Our Cardinals dropped a tough one last weekend in their first ACC road trip. They will now head to South Beach with a 2-1 record to play the FIU Golden Panthers on Saturday at 3:30. This game can be seen on Fox Sports 1. The Cardinals and Panthers have battled on the gridiron three times in the past and the Cards lead the series 2-1. FIU came to Louisville on September 9th 2011 and beat the Cardinals 24 to 17. The next year it was the Cardinals who claimed victory down in Miami beating the Panthers 28-21. Last year it was a complete blowout 72-0. It got so bad that the teams were contemplating the running clock.
The best way to sum up this FIU program is by using the word “raw”. They are in complete rebuild mode with a new coach, new players and a new league. Their new coach is Ron Turner, the ex-Illinois coach who spent eight seasons in the NFL before returning to the college game. And they moved from the Sun Belt to Conference USA. The Panthers are 1-2 to start their season and lost to fellow ACC team Pittsburgh 42-25 at home last weekend.
FIU 2014 OVERALL FBS RANKINGS
-PASSING YARDS
202.7
98th
Overall
-RUSHING YARDS
82.7
117th
Overall
-POINTS FOR
23.7
95th
Overall
-POINTS AGAINST
19.7
37th
Overall
FIU has some decent players at their skill positions. Leading Ron Turner’s pro style West Coast offense will be freshman QB Alex McGough. His ability to make throws and good decisions with a certain bearing of a leader have been mentioned as the reason he has the starting job. He has thrown for 401 yards and 5 touchdowns on the season. They also have a freshman RB who has shown a lot of potential. Alex Gardner has 39 carries for 228 yards this season. FIU also has some pretty solid receivers. Their leading receivers are sophomore Jonnu Smith who has 18 grabs for 209 yards with 2 touchdowns, senior Glenn Coleman with 4 grabs for 96 yards with 1 touchdown, and junior T.J. Lowder with 6 grabs for 83 yards and 1 touchdown. These guys have decent size, good hands and decent speed.
On the defensive side of the ball these guys have a lot of speed and raw talent. FIU ranks 47th nationally in tackles for loss and 13th nationally in sacks. A big reason why is their defensive ends junior Michael Wakefield and redshirt junior Denzell Perine. Wakefield has 7 tackles with 3 1/2 for loss including two pass blocks, two fumbles recovered and a forced fumble. Perine has 15 tackles, 5 1/2 for loss and 4 sacks. Their young line backing group redshirt sophomore Imarjaye Albury, junior Darrian Dyson and redshirt junior Lars Koht are also players that have really improved the FIU defense. They have some speedy and talented Cornerbacks including senior Richard Leonard who has 14 tackles and 1 interception on the season.
Last weekend our Cardinals looked good on the defensive side of the ball, but the offense really struggled to get into any rhythm. They produced only 282 total yards, while allowing 285 total yards to Virginia. They converted 4 of 14 third downs, good for a 28% rate, and turned the ball over 4 times. This Bobby Petrino offense loves to attack the edges in the run and the pass. And while I don’t think it will be easy, especially early I do think the Cardinals will eventually wear down a FIU defense that doesn’t have too much depth. I look for a much improved offensive performance this weekend.
The Cardinals roster features 16 players from Miami-Dade County, one from Broward County, two from Palm Beach County and nine other players from the state of Florida. So these guys will know each other and that will make the game situation a little different. Not only will these guys be playing for Louisville and FIU pride, but they will also be playing for pride on a personal level. This game will be important from a recruiting standpoint as well.
I think the Panthers will be competitive early on, but will be worn down by a much deeper and talented Cardinal squad. This one will be a blow-out but don’t think it will be as ugly as it was last year for FIU.
The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 52 FIU 10