MIAMI (Sept. 23, 2020) – FIU opens its 2020 season this Saturday against Liberty on the road, as the Panthers prepare for a new year on the gridiron.
Kickoff for Saturday’s contest is slated for 1:00 p.m. ET at Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia. The game will air on ESPN3 with Matt Warner and Joe Jauch on the call, while Emily Austen serves as the sideline reporter. Fans can also listen to “Voice of the Panthers” AJ Ricketts on radio via Caracol 1260AM.
For this week’s complete game notes, click here.
SCOUTING THE FLAMES
Liberty rushed for 363 yards on its way to a 30-24 victory over WKU on the road last weekend. In his first career start, Auburn-transfer Malik Willis had 133 passing yards, 168 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Joshua Mack rushed for 100 yards to give the Flames two 100-yard rushers on the day.
LATEST KICKOFF DATE IN FIU HISTORY
Saturday’s matchup will be the first between FIU and Liberty in program history and will go down as the latest kickoff date ever for the Panthers.
FIU ON ESPN3
Saturday’s game on ESPN3 will mark FIU’s 21st appearance on the platform. The Panthers are 4-16 dating back to 2006. FIU’s last game on ESPN3 was 2019’s season opener at Tulane, which the Panthers lost 42-14. The last win on ESPN3 for FIU came at Charlotte on Nov. 17, 2018 with a 42-35 victory of the 49ers.
WIN THE TURNOVER BATTLE
FIU is 14-4 under head coach Butch Davis when the Panthers win the turnover battle. That record was even more evident when FIU faced Miami (Fla.) last season as the Panthers forced three turnovers and gave up none as the Hurricanes were downgraded, 30-24.
REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK
Players under Butch Davis have broken 23 single-game, 15 season and 16 career records and those are just in the individual section of the FIU record book.
PRICE PACES PANTHERS AVG PER RUSH
D’vonte Price has earned a 6.06 average per rush for his career, which is the current record for FIU. Price has only earned 155 rushes over the last three seasons, as he sat behind three other names on the Top 10 list, Napoleon Maxwell, Anthony Jones and Alex Gardner.
TWIN MAGIC
FIU’s Richard and Rishard Dames are one of just 53 FBS squads who have sets of brothers on their roster. These twins can provide double coverage in the secondary, as Richard plays safety and Rishard at corner. The Panthers will face another set of twins on Saturday, as Liberty sports their own identical pair in redshirt freshmen Carl and Carlos Poole. Carl plays linebacker, while Carlos plays wide receiver.
BIG LEG FOR HEATHERLY
In his first season at FIU, Tommy Heatherly had one of the best years for a Panther punter in school history. Heatherly averaged 42.98 per punt last season, which ranked as the second-best mark in school history. Even more impressive, three of Heatherly’s games rank in the Top 10 at FIU for highest punt average as he boomed a 50.3 at LA Tech, 50.0 vs. New Hampshire and 49.3 vs. Arkansas State in the 2019 Camellia Bowl. Two of Heatherly’s punts also ranked in the Top 10 at FIU for longest punts in a game, after he boomed a 68-yarder at FAU and a 62-yarder against Middle Tennessee.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Get all the latest information on the team by following @FIU.Football on Instagram and @FIUFootball on Twitter and Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.
