Paws Up Preview – FIU Football vs Maine

MIAMI, FL – Despite everything that happened to the FIU Panthers in their loss against LA Tech last Saturday, a home opener win can relieve most wounds.

FIU will look to right the wrongs against the Bulldogs as they host the Maine Black Bears on Saturday, September 2nd at 6:30pm at the FIU Football Stadium. (Formerly known as the Riccardo Silva Stadium)

Crawling Out of a Swamp

There was initial promise with how the Panthers looked in the first half, with a stellar rushing game spearheaded by running back Shomari Lawrence and the offensive line. Leading 17-3 at one point, FIU was in the driver’s seat and looking for a statement win.

In addition, the Panthers’ defense was potent and limited a deadly Bulldog offense, spearheaded by quarterback Hank Bachmeier and wide receiver Smoke Harris, to just 23 points. All in all, it was up to the offense to continue their success in the second half to seal a win.

However, the offense fell flat. The rushing game was countered by LA Tech’s adjusted defense, and quarterback Grayson James and offensive coordinator David Yost could not get the ball rolling in the air, only managing four total passing yards.

LA Tech slowly chipped away at the lead, and in the final minute of the game, took it by a score of 23-17. The Panthers had the win in their hands but could not put the Bulldogs away.

“We kind of broke down in a lot of different places,” said FIU head coach Mike MacIntyre. “They played good coverage on us also. We also felt like we could run the ball pretty well, which we did at times and we only had 40-something snaps, so we didn’t throw it as much as we would like to have thrown it in the game.”

Regardless, some aspects of FIU should not be overlooked. The 139 yards earned by Lawrence was part of a running game in the first half that was nearly impossible to stop.

In addition, the Panthers defense had some massive playmakers. Linebacker Donovan Manuel racked up 15 total tackles on the night, leading all defensive players in Week 0 of college football.

Along with 11 more tackles by linebacker Reggie Peterson and 10 by Jamal Potts, the FIU defense did their best to limit an LA Tech offense that’s defined by the running game.

However, it was still not enough, and the Panthers will look to remedy themselves ahead of the home opener against a completely different opponent.

Here Come the Northerners

Hailing from Orono, Maine, the Black Bears are an FCS school from the Coastal Athletic Association. This northeast-based conference features teams such as New Hampshire, Richmond, Villanova, and Delaware.

In the past few years for the Panthers, it’s become common for them to face off against an FCS opponent in the first home game of the season, such as the Long Island Sharks in 2021 and the Bryant Bulldogs in 2022.

Maine is no exception, and therefore, they might not be a familiar opponent for many. As it turns out, the Panthers had previously played the Black Bears back in 2002 and 2003 (Both were losses), which were the first two seasons of FIU Football.

2022 was not a good year for Maine, as they finished with a record of 2-9, with their only wins coming against Hampton and Monmouth.

They lost their last five games of the season, but that’s not to say they weren’t competitive. Five of Maine’s losses were only by single digits.

The Black Bears have a fresh face from the year prior, as 37 new players have joined the roster. Maine lost a lot of players via the transfer portal or graduation, and only 11 starters from 2021 returned.

That includes their leading passer from 2022, Joseph Fagnano, who recorded 2,213 pards and 15 touchdowns. In the offseason, he transferred to the UConn Huskies and has already played in a game against NC State. We’ll likely see more of Fagnano on September 16th when FIU plays UConn.

One returning face for Maine is head coach Jordan Stevens, who will look to turn things around for the Black Bears in his second season with the team. Aside from that, both offensive (Steve Cooper) and defensive coordinators (Jeff Commissiong) for Maine are brand new.

So it’s believed that backup quarterback Derek Robertson will be the starter against FIU. He saw no action in 2022 but did throw for over 1500 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2021. Come Maine’s first drive of the game, we’ll see how rusty Robertson might be.

The weapons Robertson will have at his disposal will be unknown, as four starting wide receivers and running backs from 2022 either were drafted by NFL teams, graduated, or entered the transfer portal. Maine’s offense averaged over 350 yards per game. (203 passing and and 149 rushing)

While no players immediately stand out on paper, be on the lookout for wide receiver Montigo Moss and running back Tavion Banks – players who had limited roles last season but will look to become leaders of the group.

On defense, the leading tacklers have both left the team, so look to Kahzir (AKA Buggs) Brown to become the face of the unit, who earned 59 tackles in 2022.

Likewise, the defensive line will be almost completely different aside from Darius McKenzie, who only recorded two sacks and 14 tackles in nine games of work.

Jake’s Prediction

This is a weird game to predict simply because of how little we know about Maine. Almost every position on both offense and defense is going to be filled in by either reserve players from last year or new faces.

However, we do know what we can expect from FIU. If the Panthers can repeat their success in the first half of the LA Tech game, which includes their running attack, scary good secondary, and overall clean football, then Maine is in trouble and most of C-USA is in trouble.

The biggest question I have is “What can we expect with the quarterback room?” Does FIU give Grayson James a second chance, or do they give Haden Carlson or Keyone Jenkins a chance?

Mike MacIntyre said in the Tuesday press conference that it’s likely that James will be the starter unless things change, but that doesn’t seem as safe a bet as before the LA Tech game.

In any event, I feel that whoever will be quarterback can see some success against an unknown Maine defense. The difference maker might be simply that FIU has played a game already, compared to the potentially rusty Black Bears. In this case, the Panthers might be too much for Maine to handle.

FIU – 34

Maine – 9

After this game, the Panthers will stay at home in preparation for a familiar opponent – the North Texas Mean Green. That’ll be on Saturday, September 9th at 6:30pm.