By: Jackson Wolek / Staff Writer
After beating Middle Tennessee for the first time away on the road, FIU (8-4, 5-3 SBC) finishes the season with the best record in school history. Now the waiting game begins. It is still uncertain whether a second consecutive bowl berth comes with it. Mario Cristobal will have to wait a full week until Dec. 4 to see if the Panthers are bowl bound.
The Panthers scored 17 points in the second half while holding MTSU to 12 to end the game at 31-18.
Sophomore Kedrick Rhodes, who ended the game early with an injury, finished with 20 carries for 117 yards. The tailback is now 12 yards away from tying Rashod Smith’s record of 1,133 in a single season.
“[He suffered a] sprained ankle. He tried to go back in but just couldn’t push off it,” said head coach Cristobal.
Cristobal is happy with what the Sun Belt teams have produced this year and is now ready to start looking into whether or not FIU can make a bowl.
“I’ll start studying that on the plane ride,” Cristobal said. “We try to stay focused on just taking care of business. People are finding out as they play the Sun Belt teams that there’s a lot of good players and some good football teams.”
Senior Wesley Carroll got the start at quarterback over back-up Jake Medlock after his performance at ULM, where he threw three touchdowns and zero interceptions. It was his last regular season start as a collegiate. On the second drive of the game, Carroll led a 14-play, 84-yard drive that resulted in a five-yard touchdown catch by tight end Jonathan Faucher. Faucher’s touchdown was the third FIU touchdown scored by a tight end this season.
The Panther defense held the Blue Raiders to just six points in the first half and 156 yards of total offense. The two scores, all field goals, came from Alan Gendreau from 37 and 25 yards away.
T.Y Hilton came close to getting his fifth kickoff return for a touchdown of his career when he took the pooch kick and zig-zagged his way to the MTSU five-yard line to set up FIU’s second touchdown of the half on a one-yard run by Rhodes.
“It’s only fitting for a guy whose had so many magical plays in his career,” said Cristobal. “I’m surprised somebody got him. He ran out of gas there at the end. He had to run a long way to try and get the ball so he probably ran about 190,200 yards on that play.”
In the third quarter, FIU was able to get possession of the ball at midfield after the defense forced the Blue Raiders into a three-and-out, and Faucher partially blocked the punt. It led to Hilton’s third catch of the day, a touchdown to make it 21-6. Hilton’s touchdown catch was his seventh touchdown of the season, tying his own single-season mark.
The Panthers ended the quarter with a 28-6 lead on a one-yard run from Jeremiah Harden after an interception from defensive end Gregory Hickman gave FIU the ball back at the MTSU 26-yard line.
MTSU made an attempt at a comeback in the fourth quarter when running back Benjamin Cunningham ran it in for the Blue Raiders first touchdown of the game with 6:55 remaining. The second one came on a Reggie Whatley one-yard run. The FIU lead proved to be too much though, as the Panthers added on a Jack Griffin 25-yard field goal in between MTSU touchdowns to seal the deal.
Glen Coleman and Eric Russell were both ejected in the second half following a scrum. It is still unclear if Coleman will be suspended if the Panthers do receive a bowl bid.
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