Takeaways: FIU Panthers Beat UConn In Dramatic Fashion

A Historic First Half The Panthers' 24-point first half is the most that they have scored since 2019 when they faced former Conference USA opponent Charlotte.

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A Historic First Half

The Panthers' 24-point first half is the most that they have scored since 2019 when they faced former Conference USA opponent Charlotte.

Keyone Jenkins had 240 passing yards and two touchdowns to receivers Jalen Bracey and Eric Rivers along with a a rushing touchdown. Jenkins' 200-plus-yard first half marks the first of his young career.

Wide receiver Jalen Bracey had four receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown that came in the second quarter thanks to a Keyone Jenkins 45-yard pass. It was Bracey's first touchdown of the season.

The first half of the game was closed out by 64-yard pass from Jenkins to wide receiver Kris Mitchell. That was the longest passing play since 2022, which was a 75 yard pass to Rivaldo Fairweather against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders.

Jenkins ended the game with 284 passing yards, two touchdowns, and a  rushing touchdown. 

Defense makes their mark

After a first drive that saw the UConn offense drive all the way down the field, the Panthers' defense completely put a stop to the Huskies offense.

Leading the way for FIU was linebacker Donovan Manuel who finished the afternoon with ten total tackles and nine of them were solo tackles. Manuel went down with an injury at the end of the game, but seemed to be fine as he came back on the next drive.

Behind Manuel was safety D'verick Daniel who keeps racking up total tackles.

An underrated performance came from linebacker Elijah Taylor-Anderson and Alex Nobles who both combined for 12 total tackles. The only sack of the game came from defensive lineman Jeramy Passmore.

UConn's rush attack dominates for a second straight year

Last season, the Huskies rush attack was the reason why they were able to have such a dominant victory against the Panthers. This time around, although the rush attack did outperform the Panthers, it wasn't enough to get the win.

Running back Devontae Houston finished the game with 109 yards on 16 attempts and the speedy Victor Rosa had 34 yards on nine attempts.

The only touchdown that the Huskies scored came on a rush right down the middle on the FIU one yard line. Defensive lineman Jelani Stafford is the player who scored the touchdown.

Kris Mitchell takes the lead

Kris Mitchell's fourth touchdown of the season, which came in the second quarter of the game put him at the top of the Conference USA leaderboard in most touchdowns this season (rushing and receiving touchdowns). Mitchell ended the afternoon with two receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown.

Best Since 2017

The Panthers' week three victory marks their best start since 2017 when they lost the season opener to the UCF Knights, but won the next three against Alcorn State, Rice University and the Charlotte 49ers.