MIAMI, FL – After a tough loss to Florida Atlantic in the Shula Bowl, Mike MacIntyre and his team will start a new chapter and face their first and only FCS opponent of the season: the Monmouth Hawks. This will be the Panthers’ third consecutive game in South Florida and the team’s home game.

Monmouth Hawks (1-2, 1-0 Coastal Athletic Association) @ FIU (1-2, 0-0 Conference USA)

Date: 24 September

Time: 18:00 hrs

Location: South Dade Kia Field at Pitbull Stadium, Miami, FL

TV: ESPN+ with Steve Goldstein (pxp) and Corey Brooks (analyst)

Radio: fiusports.com/watch with AJ Ricketts (pxp) with Billy Gill and Jackson McDonald (Analyst)

Betting offer: FIU-14 (FanDuel)

RELATED: Conference USA Football Power Rankings – Week 4

FIU and their problems with FCS opponents

Since Mike MacIntyre took over, FIU is 2-0 against FCS opponents, but they haven’t been easy wins. In MacIntyre’s very first game as head coach of the Panthers, he defeated Bryant in overtime by a final score of 38-37. The following year, he defeated Maine 14-12.

Fortunately for MacIntyre and his team, they won against an FBS opponent by a final score of 52-16, which can be considered encouraging.

The last time FIU lost to an FCS opponent was in the shortened 2020 season. The Panthers lost to Jacksonville State by a final score of 19-10. The last time FIU lost to an FCS opponent in a full season was in 2014 against Bethune-Cookman.

Curtin’s final call for Shula Bowl

The loss to FAU was due to turnovers by FIU. The week before, the Panthers forced six turnovers and in week three, they committed five turnovers that resulted in 17 points.

PFF Panthers

Each week we feature players who received a grade that places them in the top 100 players at Pro Football Focus (ranked for their specific positions). These players were: Brian Blades III (#3), Kejon Owens (#86), Jaheim Buchanon (#99), Travis Burke (#89), Victor Evans III (#32), and CJ Christian (#27).

For Blades, this marks the second week in a row that he is among the top five cornerbacks in the country. This season, he has recorded two deflected passes, one interception and one touchdown.

Who are the Monmouth Hawks?

The Monmouth Hawks currently sit below .500 after earning their first win of the season against the Maine Black Bears, an opponent FIU knows all too well.

The team’s quarterback is senior Derek Robertson, who has thrown for 1,135 yards, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions in three games. Robertson leads all FCS in passing yards and passing touchdowns. As a team, Monmouth has the second-best passing offense in the FCS and the seventh-best scoring offense.

FIU fans may be familiar with Robertson’s name, as he was the starting quarterback for Maine last season when the Panthers defeated the Black Bears. In that game, Robertson completed 21 of 43 passes for 213 yards.

“He made some nice plays against us last year,” MacIntyre said. “Like they do, we watch that film. We’ve watched that film, but in their offense now, everything is more open, so he can throw more and do more. You can tell he’s played a lot of football. He understands coverage. He does an excellent job for them.”

Sophomore wide receiver Josh Derry ranks second in the FCS in receiving yards this season. He has 16 receptions for 362 yards and four touchdowns. Following his performance against Maine, in which he had seven catches for 227 yards and two touchdowns, Derry was named the CAA Co-Offensive Player of the Week.

Defensively, Monmouth is not considered one of the top 50 defenses in the FCS. Through three games, the Hawks are allowing 34.7 points per game and FIU is averaging 26.3 points per game so far. The Hawks’ leading tackler this season is linebacker Sam Korpoi with 19.0 total tackles.