Bautista Samperi | Sports Director
The FIU football team will face the Florida Atlantic Owls for the 23rd time on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Pitbull Stadium.
FAU holds a commanding lead in the rivalry, with 17 wins over FIU, including a current seven-game winning streak.
The team will attempt to improve first-year head coach Willie Simmons’ record of 22 consecutive games won at home, dating back to 2018, when he was the head coach at Florida A&M, while improving their own record this season as they currently sit at 1-1.
Junior starting quarterback Keyone Jenkins, who was named the 2025 Preseason CUSA offensive Player of the Year, is still looking for his first passing touchdown of the season and is 91 yards away from becoming third all-time for career passing yards in FIU program history.
This season, redshirt senior running back Kejon Owens reached 1,000 yards in his career with FIU.
If the Panthers are able to beat FAU and end the losing streak, coach Simmons will become the second head coach in program history to win his first Shula Bowl, and the first since Ron Cooper did it in 2016.
During the week three matchup, the Panthers head coach will also be looking for his first career win over a FBS opponent.
Aside from their week two loss to Penn State, FIU has made their mark early in the season, breaking and tying two program records along the way.
The Panthers tied a team record with six rushing touchdowns and set a new record with 13 different players catching a pass, both coming against Bethune-Cookman.
The Panthers enter Saturday’s game against the Owls as 2½ points favorites.
Former Panther wide receiver T.Y. Hilton is being inducted in the FIU Athletics Hall of Fame this weekend becoming the first football player to earn this honor.
Against FAU, Hilton had 24 catches and 324 yards with two touchdowns. He was also the MVP of the Shula Bowl in 2010.
For the upcoming game, FIU Athletics announced changes to game day information. All tailgating will be occurring off campus in the Cuban Memorial Lot. Furthermore, fans are encouraged to park in the red lot, which is next to the Cuban Memorial Lot.
About Post Author
