NDL: S29W6 - Florida International (14) at UMass (38)

FIU Drops Another One...

Article By: SnealShiesty

Five takeaways leads UMass to a blowout win over FIU. The Minutemen have their way on the opening drive and take an early 7-0 lead. FIU leans on their strong rushing attack to answer back with a touchdown of their own. The Panthers proceed to turn the ball over 5 times and only see the endzone one more time as they get routed 38-14. Starting QB Keyone Jenkins throws 4 interceptions and fumbled inside the 5 on what was a crucial drive for the Panthers. Oddly, FIU out gained UMass in yards but every time they got a drive rolling they coughed up the football. This loss leaves the Panthers with a lot of questions as they begin conference play. They want to lean on their 1-2 punch at running back but inconsistent QB play is making it tough for their offense to gain any rhythm. Will we see a change at QB? We were able to catch up to Coach Shiesty and ask his thoughts on the game and the plan moving forward. "We've got to go back to the drawing board and start playing to our strengths. We moved the ball well and then we give it away and fail to put up any points. Are we putting Keyone in a position to succeed and he's just struggling to make the right reads or do we need to get better up front to better help him? Those are things we're going to look at and if we feel like we need to make a change then we'll do whats best for the team going forward. We've got LA Tech coming to town so hopefully we've got something figured out by then". I know 1-3 wasn't in coach's plans to start the season and the road doesn't get a lot easier as the Panthers have some talented teams and experienced coaches left on their schedule. See y'all in Miami as LA Tech visits FIU this week.

 

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