MIAMI – Sophomore Grayson James tossed three touchdowns and directed a clutch drive in the final two minutes to force overtime allowing the Panthers to prevail with a hard-fought 42-34 victory over Louisiana Tech in double overtime on Friday night.
 
The Panthers forced overtime when sophomore kicker Chase Gabriel drilled a 28-yard field goal with 16 seconds remaining to deadlock the score at 27-27. 
 
James completed six passes on the final drive, including three to sophomore tight end Rivaldo Fairweather for a total of 41 yards, to set up the clutch field goal as the Panthers covered 69 yards in just 1:45.
 
Overtime saw the Bulldogs score on their opening possession on a five-yard burst by Marquis Crosby before FIU answered with a one-yard scoring run by junior Lexington Joseph to push it into a second extra frame. 

The Panthers sealed the victory with another one-yard TD run by Joseph and put some extra pressure on Louisiana Tech with a successful two-point conversion attempt on a pass from James to sophomore Kris Mitchell.
 
The Panthers' defense closed out the victory by holding the Bulldogs scoreless on their final possession.
 
The comeback, which saw FIU trailing 17-7 early in the second quarter, marked the second time this season that the Panthers rallied from a double-digit deficit – and also the first time in program history they have turned the trick twice in the same season. 

The victory also represented the Panthers' second overtime win in 2022.
 
With the win, FIU has now recorded back-to-back wins for the first time since the 2019 campaign and the victory also marked the Panthers' first home win over an FBS opponent since it defeated Miami (Fla.) on Nov. 23, 2019.
 
James finished with over 300 yards for the second consecutive contest as he completed 31-of-48 passes for 321 yards and tossed three touchdown passes to three different receivers.
 
The Panthers' receiving corps were led by Tyrese Chambers, who snagged seven receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown.  Fairweather added six catches for a team-high 89 yards – 84 of which came in the second half and overtime.
 
Joseph finished with 41 rushing yards along with the two decisive scores in overtime.
 
Defensively, the Panthers were paced by a quad of players who registered double-figure stops, including freshman Demetrius Hill and sophomore Gaethan Bernandel, who each posted 11.  Hill also forced a pair of fumbles.  Donovan Manuel and D'verick Daniel each tabbed 10.
 
Louisiana Tech (2-6, 1-3, C-USA) scored on its opening possession when a 41-yard completion from Landry Lyddy to Tre Harris set up a two-yard TD run on a sneak by Lyddy, that put the Bulldogs ahead 7-0, just 4:20 into the opening quarter.
 
The Bulldogs connected for another big gain through the air on the initial play of their second possession with a 40-yard strike from Lyddy to Cyrus Allen that put sophomore kicker Jacob Barnes in position for a successful 36-yard field goal attempt, increasing the Louisiana Tech advantage to 10-0, with just under four minutes left in the first quarter.
 
The Panthers (4-4, 2-2 C-USA) broke through with 46 seconds left in the first on a 34-yard touchdown reception by Mitchell, who hauled in a strike from James down the sideline for his fourth score of the season and his second in the last two games, trimming the margin to 10-7.
 
Louisiana Tech pushed the lead back to 10 on a 29-yard run by Marquis Crosby at 13:18 of the second.  The touchdown run capped a seven-play, 75-yard drive to make the score 17-7.
 
Following a Louisiana Tech punt that went only 17 yards and set up the Panthers at the LTU 48 with just over 10 minutes left before the break, the FIU offense took advantage to get within three at 17-14 following a 17-yard scoring strike from James to junior Jalen Bracey.
 
Special teams made a huge play for the Panthers on the ensuing kickoff which saw freshman Hezikiah Masses recover a pooch kick at the LTU 29.  The Panther offense took it from there as James tossed his third touchdown pass of the game to a third different receiver – this time connecting with Chambers for a 18-yard score to give FIU its first lead of the evening at 21-17 with 6:41 left before the break.
 
The Panthers' special teams unit came up big again on the final play of the first half when senior Alex Nobles blocked a 29-yard field goal on the final play of the opening half after the Bulldogs threatened following a 31-yard pass completion pushed them down to the FIU 11.
 
The defense made a big play to set up FIU's first points of the second half with a big stop on a fourth and two attempt by Louisiana Tech.  Following a sack by Manuel and Daniel that set up the Panthers at the LTU 38, Gabriel split the upright from 45 yards out to increase the FIU lead to 24-17 with just over four minutes remaining in the third.
 
The Bulldogs tied up the score at 24-24 with 13:01 left in regulation on a nine-yard rushing touchdown by Charvis Thornton – capping a 12-play, 68-yard drive that chewed up 6:18 of game time.
 
Louisiana Tech took the lead with 5:56 remaining on a 32-yard field goal by Barnes to set up the Panthers' rally.
 
UP NEXT
The Panthers venture to the road next week for a showdown in Denton, Texas, on Saturday, Nov. 5 at North Texas.
 
The game between the Panthers and Mean Green is slated for a 4 p.m. ET kickoff on ESPN+.
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• Friday's win marked FIU's second comeback from a double-digit deficit this season – the first time in program history the Panthers have rallied for multiple victories when trailing by 10 or more in the same season.
• FIU is 2-0 in overtime this season.
• FIU had a total of four players on defense record at least 10 tackles in the win.
• Friday's game marked FIU's third appearance on the CBS Sports Network this season and second at home.
• FIU senior Dorian Hall was ejected from the game for targeting in the second quarter.
• Sophomore wide receiver Kris Mitchell's first quarter TD catch was his fourth of the season and his second in the last two games.
• Freshman Hezikiah Masses recovered a pooch kick for the Panthers at the 7:17 mark of the second quarter at the LTU 29.
• Louisiana Tech freshman quarterback Landry Lyddy completed each of his first 10 passes to open the game before throwing an incompletion.
• FIU sophomore quarterback Grayson James finished with three TD passes – he has tossed three or more TDs in three of eight games this season.
• James has thrown TD passes to three different receivers in two games this season.
• FIU senior linebacker Alex Nobles blocked a 29-yard field goal attempt by LTU's Jacob Barnes on the final play of the first half.
• Friday's win snapped a seven-game losing streak vs. Conference USA opponents – dating back to a 24-17 win vs. Old Dominion on Nov. 21, 2019.
• The win also snapped a nine-game skid at home vs. FBS foes – dating back to a 30-24 win over Miami (Fla.) on Nov. 23, 2019 (game was played at Marlins Park/now Loan Depot Park).
• Sophomore kicker Chase Gabriel drilled a 45-yard field goal in the third quarter – his second-longest of the season and his third over 40 yards.
• Friday's win marked the 50th of head coach Mike MacIntyre's career.

 
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