G5 Football Daily

FIU Panthers vs. Maine Black Bears: How To Watch and Preview

FIU are looking to get in the win column after a Week Zero loss

Kevin Barral

FIU Athletics
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Date/Time: Saturday, 6:30 PM ET

TV: ESPN+ (AJ Ricketts - Play-By-Play, Patrick Murray - Analyst)

Radio: Miami's WQBA 1140 AM with the voice of the Panthers Corey Brooks

Location: FIU Football Stadium (Miami, Florida)

All-Time Series Record: Maine leads, 2-0 (Black Bears won last matchup, 24-14)

FIU Panthers

Despite only passing for four yards in week zero, quarterback Grayson James was announced as the starter for the Panthers home opener against Maine, per FIU head coach Mike MacIntyre.

"I think everything will be fine," said running back Shomari Lawrence. "It's honestly just the first game. I know it looks bad on paper, but it's the first game he's going to click. I trust him. I promise you there won't be a game like that again for him."

Although Mike MacIntyre was asked about the possibility of seeing freshman quarterback Keyone Jenkins take some snaps on Saturday, he didn't give off any indication that he would.

"We'll see as the game goes along on," said MacIntyre. "He's been getting in, just we've been rotating them all fall camp and also this week in practice."

One of the big contributors in week zero was nickel back Jamal Potts, who ended his night with ten total tackles and one forced fumble. When speaking to Potts on Tuesday, he took us through the play. "I have my eyes on the tight end and we go back, I dropped back in coverage and they threw the ball and I had a perfect tackle to my face right on the ball."

"He's an extremely good hitter, he's a good blitzer off the edge," Said MacIntyre of Potts. "He does good in coverage and he's able to disguise and kind of has a feel of his spacing out there. You're in that position, you're covering your inside receivers, you're in zone you're in man, and you gotta get a feel for your spacing out there and be able to make tackles in space."

Coming in second to Donavan Manuel in total tackles made on the night was linebacker Reggie Peterson who had 11 total tackles and a sack. For Peterson, he is finally being given the opportunity that he desired and is taking full advantage of it.

"I would say it's been amazing," said Peterson following Tuesday's practice. "At first, like, of course, everybody wants to be in that position. I just want to stand up and obviously thank God and my teammates for allowing me to be in a position, helping the team make plays. Just being on this defense."

Shomari Lawrence, who ended the night with 139 yards and a touchdown. Although it was only one week of football played and not all teams played, Lawrence does currently lead all FBS running backs in rushing yards per game.

Maine Black Bears

The Black Bears are coming off a 2-9 season after going 6-5 the season prior to that. The last time FIU and the Black Bears met was in 2003 and their only other meeting aside from that was the year prior in 2002.

"They're a big physical team," said FIU head coach Mike MacIntyre. "I think we'll see a lot of heavy sets and their tight ends. They got big tight ends and had aa couple of transfer tight ends come in. Their line is really big. They're powerful in that area and then defensively, they've got good physical linebackers and defensive front that has done well. It's going to be a tough test."

For Maine, 2022 starting quarterback Joe Fagnano transferred to the Connecticut Huskies. Last year's backup Derek Robertson will be the Black Bears starting quarterback. Although he didn't record any stats, he did appear in one game against Albany.

The most action that Robertson has seen in his time with Maine was in the 2021-22 season where he appeared in eight games, threw for 1,505 yards, 12 touchdowns and four interceptions.

In an article written by Larry Mahoney of Bangor Daily News, Black Bears head coach Jordan Stevens mentioned how much of a leader he has been through camp. 

"He has a great sense of awareness and urgency, and he understands the offense thoroughly,” Stevens said.

With running back/wide receiver Zavier Scott heading over to the NFL and Kobay White graduating, they will have to rely on junior Montigo Moss who had 34 receptions for 373 yards and six touchdowns.

With running back Elijah Barnwell entering his name into the 2023 NFL Draft and Freddie Brock entering the transfer portal, Maine will pivot their attention to the other running backs in the room. A name that was mentioned by Mahoney in his article was running back Tavion Banks who played in 10 games last season and ran for 86 yards, but no touchdowns.

On the defensive end, the Black Bears lost their top two players that led the team in total tackles in Adrian Otero and Brian Lee Jr. This time around, they will rely on sophomore defensive back Kahzir Brown who racked up a total of 59 tackles, 34 solo tackles and two interceptions.

When it comes to who we can see pressuring quarterback Grayson James, the Black Bears lost their top four sack leaders, but are left with Darius McKenzie who had a total of two sacks and 14 total tackles in the nine games he played.

A Maine win would...

* A Maine win would make it their third over the Panthers

* A Maine win would move the Black Bears 1-0 for the first time since 2019

* A Maine win would make it the fifth win over an FBS program

* A Maine win would make this the first win against an FBS program since 2021

Game Notes

* FIU is 8-13 all-time in home openers entering Saturday's game

* The Panthers rushed for a total of 158 yards in the first half of the week zero opener against LA Tech. That marked the Panthers' best in a half as they matched that total with the 2021 team that went up against Long Island University.

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Kevin Barral
KEVIN BARRAL

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