MIAMI (hurricanesports.com) – The Miami Hurricanes dropped its crosstown matchup against FIU, 30-24, inside Marlins Park Saturday night.
The host Panthers forced three turnovers and held the Hurricanes scoreless for nearly three quarters, building a 20-point lead before Miami battled back to cut the FIU advantage to six points. But a late touchdown by Anthony Jones sealed the Panthers' first victory over the Hurricanes in program history.
The groundwork for FIU's upset victory began early in the opening quarter, as Miami quarterback Jarren Williams was picked off by Stantley Thomas-Oliver and the interception was returned to the Miami 18. But the Hurricane defense answered the sudden change and limited FIU to a 29-yard field goal by Jose Borregales that gave the Panthers a 3-0 lead with 10:08 left in the first
The Panthers added on to their lead on their next possession, driving 80 yards to take a 10-0 lead after a 29-yard touchdown pass from James Morgan to Shemar Thornton.
Miami appeared poised to answer with a scoring drive of its own, as the Canes drove down to the FIU 1 and went for it on fourth-and-goal. But Williams was stuffed for no gain and the Panthers kept Miami off the scoreboard with a huge goal line stand.
The Canes drove deep into FIU territory again on their next possession and, once again, the Panthers held firm and forced Miami to turn the ball over on downs. Facing a fourth-and-one from the FIU 18, Williams was pressured and his pass to Michael Irvin II fell short of the tight end for an incompletion that gave the Panthers their second consecutive fourth down stand against the Hurricanes.
FIU closed out the half with a 50-yard field goal by Borregales, sending them to the locker room with a 13-0 lead at the intermission.
The second half did not start out much better that the first for the Hurricanes, as Williams' pass intended for Dee Wiggins ricocheted off an FIU defender and popped up in the air before landing in the waiting arms of linebacker Sage Lewis for an interception.
Two drives later, Williams threw his third interception of the game on the first snap of the possession. The redshirt freshman's pass was intended for Will Mallory, but Jamal Gates jumped in front of the Miami tight end and picked off the pass and returned the interception for 16 yards to give FIU possession at the Miami 28.
Despite Miami pushing FIU back for eight yards, the turnover led to three more points as Borregales drilled a season-long 53-yard field goal to put the Panthers up, 16-0, with 9:02 left in the third quarter.
The Hurricanes got on the scoreboard late in the third quarter, as Camden Price kicked a 22-yard field goal to cut FIU's lead to 13 points, 16-3, with 1:52 remaining in the quarter.
A pair of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on Miami gave FIU a 30-yard boost that helped propel the Panthers to another scoring drive. Morgan hit a wide open Tony Gaiter IV for a 13-yard passing touchdown that put FIU ahead by twenty points with 11:04 remaining in the game.
Facing a fourth-and-10 from the FIU 30, Williams found Mallory over the middle of the field for a 16-yard gain to keep the drive alive. One play later, Cam'Ron Harris barreled into the end zone from 14 yards out for the Hurricanes' first touchdown of the night. Harris' touchdown run brought the Canes within two scores, 23-10, with 8:07 on the clock.
Miami converted another fourth down attempt on its next possession, with Williams hitting Jeff Thomas for a 19-yard gain to the FIU 35. One play later, he connected with Mark Pope for a 35-yard touchdown that put Miami within six points, 23-17, with 3:10 left to play.
The Canes could not recover their onside kick and FIU started its possession on the Miami 42. Two plays later, Anthony Jones sprinted 37 yards for a touchdown that brought the lead back to 13 points with 2:17 remaining.
Miami added a three-yard touchdown from Williams to Wiggins that brought the Hurricanes within six, 30-24, but could not recover the onside kick with 31 seconds to go and the Panthers took a knee to end the game.