Week 2 - Central Michigan @ FIU: How To Watch, Preview, Time, Date, Storylines

The Panthers will look to bounce back after a tough loss

FIU Athletics

The FIU Panthers are coming off a tough 31-7 loss to the Indiana Hoosiers. The offense struggled with 182 yards of offense, with only 53 of those coming in as rushing yards. On the other side of things, the Central Michigan Chippewas dominated Central Connecticut State by a final score of 66-10 in their first game of the year. With Central Michigan favored, it will be a tough task for FIU.

RELATED: MAC Football Power Rankings - Week 2

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Central Michigan Chippewas (1-0, 0-0 Mid Athletic Conference) @ FIU Panthers (0-1, 0-0 Conference USA)

Date: Saturday, September 7

Time: 6:00pm ET

Location: South Dade Kia Field at Pitbull Stadium

TV: ESPN+ with Steve Goldstein (pxp) and Kim Bokamper (analyst)

Radio: fiusports.com with Corey Brooks (pxp) and Jackson McDonald (analyst) and Billy Gill (analyst)

Betting Line: Central Michigan is favored by 6.5 on FanDuel

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RELATED: FIU Football Captain Reggie Peterson Steps Away - "Football is not my identity"

Storylines

Reggie Peterson Retires. What's Next?

On Wednesday, senior linebacker Reggie Peterson announced on social media that he would be retiring from the game of football. He finished his college football career with 139 total tackles (66 solo/73 assisted), 8.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and two interceptions.

With Peterson's departure from the program, expect various combinations at linebacker. One of those will likely be Elijah Anderson-Taylor and Dwight Nunoo. Anderson-Taylor finished week one with five total tackles while Nunoo had seven. Expect Travion Barnes, freshman Josiah Taylor and others to fill in.

Offensive Line Issues Need To Be Solved

The Panthers' offensive line allowed four sacks and were part of the combined 53 rushing yards. A lot of miscomunication and mismatches played part in the struggles on Saturday. Mike MacIntyre noted this week he expects his group to match up better with the Chippewas compared to the Hoosiers.

"When you watch the game that's probably one of the best fronts we're going to play all year," MacIntyre said. "Their first and second team coming at us. With the very first sack, that was just a mental error that we had worked on."

Jojo Evans Already Making A Big Impact On Defense

After being unable to play last season due to transfer rules, Panthers redshirt junior Jojo Evans led the team with 11 total tackles on Saturday afternoon. On Tuesday, Evans described what his emotions after finally taking the field in an FIU uniform.

"All over the place man," said Evans. "My family, it's a lot of people counting on me. A lot of people expect me to make big time plays, but it's just football at the end of the day."

What Central Michigan Brings To The Table

Similar to FIU, Central Michigan is coming off two straight losing seasons, but the CMU offense looked impressive against Central Connecticut. This time around, the Chippewas bring plenty of returning talent in the running back and wide receiver room.

In 2023, running back Marion Lukes led the team with 757 yards and five touchdowns. He did not play for CMU in their season opener, but Myles Bailey, who was second on the team in rushing yards last season did.

Wide receiver Tyson Davis led the team with 453 receiving yards and four touchdowns, but did not see any game action in last week 66-10 win. He is also not listed on the team's depth chart leading up to Saturday's game.

At the quarterback position, last year's starter Jase Bauer transferred to Sam Houston State, so through the transfer portal, the Chippewas brought in Iowa transfer Joe Labas who had a strong first start completing 18 of 24 passes and threw for three touchdowns.

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