| WEEK 5: FIU (1-2, 0-1) at New Mexico State (1-4) |
SETTING THE STAGE
PANTHERS HEAD TO LAS CRUCES FOR THIRD STRAIGHT ROAD TILT
FIU takes on New Mexico State in a non-conference clash on Saturday, Oct. 1 in an 8 p.m. ET kickoff that will mark the Panthers third consecutive road contest.
The game will be aired on FloSports and Bally Sports Arizona with Adam Young (pxp), Danny Knee (analyst) and Andy Morgan (sideline) on the call.
The game can also be heard on Miami's WQBA 1140 AM with
AJ Ricketts (pxp) and
Corey Brooks (analyst) calling the action.
FIU and New Mexico State have met one time previously in the sport of football with the Aggies besting the Panthers by a 56-31 margin on Oct. 30, 2004 in Las Cruces - which marked FIU's third season with a football program and saw them playing at the FCS level.
HEAD COACH INFO
FIU
Head Coach:
Mike MacIntyre (Georgia Tech '89)
Overall Record: 47-67 (10th season)
Record at FIU: 1-2 (1st season)
New Mexico State
Head Coach: Jerry Kill (Southwestern '83)
Overall Record: 159-107 (24th season)
Record at NMSU: 1-4 (1st season)
QUICK HITS
- FIU will be playing its third consecutive road contest over a four-week span when it takes on New Mexico State.
- The Panthers and Aggies met one time previously, with NMSU claiming a 56-31 win on Oct. 30, 2004 in Las Cruces.
PANTHERS MOVING FAST
The FIU offense has moved quickly through the initial three games under offensive coordinator
David Yost - averaging 2.8 plays per minute - which is the ninth-most nationally, according to 247 Sports' analysis.
The Panthers sit behind only Georgia State (3.06) and SMU (3.02) among non-Power Five programs.
LAST TIME VS. NEW MEXICO STATE
Saturday's matchup between FIU and New Mexico State will mark the second time that the programs have met in the sport of football and the first since the 2004 season - which marked the Panthers' third year as a football program and saw them playing at the FCS level.
The previous meeting was also played in Las Cruces and saw the Aggies post a 56-31 victory on Oct. 30, 2004.
The game was tightly contested for the opening three quarters as FIU held leads of 7-3 and 14-10 in the first quarter and never trail by more than 10 points prior to the 8:26 mark of the third.
New Mexico State scored 24 of the final 27 points to secure the victory.
FIU was led by running back Rashod Smith, who rushed for a total of 232 yards and four touchdowns - the 232 rushing yards still rank as the second-highest single game total in FIU annals, while the four rushing TDs sits as the program's top single game performance.
DEPTH CHART MOVES
The Panthers made a number of changes on the offensive line entering last week's game at Western Kentucky as a number of players swapped positions or earned a starting nod along the FIU front five.
Freshman John Bock was shifted to center and sophomore
Sam Hill opened as a starter at left guard for the first time this season.
In addition,
Jacob Peace shifted from right tackle to right guard and junior
Lyndell Hudson Jr. moved into his previous slot.
Sophomore
Adrian Cole also made his first start of the season in the defensive backfield for FIU on Sept. 24 at Western Kentucky. Freshman Will Predergast made his first career start on the defensive line as well.
YOUNG ROSTER
FIU features one of the nation's youngest and most inexperienced rosters - as they Panthers have a total of 48 new faces on the 2022 squad - including 24 true freshmen.
SHULA BOWL WILL CONTINUE...
FIU will play Florida Atlantic University in a four-game non-conference series beginning in 2024.
The Panthers and Owls will open the four-game set during the 2024 season on the campus of Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton, before playing on FIU's Miami campus in 2025. The final two games will take place at FAU (2026) and FIU (2027).
The rivalry, which dates back to the 2002 season, is known as 'The Shula Bowl'. The game's annual winner receives the Don Shula Award, which is named after former Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula.
Shula, who led the Miami Dolphins for 26 seasons and is the NFL's all-time winningest coach with 347 career victories, was connected to both FIU's and FAU's first head coach.
Florida Atlantic's first head coach Howard Schnellenberger was an assistant of Shula in the 1970s, while FIU's initial head coach Don Strock, was a quarterback under Shula in the 1970s and 1980s.
'The Shula Bowl' pays homage to Shula, South Florida football and the ties and history of both FIU and Florida Atlantic universities.
HOMECOMING GAME WILL AIR ON ESPN3
FIU Football's homecoming game on Saturday, Oct. 8 vs. the University of Connecticut will air live on ESPN3 beginning at 7 p.m.
The Oct. 8 game at FIU Stadium in Miami will mark the first-ever meeting between the Panthers and Huskies in the sport of football as well as the initial of four games over the next six seasons in which the programs are scheduled to battle on the gridiron.
FIU and UConn are also scheduled to meet during the 2023 season on Sept. 16 at Rentschler Field at Pratt & Whitney Stadium in East Hartford, Conn. The teams will follow with another game in East Hartford (Oct. 4, 2025) and Miami (Oct. 2, 2027).
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO STATE
The Aggies enter Saturday's meeting with FIU sporting a 1-4 record and fresh off their first win of the season by a 45-26 margin over the University of Hawaii last Saturday in Las Cruces.
New Mexico State employed a one-dimensional offense that saw it post 357 rushing yards, but just 81 thorugh the air.
The Aggies opened up a 21-7 edge over Hawaii in the first half before putting the game away with three unanswered touchdowns in the second and third quarters.
The victory followed four consecutive losses to open the season for the Aggies as they dropped lost vs. Nevada (23-12), at Minnesota (38-0), at UTEP (20-13) and at Wisconsin (66-7).
New Mexico State is averaging 157.0 rushing yards per game this season and is paced by Star Thomas, whohas recorded a team-high 253 yards, while averaging 6.5 yards per touch.
Offensively, the Aggies are averaging 15.4 points, while allowing an average of 34.6 over their opening five games this season.
NMSU-FLORIDA CONNECTION
The Aggies feature a total of 4 players on their roster that hail from the state of Florida.
| Tobin Hackett |
Daytona Beach, Fla. |
Palm Coast HS |
| J.J. Dervil |
Naples, Fla. |
Lely HS |
| D.J. McCullough |
Tampa, Fla. |
Hillsborough HS |
| Nick Giacolone |
Venice, Fla. |
Venice HS |
WRAPPING UP ROADSWING
Saturday's game at New Mexico State will mark the final of a season-long three game roadtrip that spanned a total of four weeks - including a bye.
Overall, the Panthers will travel over 3,900 miles and play in three different time zones during the run.
DEMETRIUS HILL GOES FOR 10 AGAIN
Redshirt freshman defensive back
Demetrius Hill leads the Panthers with a team-high 27 tackles and registered double-digit stops in each of the last two games.
The Miami Springs Senior High product posted 11 stops to lead the squad at Texas State (9/10) before following that with 10 tackles at Western Kentucky (9/24).
DEFENSIVE STARTERS OUT VS. WKU
FIU played its Sept. 24 game at Western Kentucky without the services of two key defensive starters –
Davon Strickland (DL) and Shaun Peterson (LB) – each were out with injuries.
UP NEXT
The Panthers will return to FIU Stadium for their first home game in over a month's time when they host UConn for Homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 8 in a 7 p.m. ET kickoff.
