Adrian Benitez | Staff Writer
The FIU football team had been mired in off-field drama since Thursday, and it was hoping to find some respite with a win against one of their worst opponents.
Despite this hope, things were not looking good. The Panthers saw a 26-17 fourth quarter lead against the Kennesaw State Owls fritter away into a deficit with only 1:04 left on the clock.
With the program in a state of uncertainty, a loss to a team that has only won one other game since entering the FBS adds a whole lot of gasoline to the fire. The Panthers had one drive to prevent it.
This was the end of the game between the FIU Panthers and the Kennesaw State Owls that took place on Saturday, Nov. 23, in Kennesaw, Georgia.
The Panthers defense got off to a bad start, allowing 44 yards on a trick play reverse. The Owls parlayed the big play into a successful field goal, taking a 3-0 lead.
Despite the Panthers getting their own explosive play, a 52-yard pass to junior wide receiver Dean Patterson, they were also forced to go for a field goal. Unfortunately, the 24-yard kick went left, keeping the Panthers behind.
After some punting, the Owls got a drive going through the air, with sophomore quarterback Davis Bryson passing for 61 yards in the series. He would use his legs to get in the endzone from five yards out, increasing the Owls lead to 10.
This score was a wake-up call for the Panthers, who sparked their offense going. A fake punt on a 4th and 2 fooled the Owls defense, and they proceeded to allow a 49-yard gain.
It was junior wide receiver Eric Rivers who scored from 18 yards out, bringing the game back to a 3 point deficit. The touchdown pass was Rivers’ 10th of the year, which set a new program record. The extra point was missed, making the score 10-6.
Despite the score, the Panthers defense failed to adjust. After a big kick return from the Owls, they swiftly moved down the field before senior tight end Preston Daniels got into the endzone, making the score 17-6 Owls.
The Panthers offense responded by moving 71 yards in only 3 plays. Patterson got a wide open catch in the endzone from 20 yards out, moving the lead down to four points.
After a crucial stop from the defense, the offense continued to ball out with another 3-play drive. The drive resulted in Rivers getting his second touchdown of the game and 11th on the year, from 42 yards out.
The Panthers offense didn’t slow down in the second half. The Panthers moved down the field, with freshman running back Devonte Lyons leading the charge. Eventually, the Panthers converted a field goal with a new kicker to take a six point lead.
The offense wouldn’t get to breathe for long, because the special teams unit forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. Lyons would set up another successful field goal, making it a 26-17 lead.
Kennesaw State made a quarterback change on their next series, which turned out to be bad news when he threw a pick to senior defensive back CJ Christian. The pick didn’t turn into anything, and the punting exchange continued.
Kennesaw appeared to end their offensive cold streak, driving inside the Panthers 30-yard line to set up a field goal attempt. However, the attempt banged off the right upright, keeping the Panthers’ nine point lead.
However, the momentum continued for the Owls. Davis had reentered the game, and he ended up taking it into the endzone on a 19-yard scramble. Suddenly, the lead was down to two points.
Things got worse on the next drive, when sophomore quarterback Keyone Jenkins was sacked (for the third time) and fumbled the ball. It was recovered by the Owls, who now had a chance to take the lead with time quickly running out.
They had a chance, and they took it. They drove all the way down to the Panthers one-yard line and kicked a field goal to take a 27-26 lead with just over a minute left.
The Panthers offense needed to respond, but instead, Jenkins threw a pick. Freshman defensive back JeRico Washington Jr. grabbed the game-ending interception, moving the team’s record to 3-8 and capping off a nightmare week for FIU football.
The final stats don’t separate the Panthers and Owls too much, however one thing to note is that the Panthers conceded seven penalties and 75 penalty yards in the contest. In contrast, the Owls only committed three penalties for 20 yards.
Besides this, the only real explanation is that the Panthers just had less resolve than the other side, a story that has played out many times throughout the season.
Silver linings can be found in Rivers, who had another amazing performance with 7 catches for 125 yards and 2 touchdowns on top of breaking another school record.
Another good performance was supplied by junior linebacker Travion Barnes, who once again led the team with 11 tackles after missing the previous game. Barnes needs 13 tackles in the last game of the year to break the program’s single-season tackles record.
However, despite the small wins, it doesn’t do much to change the point this season has reached. The Panthers will need a win in their final game to even match the 4-8 records that they recorded in coach Mike MacIntyre’s previous two seasons.
Hoping to end the season on a high note, the Panthers will end their campaign at home with a game against the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders on Saturday, Nov. 30th in Pitbull Stadium in Miami, Florida.
Follow Adrian Benitez on X: @ab305FIU
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