MIAMI — FIU's football program takes on rival-Florida Atlantic in the annual Shula Bowl matchup on Saturday night at 6 p.m. inside Pitbull Stadium.
The Panthers and Owls will meet for the 23rd time in a rivalry that dates back to 2002 under the lights on South Dade Kia Field at Pitbull Stadium on Saturday evening.
SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: Fla. Atlantic leads 17-5
Last Matchup: Sept. 14, 2024 (Fla. Atlantic def. FIU, 38-20)
Willie Simmons vs. Fla. Atlantic: First-ever meeting
GAME SPONSOR
Baptist Health is the presenting sponsor of FIU-Fla. Atlantic. For more information on 'The Warmer Side of Care', visit baptisthealth.net.
FAN FITS / PROMOTIONS
Fan Fit: Wear Gold!
Promotion: FREE Shula Bowl Rally Towels — First 5,000 Fans
(Presented by Baptist Health)
HOW TO FOLLOW
Fans can follow along with the game on variety of platforms. The matchup will air live on ESPN+ and also be available via audio stream on fiusports.com/listenlive. Live stats will also be available on fiusports.com/FBStats.
BROADCAST TEAMS
ESPN+
Play-by-Play: Steve Goldstein
Analyst: Kim Bokamper
fiusports.com Stream
Play-by-Play: Corey Brooks
Analyst: Billy Gil
Analyst: Jackson McDonald
MATCHUP NOTES
⁃ FIU is in search of its fifth home win and sixth overall Shula Bowl victory.
⁃ Florida Atlantic and FIU meet for the 23rd time on Saturday, but it will be just the third time that both teams have first year head coaches on the sidelines.
⁃ T.Y. Hilton is being inducted in the FIU Athletics Hall of Fame this weekend as the first-ever football player to earn this honor. Hilton electrified Panther Nation, especially in the Shula Bowl, racking up 24 catches and 324 yards with two touchdowns against Florida Atlantic in his career. Hilton was the MVP of the 2010 Shula Bowl.
⁃ FIU is currently in its longest losing streak in the rivalry's history, having lost the last seven meetings between the two teams.
⁃ Due to a one-year hiatus because of conference realignment, this will be the first home Shula Bowl for FIU since 2022.
⁃ Head coach Willie Simmons looks to extend his own home winning streak to 22 consecutive games, dating back to 2018, when he was head coach at Florida A&M.
⁃ With a win, this will be Simmons' first ever win over an FBS opponent.
⁃ FIU linebacker Johnny Chaney Jr. racked up nine tackles at Penn State and is currently rated the eight-best linebacker in the nation after two games by Pro Football Focus (PFF).
⁃ Florida Atlantic enters this matchup following a 56-14 home win over Willie Simmons' former school, Florida A&M.
⁃ Florida Atlantic head coach Zach Kittley is the nation's youngest FBS head coach at just 34 years old, following stops at Houston Baptist, Western Kentucky and Texas Tech.
⁃ Kittley and Owls' quarterback Caden Veltkamp, who is in his first year with Florida Atlantic, after transferring from Western Kentucky, crossed paths as Kittley recruited Veltkamp out of high school before moving on to Texas Tech.
⁃ Veltkamp matched a school record with five passing TDs as Fla. Atlantic totaled 553 yards on offense vs. FAMU.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR GAMEDAY
Here is a comprehensive breakdown of everything students, alumni, donors and Panther supporters of any capacity need to know about the home gameday experience surrounding FIU football in 2025.
GAME PREVIEW
The Panthers (1-1) and Owls (1-1) meet in one of the most highly-anticipated Shula Bowl matchups in recent memory on Saturday evening. In what has always been a knock-down-drag-out affair, fans can expect an electric atmosphere inside Pitbull Stadium for the 23rd edition of the FIU-Florida Atlantic rivalry. Both teams are in search of early-season momentum under new head coaches and know that a victory could spark not only a successful start to those new coaching regimes, but also a special 2025 campaign.
