Panthers Fall Flat To Delaware In First Conference Loss of 2025

MIAMI, FL – Just when you thought FIU Football could get on a roll following their Shula Bowl win, the football gods had other plans. In just their first year in FBS, the Delaware Blue Hens rolled into Pitbull Stadium and silenced the Panthers, winning by a score of 38-16 and handing FIU their first conference loss of the season.

All in all, the Panthers were not ready for this game. Call it a Shula Bowl hangover if you want, but it really felt like FIU overlooked its opponent this week. Delaware, on the other hand, played mistake-free football and exposed parts of the Panthers’ team that other opponents, such as Florida Atlantic (and even Penn State), couldn’t.

“You learn a lot more about yourself through adversity than when you’re doing well,” said head coach Willie Simmons. “So we’ll learn a lot about ourselves tonight. We’ll learn a lot more about us over the next few days, and I feel confident that when we come back and retake the field, we’ll be a much better football team.”

“This loss is on me, and I need to do some self-evaluation on myself, and make sure that I’m giving these guys a plan to be successful in all phases.”

Unfortunately, this was the first disappointing outcome of the Willie Simmons era. Granted, it was ludicrous to think that EVERYTHING would go right in his first season as the coach of the Panthers. Perhaps it’s a good thing that this kind of performance occurred now, rather than later, when they’re fighting to achieve bowl eligibility.

Still, for the “stinker” to happen against an opponent like Delaware, in front of the FIU faithful at Pitbull Stadium, leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Thankfully, most of the mistakes can potentially be corrected in due time, which FIU will have an abundance of as they have the upcoming week off.

A Lack Of Rhythm On Offense

Most of the blame for this loss will be attributed to the quarterback by default. Keyone Jenkins made some solid plays here and there, but you can’t overlook the two interceptions he threw – the latter leading to a touchdown for Delaware.

This was an exceptional game for the Blue Hens’ secondary, locking up FIU’s receivers for most of the night. Alex Perry cracked the code a few times, leading all passcatchers with 84 yards and a score. Still, it was a bad night for an offense that’s STILL looking for a surefire WR1.

That leaves us with the running game, and that was only fine for FIU tonight. Owens racked up 74 yards, but after 15 carries of work. While the offensive line did a decent job giving Jenkins time in the pocket, they were unable to create gaps for FIU’s rushers.

Not So Special Teams

This is yet another game this season where FIU’s special teams happens to be its Achilles Heel. First, a 68-yard punt return for a touchdown, which raised the lead to 24-7 in favor of Delaware. Then, a missed 46-yard field goal by Robert Czeremcha in the final seconds of the first half.

The CUSA Preseason Special Teams Player Of The Year, C’Quan Jnopierre, had another quiet night with returns. All in all, the special teams for FIU have proven to be more unreliable than reliable.

Special Teams wasn’t the sole reason we lost this game, but it certainly didn’t make it any easier to come back.

Bad Output With No Blades

NFL Scouts should see the shortcomings of FIU’s defense without Brian Blades to realize how much potential he has.

On the punt return, Blades would have been the gunner and usually lands those hits to stop touchdowns. But with him out, it set everything back. FIU’s secondary gave up multiple big plays through the air.

And when they didn’t? Multiple pass interference penalties, which let Delaware march down the field and – in the case of the second half – kill more time off the clock. The Blue Hens only had two offensive drives in the second half, but they were 12 and 15-play drives that ate over 14 minutes of game clock, and BOTH resulted in touchdowns.

Nick Minicucci was FIU’s first test against a dual-threat quarterback, and they succeeded in stopping him on the run. Delaware’s running game as a whole was mediocre, but they didn’t have to carry the offense… unlike FIU at times.

Time To Move On

Well, this is a bad start to the Conference USA slate. The FIU Panthers are currently 2-2, which isn’t an awful place to be this early in the season. Still, Delaware felt like one they had to have, especially at home right before a two-game road trip.

As mentioned earlier, they’ll have the week off to rest, recover, and regroup. They’ll then head to East Hartford to take on the UConn Huskies on September 20th. Their next home game isn’t until Vice Night on October 21st.

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