Dalton Tevlin/Sports Director
The battle for Miami football at Marlins Park was one for the history books.
Decades from now FIU bros will tell their grandchildren about the night the Panthers went from the little brother to the owners of one of the biggest upsets in UM football history.
The Panthers began their first drive with a quick three-and-out and failed to find any room to run. The Panthers defense responded with a big-time interception by cornerback Stantly Thomas-Oliver.
The interception put the Panthers in great field position but they could only manage a field goal by kicker Jose Borregales.
It wasn’t until halfway through the first that the Panthers offense began to show some life. Big catches from Tony Gaiter and Shemar Thorton put the Panthers close to the endzone.
With 3:59 left in the first, Thornton took a screen pass from James Morgan 29 yards for a touchdown to make it 10-0 Panthers.
The Canes began to run the ball with efficiency to end the first. Running back Deejay Dallas, who eventually left the game with a gruesome elbow injury, began to find holes in the FIU front seven.
With the Panthers forcing a fourth down inside their own five-yard line, the Canes were set to kick a field goal.
An illegal substitution by the Panthers pushed the Canes to the Panthers one-yard line and they decided to bring their offense back onto the field. Canes Quarterback Jarren Williams tried to run it in the endzone and was stuffed by linebacker Sage Lewis.
Penalties hurt the Panthers in the first half. Multiple big plays including a first down run by running back Anthony Jones were called back because of penalties.
The Canes offense showed some life in the middle of the second quarter. Quarterback Jarren Williams began to find receivers deep. As they approached the red zone, Williams forced a ball into triple coverage and was intercepted by cornerback Rishard Dames—but it was negated by a holding penalty.
Despite having success running the ball, the Canes elected to throw on two key fourth-and-one scenarios. Both failed.
To round out the first half, Borregales banged a 50-yard field go to make it 13-0.
Lewis came out of halftime with a one-handed interception but the Panthers couldn’t turn it into points.
The Panther defense was relentless all night. Jamaal Gates forced another interception in the 4th quarter but they couldn’t make it to the endzone.
With 9:03 left in the third quarter, Borregales hit his second 50-plus yard field goal with a 53 yard make to make it 16-0. Borregales, who struggled early on in the season, has bounced back and had an excellent game against UM, going 3/3.
“It was just getting back to basics,” said Borregales. “I knew it was a big game and we all had to come in and be energetic and I tried to be the guy to come in and motivate everybody.”
The Canes finally got on the board with two minutes to go in the third quarter with a 22-yard field goal by Camden Price.
FIU started off the fourth quarter with a huge drive that resulted in Morgan finding a wide-open Gaiter in the back of the endzone for a 13-yard score to make it 23-3 FIU.
The Canes would respond with a drive of their own. A nine-play, 69-yard drive resulted in a 13-yard rushing touchdown by running back Cam’Ron Harris to make it 23-10.
With three minutes left in the game, Williams found receiver Mark Pope for a 35-yard touchdown making it a 23-17 game, giving the Canes hope.
That hope came crashing down after Anthony Jones took a rush 37-yards to the endzone to make it a 30-17 ballgame with two minutes to go.
In the end, there would be no comeback for the University of Miami, losing to the Panthers 30-24- a scoreline almost nobody expected.
FIU out-hustled the Canes in every phase of the game. The effort and energy level on the Panthers’ sideline was seen from the start of the game.
The Panthers came into this game as 20-plus point underdogs despite the two programs having their struggles this season.
“We worked hard for it but we weren’t surprised,” said Lewis.
It was no walk in the park for the Panthers, however. Penalties continuously put them in a bad spot, something the Panthers squad has struggled with all year.
“It was like we were going to keep shooting ourselves in the foot because we had the opportunity to score and put more points on the board,” said Davis.
On the UM side of the ball, Williams threw three interceptions that set the Panthers up in excellent field position.
There was a sea of jeers from the UM fans towards the multiple cramps that FIU players had throughout the game.
Some fans felt the Panthers were faking injuries in order to make substitutions, and replays of the injuries support that theory.
Davis rejected the idea that FIU players were faking injuries and found it unfortunate that the UM crowd rained down boos every time a player went down with a lower leg injury.
“I would like for them to look at our medical reports. I have never coached a football team that has more groin injuries and hamstring injuries,” said Davis. “It’s a shame when somebody boos when someone gets injured. We didn’t boo when their kid broke their elbow.”
Regardless of “hydration gate,” the Panthers played the best brand of football we have seen from them all year. Morgan looked comfortable in the pocket as they relied on his arm with the run game finding little to no room all night, minus a few breakout rushes.
While the Panthers have become bowl eligible with this win, the biggest prize for FIU fans this season is the sweet feeling of taking down the “University of Coral Gables,” the name the Panthers gave to the Canes as they practiced through the week.
In their next matchup, the Panthers will take on the Marshal Herd in their last regular-season game. It remains to be seen if FIU will make it to a bowl game or not but the victory against the Canes will stand as a milestone for the program for years to come.
“I think the win carries a lot. Any player who played here in Miami and was overlooked had a chip on their shoulder. Beating a team that used to be our dream school is like yeah, we did it,” said Borregales.
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