Panthers emotional sendoff goes without reward

As the final play ended, we saw something from the offense that we had not in the entire second half: fight.When Giancarlo Revilla and Marques Aiken, both South Florida natives, got into a scrum on the last play of the game, it was as if the offensive line decided that they were going to take it personally. They might have been better served if that happened before kickoff because maybe it would have lit a fire under them to play better.Coming into the game against FIU, Marshall was ranked 61st in the nation against the run, allowing 155 yards per game to opposing offenses on the ground. This week, however, the running back tandem of Kedrick Rhodes and Darriet Perry could only manage a measly 64 yards on 19 attempts combined.When the offense is built around a strong running game and trying to get creative with sweeps to T.Y. Hilton, it is tough to gain any traction if that plan goes awry. Add in the fact that Hilton missed parts of the game with a quad injury and the offense looked like it reverted back to summer camp football,l trying to establish a connection with one another.

There is no reason for that kind of performance when the team had over three weeks to prepare for a defense that didn’t wow you with staggering numbers. Ten points is a shame when this team has as many weapons on offense as it does.

Josh Brisk should get an honor for his job in the game because he bailed the offense out of some bad situations by being able to change the field position with his leg. He totaled 320 yards in punts.

After those punts, the defense showed why FIU made it to a bowl game this year. The defense contained the Marshall two-headed running attack of Travon Van and Tron Martinez to just 80 yards on 27 attempts. The biggest stop of all came after the blocked punt by Marshall’s Zach Dunston, when Marshall thought they had scored a touchdown but it was brought back because of an illegal forward lateral.

Then, guys like Tourek Williams and Winston Fraser stepped up and only allowed the Herd to get three points, again giving the offense a chance to go down and score to at least send the game to over time.

But, as fate would have it, the final play that T.Y. Hilton would touch the ball was a fumble that led to Marshall icing the game with a late touchdown pass.

It is a sad day for FIU to have to wave goodbye to the best athlete to wear a Panther uniform, T.Y. Hilton, especially the way it ended. But, Panther fans should have a sense of pride for what he did for the program and to be able to sit down and watch a game on Sunday afternoons and say, “That’s an FIU Panther.”