Paws Up Preview – FIU Football vs Liberty

MIAMI, FL – Life is good for the 3-1 FIU Panthers at the moment, winners of three straight and looking to party hard at Homecoming before a tough matchup against Conference USA’s best – the 3-0 Liberty Flames.

While FIU began conference play back in Week 0 against LA Tech, the next six games on the Panthers schedule (Including this one) will all be against the new-look conference.

Already one game away from matching their win total last season, head coach Mike MacIntyre and FIU are in a prime position to not only qualify for a bowl game appearance but maybe even a spot in the C-USA Championship Game.

What stands in their way this week is who many claim to be the best team in the conference, and should prove to be the ultimate test for this Panthers squad.

What We Learned From UConn

A win is a win, but there are still a lot of problems with this FIU squad. Most notably, their lack of offense in the second half against the UConn Huskies.

In their games against LA Tech and Maine, the Panthers put up ZERO points in the second half. After their offensive success against North Texas, we had thought they finally figured it out. But this problem reared its ugly head once more as FIU did not score in the second half once more.

I believe a big attribute of that is the playcalling by Offensive Coordinator David Yost. While the Panthers looked solid with some genius play calls in the first half, it didn’t evolve after halftime and UConn’s defense made adjustments.

The draw plays on first and 10 became stale, and more and more third and long attempts were produced as a result which led to more punts. The few times FIU’s offense did get things going, they were capped off with holding penalties, sacks, or a missed field goal.

So it was left to FIU’s defense to save the Panthers once again, and they proved why they’re one of the best defenses in C-USA. They forced nine total punts, limited UConn’s reliance on the run game, and made the final stop of the game with a turnover on downs to seal the win.

Linebacker Donovan Manuel is continuing his monstrous campaign with 48 total tackles, which is second most is all of FBS. He’s also forced a fumble in every game so far and is keeping run-based offenses at bay all season.

On offense, quarterback Keyone Jenkins continues to impress with 285 yards and two touchdowns off of 15 completions, while throwing no interceptions against the Huskies.

His primary target, wide receiver Kris Mitchell, has produced 370 passing yards which is fifth most in FBS.

When the Panther’s offense clicks, it’s spectacular. We just need to see that level of consistency more often, not just in the first half.

It would be nice for the ending of these games to not always come down to the defense making a big stop.

On To The Liberty Flames

Hailing from Lynchburg, Virginia, the Liberty Flames are one of the newest teams to join Conference USA, along with Jacksonville State, New Mexico State, and Sam Houston State.

The Flames are coming into 2023 off a solid 2022 season that didn’t end the way they wanted – an 8-5 record that closed with a loss to Toledo in the Boca Raton Bowl.

Liberty is 3-0 at the moment, with wins over Bowling Green, New Mexico State, and Buffalo. The first indication that their offense is for real is that they’ve scored 122 points in just three games of work.

Not much can be said about the history between FIU and Liberty as their only meeting came in Week 1 of the 2020 season – a 36-34 thriller that the Flames came out on top of in Lynchburg.

Let’s get into the star of Liberty’s offense – their quarterback, Kaidon Salter. With 763 yards, nine touchdowns, and no interceptions this season, Salter is making his case for NFL talent that all 32 teams should keep an eye on. It’s a bit early, but the sophomore has done nothing but impress Liberty fans.

His 344 passing yards and five passing touchdowns also netted him the Conference-USA Player of the Week Award. When he doesn’t throw, he can also run, racking up 191 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

Suffice it to say, that Liberty’s offense is as balanced as they come. They average almost 500 yards per game, with around 250 from the air and 240 from rushing.

Their actual running backs to look out for might be Quinton Cooley and Billy Lucas, both averaging over five yards per carry and 363 yards combined.

Their receiving duo of CJ Daniels and Treon Sibley are deadly, combining for 450 yards and three touchdowns, with their longest plays being 75 yards and 56 yards respectively.

Liberty’s defense is also dangerous, thanks in part to their secondary. The anchor is linebacker Tyren Dupree, who has done just about everything on defense.

He leads the team in total tackles with 28 and is tied with three other players in interceptions with two.

Something that this Flames team is great at is their ability to create takeaways. They have nine total interceptions in three games of work, along with a single fumble recovery. If FIU starts to get sloppy with the ball, it’s gonna be a long night for their offense finding a way around Liberty’s defense.

Jake’s Predictions

Oh, man. Aside from Arkansas down the road, I think Liberty is going to be the toughest opponent FIU plays this whole year. With that said, I think they’re up for the challenge.

All the points scored and yards achieved by Liberty look like on paper, but I think the Flames have not played a defense even close to the Panthers. I trust Manuel and the secondary to do their job and limit the big plays while negating the rushing attack.

I think it’ll be a low-scoring game at the beginning, but coming out of halftime, I think things will start to heat up as adjustments are made. I only hope that FIU’s offense also adjusts like they did against North Texas.

So many people have jumped the gun and crowned the Flames as the best team in C-USA and the eventual champions of the conference. But in my eyes, this is an absolute trap game for them and we’re going to see an FIU squad that’ll fire on all cylinders.

FIU – 28

Liberty – 26