BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The FIU football team fell behind early in a 31-7 setback at Indiana in the season opener for both programs at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Hoosiers opened a 21-0 lead in the first half as they limited the Panthers to 102 yards in the opening half and posted 243 offensive yards in the opening 30 minutes. 
 
FIU held Indiana in check for the majority of the second half as they limited the Hoosiers to just a field goal over the final 28 minutes of regulation before Indiana posted a late touchdown run with 66 seconds left.
 
Indiana's Ty Son Lawton scored a pair of rushing touchdowns in the first half during the opening spurt and finished the contest with 74 yards on the ground.
 
Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke completed 15-of-24 passes for 180 yards and one touchdown in the win.
 
FIU signal caller Keyone Jenkins finished with 129 yards, one touchdown and an interception while completing 20-of-29 pass attempts.  He tossed his first touchdown of the year to tight end Rocky Beers in the second quarter.  A total of eight receivers caught at least one pass in the contest for the Panthers.
 
Defensive back JoJo Evans paced the Panthers with a team-high 11 stops, while CJ Christian chipped in nine.
 
Indiana (1-0) jumped ahead first on a nine-yard touchdown pass from Rourke to Zach Horton at the 9:14 mark of the first to cap a seven-play, 58-yard drive.
 
The Hoosiers extended the margin to 14-0 on their next drive when Lawton ran around the right side for a 13-yard scoring run with 1:23 left in the opening quarter to finish off a nine-play drive that covered 76 yards.
 
Lawton added a second touchdown burst, this one from two yards out to close out a 16-play, 93-yard push to make the score 21-0 with 4:53 left in the opening half.  The drive was keyed by a 30-yard completion from Rourke to Miles Cross to convert a third down and 21 attempt.
 
The Panthers (0-1) broke through near the end of the opening half when Jenkins found Beers from eight yards out with a touchdown pass with 48 ticks remaining before the break.  The drive covered 75 yards on 12 plays and was sparked by a 22-yard run by Kejon Owens, which set up FIU inside the Indiana 10.
 
Following a punt by FIU on its opening possession of the second half, Indiana put together another sustained drive that included a successful fourth down and four attempt to set up Nicholas Radicic for a successful 35-yard field goal to make the score 24-7 with just under six minutes left in the third.
 
Indiana added a 51-yard touchdown run by Elijah Green with 1:06 left in regulation to account for the final points of the contest.
 
UP NEXT
The Panthers will host Central Michigan on Saturday, Sept. 7 in a 6 p.m. ET kickoff in the inaugural game at South Dade Kia Field at Pitbull Stadium.  The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Panther Online Network.

POSTGAME NOTES

• Senior Jeramy Passmore recorded his first sack of the season in the third quarter.
• Sophomore quarterback Keyone Jenkins tossed his first touchdown pass of the season with a seven-yard strike to Rocky Beers with 48 seconds left in the first half.
• FIU converted on a 4^th down and six deep inside Indiana territory in the second quarter but was nullified by a personal foul on the Panthers.
• The Panthers move to 6-17 all-time in season openers following the road loss to the Hoosiers.
• FIU allowed four sacks in the loss.
• Graduate running back Lexington Joseph opened at running back for the Panthers after missing all of last season with a knee injury.
• Sophomore quarterback Amari Jones saw the first game action of his career in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
• FIU won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.
   

TICKETS
For more information on FIU Football season and individual tickets, including student ticketing, call 305-FIU-GAME or visit the FIU Athletics Online Ticket Office.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Get all the latest information on the team by following @FIU.Football on Instagram and @FIUFootball on Twitter and Facebook.
 
General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.
 
2024 FIU FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Aug. 31	at Indiana (Saturday)	Big Ten Network	L, 7-31
Sept. 7	CENTRAL MICHIGAN (Saturday)	ESPN+	6 p.m.
Sept. 14	at Florida Atlantic (Saturday)	ESPN+	6 p.m.
Sept. 21	MONMOUTH (Saturday) (Homecoming)	ESPN+	6 p.m.
Sept. 28	LOUISIANA TECH* (Saturday)	ESPN Platforms	6 p.m.
Oct. 8	at Liberty* (Tuesday)	CBSSN	7 p.m.
Oct. 16	at UTEP* (Wednesday)	CBSSN	9 p.m.
Oct. 22	SAM HOUSTON* (Tuesday)	ESPNU	7:30 p.m.
Oct. 29	NEW MEXICO STATE* (Tuesday)	CBSSN	7 p.m.
Nov. 16	at Jacksonville State* (Saturday)	ESPN Platforms	2 p.m.
Nov. 23	at Kennesaw State* (Saturday)	ESPN Platforms	3 p.m.
Nov. 30	MIDDLE TENNESSEE* (Saturday)	ESPN Platforms	2 p.m.

 
HOME GAMES IN BOLD CAPS
ALL TIMES LISTED ARE EASTERN (ET)
* CONFERENCE USA GAME