With college football season starting to creep up, we’re running down Indiana’s schedule to preview all 12 opponents for 2024.
Indiana will host Florida International on August 31 in the first game of the Curt Cignetti era. The Panthers went 4-8 last season for the second consecutive year under Mike McIntyre. FIU has a solid amount of returning talent to work with this year to try and improve, but the team has some major weak spots to address.
- Opponent: Florida International
- Date/Time/TV: Saturday, August 31, 3:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network
- Location: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Ind.
- 2023 record/postseason result: 4-8, 1-7 C-USA
Returning production, offense: 76 percent (per Bill Connelly/ESPN)
Offensive outlook: FIU’s offense struggled in 2023, ranking in the bottom 20 in FBS in scoring. But it was the ground attack that particularly held back the Panthers, as they finished with the eighth-fewest rushing yards per game in the country and the fewest in C-USA. Their passing game fared better, at fourth in the conference and 59th in the country.
The Panthers rolled with true freshman Keyone Jenkins at quarterback last season, who had some ups and downs while getting good experience. He returns as a sophomore, likely again starting. Jenkins completed 58.4 percent of his passes for 2,414 yards on the season, with a 1:1 touchdown to interception ratio. He also rushed for six touchdowns.
FIU brings back last season’s leading rusher, now-redshirt junior Shomari Lawrence (566 yards on 125 carries with four touchdowns). The team also gets 2022 leading rusher Lexington Joseph (536 yards on 108 yards with five touchdowns) back after missing last year with a torn ACL. The Panthers lost leading receiver Kris Mitchell (64 receptions, 1,118 yards, six touchdowns) as he transferred to Notre Dame, and the receivers they do bring back were far less productive. FIU brought in a few wideouts from the transfer portal, but few with much prior production to their name.
FIU’s offensive line has two returning starters, but last season’s group tied for the seventh-most sacks allowed in the country (46). The Panthers also posted the 10th-worst PFF grade in run-blocking last year, so their O-line will have to play better for the team to have any chance of improving.
Returning production, defense: 60 percent (per Bill Connelly/ESPN)
Defensive outlook: FIU’s defense didn’t fare much better last season, finishing with the 12th-worst total defense in the country, and the worst in C-USA, allowing 436.7 yards per game. The Panthers ranked near the bottom of the country in both sacks and takeaways, as well as in rushing defense. But they did rank stronger in tackles for loss (65th in the country, fourth in the conference), passing defense (100th in the nation, sixth in the conference) and red-zone defense (52nd in the country, fourth in the conference).
FIU has five starters back from last season’s team. Leading tackler Donovan Manuel is gone, but two of the team’s top four tacklers return in linebacker Reggie Peterson and defensive back Jamal Potts. Senior safety CJ Christian is back after grabbing three interceptions last year. But the Panthers didn’t have many standout defensive players to begin with, and still have to plug some holes left by outbound transfers and graduations.
Eddie Walls III could be a key player to watch on FIU’s defense, after transferring in from Bethune Cookman in the offseason. Last year, Walls had the highest overall PFF grade of any defensive player on FIU’s roster for this season.
Special teams outlook: The Panthers have most of their specialists back from last season. Then-sophomore Ross Fournet (17.8 yards per return) shared kickoff return duties with senior Jalen Bracey (19.5 yards per return) last season; Bracey is gone this year, but Fournet is back for his junior year. Redshirt junior Dean Patterson will look to give FIU more of a spark in the punt return game after averaging 10.2 yards per return last year.
Senior kicker Chase Gabriel returns after converting a career-high nine of 12 field goal attempts last season. Punter Daton Montiel averaged 39.2 yards per punt last season, the lowest team mark in C-USA. The Panthers punted six times per game last year, which was second-most in the conference.
Overall Outlook: Athlon Sports optimistically picked FIU to finish fifth in the C-USA. The Panthers do rank 34th in the country in returning production, per ESPN — so if Mike McIntyre and his staff can develop some of his younger players, the team could improve. Jenkins has plenty to build on from his freshman year at quarterback and could take natural steps forward this season, and the backfield tandem could help FIU’s rushing attack improve. Athlon Sports also saw potential in the secondary. But it feels like the Panthers will need a number of things to break right just to have a shot at bowl eligibility and a mid-conference finish, and the floor could be lower than the ceiling is high.
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