on each of its opening four possessions for the first time since Oct. 10, 2015 vs. UTEP when it scored a TD on each of its initial six possessions.
• FIU posted a shutout in the first half for the first time since blanking UMass in the opening 30 minutes on Oct. 5, 2019.
• Junior linebacker Shaun Peterson Jr. posted a strip sack and recovered the fumble in the opening quarter to set up FIU's first scoring drive.  It marked his second strip sack and recovery this season after pulling it off against Bryant on the season opener on Sept. 1.
• Graduate linebacker Alex Nobles forced a fumble and made the recovery in the second quarter.
• Sophomore defensive lineman Jeramy Passmore recorded his first sack of the season in the victory.
• Saturday's win snapped a 14-game losing streak in Conference USA games for FIU – its first since defeating Old Dominion 24-17 (11/2/19).
• The victory also marked FIU's first C-USA road victory since winning at Charlotte on Nov. 17, 2018 by a 42-35 margin – snapping a 10-game stretch.
• FIU leads the all-time series with Charlotte 6-1 and is a perfect 3-0 in road contests in the series.
• Sophomore Kris Mitchell finished the game with career-bests in receptions (8) and yards (84).
• Sophomore Grayson James two rushing TDs were the most by a FIU signal caller since Kaylan Wiggins notched three vs. New Hampshire on Sept. 14, 2019.
• FIU had a both a field goal and extra point blocked in the first half.
• Junior running back Lexington Joseph finished with two rushing TDs – the first time he has registered multiple rushing scores in a single contest.
• Charlotte was shutout in a half for the first time since 12/6/2020 at Western Kentucky.
• Senior WR Tyrese Chambers matched a season-high with 10 receptions while posting a season-best 143 yards – his first 100-plus yard performance this season and the fourth of his FIU career.
• Sophomore Andrew Volmar recorded his first career interception at the 1:24 mark of the third quarter.
• Senior Dorian Hall recorded his second interception of the season and sixth of his career on the final play of the first half.
• FIU's defense forced a season-high five turnovers in Saturday's win at Charlotte.
• Linebacker Donovan Manuel led the defense with a team-high 10 tackles – his third game this season with double-digit stops.
• FIU's defense finished the game with a season-best five sacks – Shaun Peterson Jr. led all with a career-best three.

 
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