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This Saturday, the FIU Panthers are hoping to patch up the holes in a defense that has allowed an average of 37.64 points per game. FIU and the Middle Tenn. Blue Raiders will face off in a Conference USA battle at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday at Riccardo Silva Stadium. If the nothing to nothing final from the last time they met is any indication, this contest will be decided by the defense.
The Panthers have to be hurting after a devastating 40-6 loss at the hands of the UTEP Miners last week. FIU was in a tough position by the half, with the score already sitting at 38 to nothing. QB Grayson James had a memorable game, but not in the way you want to be remembered: besides failing to produce a single touchdown, he threw one interception with a passing completion percentage of only 37.50%.
Meanwhile, the Florida Atlantic Owls typically have all the answers at home, but last week Middle Tenn. proved too difficult a challenge. Middle Tenn. put the hurt on Florida Atlantic with a sharp 49-21 win. The matchup was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Blue Raiders had established a 42-21 advantage. Their success was spearheaded by the efforts of QB Chase Cunningham, who passed for five TDs and 448 yards on 54 attempts, and RB Frank Peasant, who punched in one rushing touchdown in addition to catching eight passes for two TDs and 107 yards.
The Panthers have to know they'll be fighting an uphill battle given the 19.5-point spread they are up against. Those burned by picking them against the spread last week might want to keep in mind that the squad has not yet dropped back-to-back games against the spread this season.
Middle Tenn.'s victory lifted them to 6-5 while FIU's defeat dropped them down to 4-7. We'll see if the Blue Raiders can repeat their recent success or if FIU bounces back and reverse their fortune.
