FIU Football Knocked Out Of Bowl Game Contention After Arkansas Rout

FAYETTEVILLE, AR – With New Mexico State knocking off Auburn earlier in the day, it felt like there was magic in the air, and FIU could pull off a major upset against a struggling Arkansas Razorbacks team.

But once again, the SEC shows why its teams are the best in the nation, as KJ Jefferson and the Razorbacks started the game off slow, but kicked it into high gear in the second half, resulting in a 44-20 blowout and knocking FIU out of a bowl game spot for the postseason.

The Cats Were Really In This

In the first quarter, the Panthers looked to keep up with Arkansas’ high-powered offense, after they had capitalized on a fourth down stop by the defense.

An 80-yard chunk play from Kris Mitchell set up an easy walk-in score from Jenkins for the first score of the game.

Things began to get exciting when the Panthers scored late in the first quarter, when a nine-play-75-yard drive turned out to be one of the best by this FIU team all season, capped off with a 12-yard catch in the end zone by Dean Patterson.

But that was all FIU had left in the tank for the first half, as the Razorbacks cruised to 24 unanswered points in quarter #2. Their speedy rushing game heated up and the Panthers’ defense couldn’t keep up.

Meanwhile, the offense regressed and Chase Gabriel had an unexpectedly bad game, missing an extra point after the second score, and missing a 35-yard field goal, which gave Arkansas a 31-13 lead at the half.

Nothing To Write Home About

The second half was relatively uneventful. Granted, FIU’s first drive was successful with a passing touchdown to Kris Mitchell. But the Panthers’ final drives consisted of an interception and four punts.

Overall, the FIU offense put up some solid numbers, with Jenkins recording 265 yards and two touchdowns. But their running attack was minimal with only 76 total yards.

On the other side of the ball, Arkansas had a field day against the Panthers’ defense with 510 total yards. Jefferson set two all-time school records regarding passing touchdowns and passing yards in the process.

It wasn’t all bad for FIU, though. Jenkin’s first score was his sixth rushing touchdown of the season, a record for a Panthers quarterback.

Along with that, Mitchell’s 157 receiving yards put him at over 1,000 in a season – only the third FIU wide receiver to do along with Tyrese Chambers and TY Hilton.

Still, the Panthers now stand with a 4-7 record and cannot reach six wins, meaning they can’t get into a bowl game. The best they can do is finish one win better than 2022 as they host the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on Saturday, November 25th at 3pm.