Football heads north to face FAU in the Shula Bowl rivalry

Adrian Benitez | Staff Writer

The FIU football team travels to Boca Raton to play the Florida Atlantic Owls on Saturday, Sep. 14, 2024, at FAU Stadium. 

This will be the 21st game of the Shula Bowl rivalry, which has been contested since 2002. FAU leads the all-time series 16 to four. They’ve won the last six games in a row, all by a margin of 19 or more points. 

In the series’ most recent game in 2022, the Owls won 52-7 in FIU’s stadium. It was the biggest blowout in series history. 2023 was the only season in which the Shula Bowl was not played since its inception.

Last week, the Panthers took home a dominant 52-16 win against Central Michigan. The win was spurred on by a 5-interception effort from the defense and the offense capitalizing on several short fields.

FAU is off to a slow start this year. The Owls are 0-2, the first time the program has dropped their first two games since 2019.

The Owls opened their season on the road against Michigan State. Despite falling into a 16-0 hole in the first half, they kept fighting. They got 10 points back and were in the game the whole way through, but couldn’t complete the comeback.

Despite the loss, the show of resolve against a Big Ten program was an impressive performance.

Their home opener against Army the following week was more definitive. The Owls quickly fell into a 14-0 hole in the first quarter and their offense couldn’t adequately respond. Army took a 24-7 win on the road.

With 17 points and 483 total yards, FAU’s offense ranks near the bottom in every statistical category. Most notably, their points per game and total yards per game (8.5, 241.5) are in the bottom five of FBS teams.

On the other hand, the Owls’ defense is a double-edged sword. Their pass defense has allowed only 158 yards thus far (79 per game.) These numbers put FAU among the top five passing defenses in the FBS.

However, their run defense is a very different story. The Owls have allowed a staggering 584 rushing yards (292 per game) in their two games. This puts FAU’s run defense statistics at second worst among all FBS teams, only ahead of Georgia Southern.

Among FAU’s weapons is junior quarterback Cam Fancher. He’s completed 37 of 62 passes for 309 yards and a 59.7% completion percentage, with a 2-3 TD:INT ratio. Fancher is also the Owls leading rusher, with 77 rush yards on 29 carries.

Fancher has a unique quality: his aggressive running. He has a tendency to slide late. Against MSU, three penalties were charged to Spartan defenders for late hits on Fancher, including a targeting call. This is something for the Panthers D to watch out for.

Another notable Owl is sophomore wide receiver Omari Hayes, who has nine catches for 119 yards and one touchdown so far this season. 

For the Panthers to emerge victorious in this matchup, they need to utilize the running game and play shutdown defense like they did last week. 

FAU’s offense is a glaring flaw for the team, and last week’s defensive effort showed that the Panthers are very capable of forcing offenses into numerous mistakes and giving their own offense a lot of support.

Run defense is FAU’s other crutch. The Panthers put up 185 rushing yards against Central Michigan. Given their deep running back room as well as dual threat sophomore quarterback Keyone Jenkins, the run game should be primed for more success.

The FIU football team will look to start a win streak when they take on the Florida Atlantic Owls on Saturday, Sep. 14, 2024, at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton.

Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Follow Adrian Benitez on X: @ab305fiu