By Brandon Wise/ Columnist
The spotlight might be getting too bright for the Golden Panthers to handle. With the bright lights of ESPN shining down on them, the defense seemed to go dim. In the past two weeks, opposing quarterbacks have thrown for 567 yards and four touchdowns. Quarterbacks have made this FIU secondary look like Swiss cheese, and those holes need to be adjusted.
For the second consecutive week, FIU could not get it done. Twice they have held fourth quarter leads at home, and twice they have fallen.
There is no excuse for losing this game. Both Wesley Carroll and T.Y. Hilton, who were hurt the past few weeks, played and had huge roles on the offensive side. The offense is the least of their concern, it is the defense that seemingly can’t do anything right.
After giving up only 14 points in their first three games, the defense has run into a buzz saw, allowing over 30 points in the last two weeks. Players like Jose Cheeseborough and Sam Miller are just not getting the job done.
It is about time that Todd Orlando gives the younger cornerbacks a shot at proving themselves. Otherwise, the defense will be left watching other teams run up and down the field on them. You do not want to fall in to a shoot-out every game.
Last season, we saw this movie.
Up 20-6 going into the fourth quarter against Texas A&M, FIU blew the lead and went on to lose 27-20. Had it not been for the Golden Panthers defeating Louisville earlier in the season, we would still be discussing this team not being able to get it done against a BCS automatic-qualifying opponent.
The Golden Panthers seem to be in this situation in every game thus far this season, playing each team right down to the wire, excluding the opener against North Texas.
In their last four games, the margin of victory has not been greater than seven points.
When a team has to rely on close games to win, things like this will happen. The Golden Panthers need to be able to jump out to leads and sustain them if they have any hopes of winning the conference. Having to play in a shoot-out type game can be draining on both sides of the ball.
The defense is in a situation where they are seeing passes fly all over the place, leaving them looking for a way to come up with a stop. That can be a tall task when they are barely getting five minutes of rest on the sidelines.
The offense is then forced to answer the call and score themselves. Otherwise, they will fall behind into a hole that they can not get out of.
The Golden Panthers need to find a way to slow the game down and be able to play at their own pace because these kinds of games are the ones that define a season.
With a 10-point lead, the Golden Panthers just needed to pick up a few first downs, possibly get another touchdown and head off the field with the victory. However, for the first time this season, Wesley Carroll made a huge mistake. He has still not thrown an interception all season, but a huge strip sack by Jordan DeWalt-Ondijo made the difference. That will leave him feeling bedeviled for the next few days.
Having a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter normally means that a victory is in the bag, at least for veteran teams. But FIU can not seem to find that bag.