MIAMI — The FIU football program opened the Willie Simmons era with a convincing 42-9 victory over visiting Bethune-Cookman on Friday night on South Dade Kia Field at Pitbull Stadium.

FIU started fast and finished strong to open up the Simmons regime in style. The Panthers rushed for six touchdowns and allowed zero touchdowns defensively to hand Simmons his first victory as an FBS head coach. 

FIU's three-headed rushing attack flexed its muscles throughout the game. Kejon Owens led all rushers with 71 yards and two scores. Devonte Lyons added 54 rushing yards in support and one TD while Anthony Carrie rushed for 49 yards and found the end zone late in the fourth quarter. 

Keyone Jenkins went 18-for-30 and passed for 187 yards. Joe Pesansky came on in relief of Jenkins and finished with 40 passing yards on four completions. On the receiving end, Eric Nelson led the way with 47 yards. In total, 13 receivers had at least one catch in the game. 

Due to a weather delay, Panther Nation had to sit tight for just over an hour to see the beginning of the 2025 season, but the wait proved to be well worth it. From the moment FIU took the ball after an opening Bethune-Cookman field goal, the Panther offense showed its quick-strike ability with quarterback Jenkins and head coach/play-caller Simmons running the show. 

FIU marched down the field on its first drive of the game with a seven-play, 67-yard drive over just 3:07 that ended in a two-yard touchdown plunge from Kejon Owens to put the Panthers up 7-3. On the scoring drive, Jenkins completed a key pass with a downfield connection to Semaj Demps to 26 yards that put FIU inside the red zone. 

After the defense forced a punt from BCU, FIU was stopped deep in its own territory on its next drive before a personal foul penalty on the Wildcats gave the Panthers drive new life. Jenkins led the offense on an impressive 15-play, 89-yard drive over 7:04 that ended in another rushing TD from Owens, this time from 16 yards out. Eric Nelson made a critical sliding catch, his first career reception, to advance FIU into scoring position. 

Holding a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter, FIU continued to build momentum on defense, stopping BCU immediately after just three plays on its next drive. Once again, Jenkins captained the offense to an efficient scoring drive, of which went nine plays and 75 yards in 3:36. This time, Jenkins got in on the scoring by rushing for a six-yard touchdown to put FIU up 21-3 with 9:43 to go in the second quarter. Yet again, an explosive play set up the Panther touchdown as Jenkins connected with Kyle McNeal for 30 yards on the drive. 

Another three-and-out forced by the defense gave FIU the ball back quickly midway through the second quarter. The Panthers scored in 2:12 to make it 28-3 courtesy of a 35-yard TD rush from Devonte Lyons. Bethune-Cookman tacked on a field goal late in the first half and FIU took a commanding 28-6 lead to the half. 

Out of the halftime break, FIU was stopped quickly, but pinned the Wildcats deep in their own territory after an excellent punt from Trey Wilhoit. Two plays later, the defense made its first big play as Johnny Chaney Jr. forced a fumble that was recovered by Quaylen Hill on the BCU 12-yard line. 

After two Owens rushes towards the goal line, Jenkins kept it himself for his second rushing touchdown of the game, putting the Panthers up 35-6. The Wildcats added another field goal with 12:12 left in the fourth quarter. 

Late in the fourth quarter, Joe Pesansky led a 10-play scoring drive that was capped by an Anthony Carrie two-yard rushing touchdown on fourth down to give FIU a 42-9 lead. The Panthers finished off the contest with their second unit in the game, holding the ball for the final two minutes of the game to finish off the 33-point win. 

QUICK NOTES

• With two rushing TDs, this is the first game of Jenkins' career that he has rushed for multiple TDs. 
• This is the first time that FIU didn't surrender a touchdown in a game since a 44-0 win over UMass on Oct. 5, 2019. 
• The win marks Willie Simmons first victory as an FIU head coach. 
• Owens is now sitting on 999 career yards after his 71 rushing yards last night. 
• FIU got its first-ever win over BCU in program history, erasing a four-game losing streak. Additionally, Simmons extended his personal winning streak to four games over the Wildcats. 
• Owens rushed for two TDs, his third career game with multiple TDs and first since Monmouth on Sept. 21, 2024. 
• Maguire Anderson, Andre Brown, Eric Nelson, Jojo Stone, Braiden Staten, Kyle McNeal and Jackson Verdugo all had their first career receptions in the game.
• Lyons' 35-yard rush is the longest of his career. 
• The win is FIU's first season-opening win since a 38-37 win over Bryant on Sept. 1, 2022. 
• Six rushing touchdowns ties the school record from Dec. 2, 2017 vs. UMass. 
• Kenton Simmons finished with one sack in his first game as a Panther. 
• Percy Courtney Jr. also had one sack on the evening. 
• For the first time in program history, 13 different receivers caught passes for FIU. 
• FIU's balanced attack was on display with 233 rushing yards and 223 passing yards in the game. 
• Jordan Clemons had his first career rush in the game, finishing with three carries for 14 yards.
• The Panthers won a game with zero passing touchdowns for the first time since Sept. 14, 2019 vs. New Hampshire. 

POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY

Willie Simmons


Kejon Owens


Johnny Chaney Jr.


Keyone Jenkins

UP NEXT
FIU takes on the #2 Penn State Nittany Lions in University Park, Pa. on Saturday, Sept. 6. Kickoff is set for noon at Beaver Stadium on the Big Ten Network.

TICKETS
For more information on FIU Football tickets, including season tickets, single game and multi-game package tickets, call 305-FIU-GAME or visit the FIU Athletics Online Ticket Office.

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