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Week 1 - FIU Panthers @ Indiana Hoosiers: How To Watch, Preview, Time, Date, Storylines

The FIU Panthers will open up the 2024 season against the new look Indiana Hoosiers

Kevin Barral

FIU Athletics
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It's officially week one of the college football season. The Panthers will travel to Bloomington, Indiana to take on the Hoosiers as they will wrap up a home/home series that began in 2018 when Indiana defeated FIU by a final score of 38-28 in Miami.

Here's everything you need to know about the matchup.

FIU Panthers (0-0, 0-0 Conference USA) @ Indiana Hoosiers (0-0, 0-0 Big Ten)

Date: Saturday, August 31

Time: 3:30 pm EST

Location: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Indiana

TV: Big Ten Network

Radio: fiusports.com with Corey Brooks as the play-by-play and Nick Garrido as the analyst

RELATED: Conference USA Football Power Rankings - Week 1

New Look Hoosiers

This Week One matchup will be the first for Indiana's newest head coach Curt Cignetti, who after spending five seasons at James Madison, was named the 30th head coach in program history.

Once Cignetti took over, Indiana had 38 outgoing players and 31 incoming players, both ranking second in the country behind Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffs.

"With their staff coming from James Madison, that's what we're using, JMU video to break a team down," said FIU offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach David Yost. "When you come in, you have to figure out what you think they're going to be. Their spring game was on Big 10 Network. We watched that. They did a lot of things in that game that they did when they were at James Madison. There's a lot of things that they are telling us...They believe in what they do. They have a system there and they're committed to it."

What Indiana Gained on Offense

Ohio Bobcats quarterback Kurtis Rourke was one of 31 new transfers who joined Cignetti. Last season, Rourke threw for 2,207 yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions, leading him to earn second-team all-conference in the MAC. Rourke did find himself in a quarterback competition with redshirt sophomore Tayven Jackson and freshman Tyler Cherry, but towards the back half of fall camp, Rourke stood out, taking the job.

"Heck of a career at Ohio University," said MacIntyre. "He had an excellent year two years ago. Last year, he got injured coming back off an ACL. He looked good in the spring game, moving around and throwing it. He's almost 6'5" and 225, pounds. He's a big thrower and can also run it and he has a lot of experience, so we expect him to play well."

FIU linebacker Reggie Peterson spoke on how well Rourke can see the field. "He's definitely a great quarterback," said Peterson. "He does a great job of seeing the whole field. I think a lot of people are underestimating his ability to move around because he just did come off an injury, but I still feel like he could run as well."

For the Hoosiers, they were able to keep 2023 leading receiver Donaven McCulley who hauled in 48 receptions for 644 yards and six touchdowns. Along with leading the team in receptions and receiving yards, he was an honorable mention in the all-Big Ten team. Ex-JMU receiver Elijah Sarrat will also be a factor.

RELATED: Week 1 - Campbell @ Liberty Flames: How To Watch, Preview, Time, Date, Storylines

How much James Madison film made an impact

With so many players transferring over from James Madison, it's worth noting that they ranked second in scoring offense. JMU had the second-best passing offense, but third-worst rushing offense, which should help FIU a lot given their struggles against the run last season. A lot of those numbers should be taken with a grain of salt, but it's worth noting given how many players and staff from JMU are now at Indiana, so similar systems will be run.

Peterson did describe the Indiana offense has 60% run and 40% pass, which is something that stood out to him during his film studies given how James Madison struggled running the ball last season.

"They see us as the underdog, you know," said Peterson. "I think that they're going to try to rush the ball down our throats and trying to give their wide receivers key passes to make plays because they don't want to get bored during the game. But that's what I think that they're going to do. That's the game plan that I think they're going to do and we're just going to have to capitalize on it."

What's on the line for FIU?

FIU will look to defeat their first power conference opponent since 2019 when the Panthers beat the University of Miami. Under head coach Mike MacIntyre, the Panthers are 2-0 in week one games, with wins over Bryant and Maine (LA Tech was week zero), but this will mark the first time under MacIntyre that FIU will face a power conference opponent to ope the season.

What to expect from Keyone Jenkins as he faces his second power conference opponent

As expected, Keyone Jenkins will start on Saturday, marking his second matchup against a power conference opponent. Last season when the Panthers faced Arkansas, Jenkins threw for 265 yards and two touchdowns, completing 21 of 36 passes. It was one of four games where Jenkins threw for multiple touchdowns.

One of the storylines that has been a focus throughout camp has been the battle as to who will start at center. At the moment, it is between redshirt freshman Jaheim Buchanon and redshirt junior Wyatt Lawson.

What does Vegas say?

At the moment, Indiana is favored by 21.5 on FanDuel. Last season, the Panthers went into the matchup against Arkansas as 29.5-point underdogs, so it shouldn't come to anyone as a surprise that FIU is once again an underdog.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

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Kevin Barral

KEVIN BARRAL

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