HOUSTON — FIU's football program won its fourth-straight game in Conference USA (CUSA) play on Saturday, racing past Sam Houston 56-16 on the road. 
 
The Panthers (7-5, 5-3 CUSA) made a statement from the opening snap in a one-sided victory over the Bearkats (2-10, 1-7 CUSA) at Shell Energy Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The win marks FIU's first four-game win streak since 2018 and first-ever four-game win streak in Conference USA play. The victory also guarantees a winning season for Willie Simmons and the Panthers for the first time since 2018. 
 
Keyone Jenkins started for FIU and passed for three touchdowns and 291 yards, adding a rushing score, to account for four total touchdowns the lead the Panther offense. Alex Perry connected with Jenkins for several big plays, ending his day with seven catches for a career-high 140 yards and two touchdowns to pace the receiving effort. Dallas Payne also had a career-high with 100 yards and a touchdown, which including a long of 42 yards in the second quarter. On the ground, Kejon Owens added 124 rushing yards on just 15 attempts, averaging 8.3 yards per carry. Sterling Joseph, a true freshman, got the call in the fourth quarter and delivered with two long TDs as he racked up 112 rushing yards on four carries. 
 
On defense, Dante Anderson forced two fumbles on both of his sacks and finished the afternoon with five tackles. Percy Courtney Jr. led the defensive effort with seven stops, three of which were tackles for loss. Steven Shannon and Kenton Simmons each had a sack for the Panthers as well. Victor Evans III had his first interception of the season and Shamir Sterlin also added an interception, his second of the year. 
 
As a team, FIU gained 594 yards of total offense, averaging 9.3 yards per play. The Panthers had 303 of those yards of the ground, a season-high for the Panther rushing attack. 

QUICK NOTES
⁃            Owens, the all-time single season rushing leader now has 1,298 rushing yards for the season and is just the third-ever FIU running back to eclipse 1,000 yards in a season and the first since Kedrick Rhodes in 2011.  Owens has 11 rushing touchdowns this season, of which is the third-most in school history. For his career, Owens now has 2,226 yards, of which ranks second all-time and 22 rushing touchdowns, tied-third all-time. 
⁃            Perry's 140 yards are a career-high and his two touchdowns bring him to nine for the season. Nine receiving TDs are tied for second-best in a season in program history. Perry has caught touchdowns in five straight weeks and is up to 816 yards for the season, 11th-most in school history. 
⁃            Grant, who started the season as solely the kickoff specialist, has now made 14 field goals this season, tying-him for sixth all-time for most in a single season. 
⁃            Payne's 100 yards are a career-high. 
⁃            Simmons now has 6.0 sacks on the season, tied-10th most in school history. 
⁃            Joseph is the fourth FIU freshman with multiple rushing TDs in a game and the first since Silas Spearman in 2013. 
⁃            Joseph's 61-yard rushing TD is the longest-ever rushing TD by an FIU freshman, breaking the record set by Anthony Jones in 2015. 
⁃            Jenkins had three passing touchdowns, his fifth career game with 3+ passing TDs, and now has 42 for his career, tying him with Josh Padrick for second-most all-time. 
⁃            Anderson matched a school-record with two forced fumbles in a game, last recorded by Donovan Manuel vs. Maine in 2023. He now has three forced fumbles this season, tied-fourth most in school history. 
⁃            Shannon's sack was the first of his career. 
⁃            Evans' interception was the first of his career. 
⁃            FIU's 303 rushing yards are the most for the program since the Panthers had 318 rushing yards against Long Island in 2021. Additionally, FIU's 594 total yards are the most since then, matching the 594-yard total from that same contest against LIU on Sept. 2, 2021. 
⁃            The Panthers had two 100-yard rushers in the same game, Owens and Sterling, for the first time since Shaun Peterson and D'Vonte Price each had 100+ yards vs. MTSU in 2020. 
⁃            Willie Simmons has now achieved a winning season in all nine of his seasons as a head coach. 
⁃            A win for FIU in its upcoming bowl game would be the first-ever five game winning streak for the program. 
 
UP NEXT 
The Panthers await their matchup and further information for their upcoming bowl game. Please see the below info for more information. 
 
BOWL BOUND
Led by first-year head coach Willie Simmons and our talented student-athletes, coaches and staff, the Panthers are set to represent FIU on a national stage. Bowl specifics will be announced in the coming weeks, and we will share ticket, travel and celebration information as it becomes finalized.
 
In the meantime, please complete the short interest form so you do not miss any communication regarding bowl information, game tickets, travel packages, alumni tailgate and more events. Additionally, bookmark FIUSports.com/Bowl for all your postseason information.
 
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