The Willie Simmons era at FIU is off to an exciting start following a convincing home win against Bethune-Cookman in Week One and a competitive matchup with the nation's second-ranked team, Penn State, on the road in Week Two. Simmons and the Panthers will be looking to build on back-to-back solid performances as FIU is in search of its first Shula Bowl victory since 2016.
Having already notched his first win at Pitbull Stadium, Simmons is no stranger to defending his home turf. Dating back to his time at Florida A&M, 'Shotgun' has now won 22-straight games at home. FIU last won the Shula Bowl matchup at home in 2016, defeating Florida Atlantic 33-31 in an instant classic that featured two ties and five lead changes. Notably, multiple future NFL players featured in that game on both sides. For FIU, Jonnu Smith, Alex McGough and Stantley Thomas-Oliver were all participants in the 2016 Shula Bowl. For Florida Atlantic, Devin Singletary, Azeez Al-Shaair, Trey Hendrickson and Greg Joseph all appeared in the game.
Looking at the Panthers through two games, Kejon Owens and Johnny Chaney Jr. have both been two standout performers on offense and defense, respectively. Owens has rushed for 70-plus yards in each of FIU's contests and is averaging 5.7 yards per carry in 2025. Owens had led the way for a strong rushing attack that has racked up 364 total yards on the ground through two games, averaging 182.0 yards per game.
As a former Florida A&M standout, Chaney Jr. has enjoyed reuniting with Coach Simmons and several of his former coaches at FIU, of which has produced instant success. Defensively, Chaney Jr. has racked up 17.0 tackles, including two tackles for loss and one sack, in his first two games at FIU. Chaney Jr. is currently rated the eighth-best linebacker in the nation based on overall defense metrics from Pro Football Focus (PFF).
For the Owls and new head coach Zach Kittley, former Western Kentucky quarterback Caden Veltkamp will be the key to Florida Atlantic's performance in the game. Veltkamp's two games with the Owls so far have been drastically different as he threw four interceptions against Maryland before passing for five touchdowns against Florida A&M. Veltkamp never featured against FIU, but is no stranger to Conference USA (CUSA) competition as he was named the 2024 CUSA Offensive Player of the Year before entering the transfer portal.
Making his way to Florida Atlantic from Texas Tech, Kittley's offensive style hinges on strong quarterback play as it features air raid concepts and an up-tempo attack. Wide receivers Asaad Waseem and Easton Messer have been Veltkamp's primary targets while Gemari Sands has been Florida Atlantic's featured rusher.
WEEKLY MEDIA AVAILABILITIES Willie Simmons
Defensive Coordinator Jovan Dewitt
Josiah Taylor
Julius Pierce
BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA
FIU ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME WEEKEND
FIU Athletics will be hosting its 2025 Hall of Fame induction on Friday evening at 6 p.m. inside the Graham Center Ballroom to kick off its Hall of Fame Weekend. The Class of 2025 inductees will also be honored during the Shula Bowl on Saturday at halftime with an on-field recognition.
The Class of 2025 is as follows:
Karl Kremser '87 (Men's Soccer), Cindy Russo '93 (Women's Basketball), Munga Eketebi '88 (Men's Soccer), Tayna Lawrence '98 (Track and Field), T.Y. Hilton
To learn more about the Class of 2025 and the events surrounding the Hall of Fame Weekend, click
here.
THE WILLIE SIMMONS COACH'S SHOW
The Panthers will partner with Twin Peaks Doral, one of the highest-grossing restaurants in the entire franchise, for a weekly show with first-year Head Coach
Willie Simmons and other special guests. Host Corey Brooks will sit down with Coach Simmons to discuss all facets of Panther football, with an emphasis on recapping the previous week's match-ups and previewing the upcoming game. For more information, click
here.
SEASON 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.
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.
