Paws Up Preview – FIU Football vs Jacksonville State

MIAMI, FL – Near the end of regulation between FIU and Sam Houston State, I was ready to call the season a near-disaster and impossible for the Panthers to fix.

Then we all witnessed some magic from Keyone Jenkins and the FIU offense to tie the game and send it into overtime, ultimately coming out on top in an instant classic for this young Panthers program.

With all that said, the 4-4 Panthers are looking to keep the good times rolling, back at home against one of the best teams in Conference USA, the Jacksonville State Gamecocks on Wednesday night.

There are four games left to go this season, and it’s gonna be a sprint to six wins to qualify for a bowl game, let alone five. Every game is a must-win game from here on out, especially at The Cage.

What We Learned Against Sam Houston State

Most of the struggles that FIU faces against UTEP, of all teams, seemed to be resolved for the most part against the Bearkats. The defense did not struggle early.

In fact, they forced an early interception, two straight punts, and a missed field goal. Their only touchdown in the first half came late in the second quarter, though they did let SHSU’s tight end (A swimmer, by the way) find open grass all night long.

FIU’s offense relied on the running game, and it didn’t disappoint with Shomari Lawrence and Kejon Owens leading the way. Keyone Jenkins didn’t throw an interception, but the deep ball was shut down by SHSU’s secondary, and scoring was hard to come by.

In the clutch, however, the tides turned. After giving up the ball late in the game from a fumble while passing, Jenkins and the offense found themselves down by three points with less than two minutes.

On fourth and 18, a 22-yard run by Jenkins thanks in part to busted coverage kept the drive alive and set up Chase Gabriel for a field goal to send the game into overtime.

The rest is history.

On To The Jacksonville State Gamecocks

Hailing from Jacksonville, ALABAMA, are the JSU Gamecocks. As we saw with Sam Houston State, they’re one of the four new teams to join Conference-USA and are also moving up from FCS to FBS.

Unlike the winless Bearkats, however, the Gamecocks came out of the gate swinging, currently standing with a 6-2 record and are in second place in the conference. Their only two losses have come against Coastal Carolina and Liberty.

Panther fans might remember Jax State from a primetime matchup against them back in 2020 – the only time they’ve faced off in football. In a defensive-oriented battle, the Gamecocks came out on top by a score of 19-10. It was one of a handful of games that year in which an FCS team beat an FBS team.

There’s one thing that’s for sure about this JSU squad – they’re a run-based squad. They boast the second-best rushing attack based on stats, just behind Liberty.

The Gamecocks have rotated quarterbacks this season, sometimes both of them playing in the same game. Both Logan Smothers and Zion Webb have slightly over 600 passing yards this season, seven combined touchdowns, and five combined interceptions.

Their offense is ranked dead last in the conference, but the running game is where things get interesting. Their leading rusher, Malik Jackson, has the second-most passing yards in C-USA with 578 yards, along with four touchdowns.

But the other leading rushers for JSU? Sebb and Smothers, with 335 and 253 yards, respectively. The Panthers’ defense has been susceptible to letting these dual-threat QBs run all over them, most notably against Kaidon Salter and Liberty.

Fittingly, Jax State also has the second-best rushing defense in the conference, only behind the Flames in both yards and touchdowns allowed. For as solid as the Panthers looked against Sam Houston State, Owens, and Lawrence will have their hands full moving the ball downfield.

The Gamecocks also have recorded 11 interceptions this season, second only to Liberty. Be on the lookout for linebacker Quae Drake, who leads the defense with 56 tackles. Defensive back Kekoura Tarnue has two picks to his name, leading the team.

Jake’s Prediction

Yes, while FIU’s win over Sam Houston was miraculous and made for an exciting time, there’s no doubt that Jacksonville State is overall a much better team on both sides of the ball.

Another problem for the Panthers in this game will be to contain the running game. If they start to slip and let the Gamecocks dominate the time of possession, the fatigue will build up on that defensive line, and the points will start to flow.

We might have to see the passing game of FIU step up as well, as the run game will be battle-tested against one of C-USA’s best defenses.

In a perfect world, FIU will rise to the occasion and knock off Jax State. But I just can’t see that happening. I hate picking against the Panthers, but I genuinely feel they’ll have a better shot against Arkansas.

JAX STATE – 28

FIU – 14