Meet the Opponent: Indiana Hosts Florida International In Season Opener

If history is an indicator, it could be a high-scoring game as the Hoosiers and Panthers meet for the fourth time in the last decade.

Sep 16, 2023; East Hartford, Connecticut, USA; FIU Golden Panthers quarterback Keyone Jenkins (1) throws a pass against the UConn Huskies at Rentschler Field at Pratt & Whitney Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana football’s new beginning under head coach Curt Cignetti will finally start for real at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Memorial Stadium as the Hoosiers host Florida International.

Strangely, it’s the first time Indiana has opened the season with a nonconference home game since 2015. The Hoosiers have either started on the road or have played Big Ten conference games to start recent seasons.

It’s a new-look Indiana team with 54 newcomers, including 30 transfers, 13 of which came with Cignetti from James Madison. Indiana is tied for the ninth-fewest returning players in FBS and third-fewest returning players with scholarships.

FIU – coached by Mike MacIntrye, who had success at Colorado in pulling the Buffaloes to a 10-4 mark in 2016 and at San Jose State prior to that – is trying to find its footing. The Panthers have not had a winning season since 2018 and have not won more than four games in MacIntyre’s three seasons as coach.

MacIntyre is fighting history too. FIU has only had four winning seasons since it began playing FBS football in 2004.

MacIntyre has a plan of action to contend with the Hoosiers – given Cignetti’s presence on the Indiana sideline.

“We’ve been watching all James Madison game film. We would think they would do a lot of what they did at James Madison when they were extremely successful,” MacIntyre said on Tuesday during FIU’s pregame press conference.

Here's what to know about the Panthers.

Key Offensive Players

• Quarterback Keyone Jenkins returns for his sophomore season with the Panthers. He showed promise in his freshman season as he threw for 2,414 yards to go with 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

Jenkins doesn’t lack confidence. He is very direct when it comes to his influence on the Panthers’ fortunes.

“They’re feeding off my energy right now. I’ve been rolling the past couple of weeks,” Jenkins said Tuesday.

“The more I grow up, the more they grow up, so I try to keep the intensity level high and they try to match me,” Jenkins said. “We’re rolling right now, that’s one thing I can say. We’re not making the same mistakes we made the first week of camp. It’s real smooth.”

Nov 27, 2021; Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA; FIU Golden Panthers running back Lexington Joseph (8) runs against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles in the second half at M.M. Roberts Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports / Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

• The leading returning rusher for FIU is Shomari Lawrence, who rushed for 566 yards and four touchdowns in 2023. However, fellow running back Lexington Joseph is not to be slept on.

Joseph missed the 2023 season after he suffered an ACL tear during spring practice. That was a big blow for FIU as Joseph rushed for a team-high 536 yards in 2022 and averaged five yards per carry. He also caught 29 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns, much more of a threat in the passing game than Lawrence was in 2023 when he caught only eight passes.

Lawrence will likely start for FIU, but if Joseph can return to his 2022 form? The Panthers will have a nice one-two punch in its backfield.

• FIU’s leading receiver in 2023, Kris Mitchell, took his 64 receptions and 1,118 yards to Notre Dame. The leading returning receiver is Eric Rivers (32 catches, 370 yards), but one to watch for is fellow wideout Dean Patterson.

It’s not necessarily for Patterson’s catches – though his 28 receptions for 423 yards is certainly respectable. Patterson can be dangerous as a punt returner.

When opponents kicked to him in 2023, only five foes did, Patterson averaged 10.2 yards per return. He had a 24-yard return against Sam Houston State.

Key Defensive Players

• Weak side linebacker Reggie Peterson is FIU’s most statistically accomplished returning defender. He had 104 tackles, 3.5 sacks and had a 61-yard interception return in 2023.

Like his coach and teammates, Peterson has JMU on the brain in his game-week approach to the Hoosiers.

“Watching them, they’re definitely a great team. They’re James Madison, but in red-and-white,” Peterson said on Tuesday.

Peterson thinks Indiana will be a 60-40 team in favor of the run on Saturday. He had novel ideas on how Indiana will approach the game offensively.

“They’re going to rush the ball down our throats. Then they’ll give their wide receivers key passes to make plays. They don’t want to get bored during the game,” Peterson said.

Peterson also mentioned that where he’s from, Fort Pierce, Fla., “everybody’s first offer is Indiana.” Peterson said he didn’t get an offer, but that Indiana was a fixture at his alma mater, Centennial High School. He still bears a bit of hurt that the Hoosiers didn’t reach out to him.

“They recruit a lot of 772 (area code) guys. (Former Indiana special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach) Kasey Teegardin is a great guy, but I have a little grudge with him (for not making an offer), but he’s gone (from Indiana) now,” Peterson said.

Teegardin is now Eastern Michigan’s special teams coordinator and defensive ends coach.

• One interesting statistical note on FIU is that, next to Peterson, their next-best returning player in terms of tackles for loss is nickelback Jamal Potts. The senior tallied six tackles for loss and forced two fumbles in 2023. Potts’ performance is not a surprise given that he had scholarship offers from five Power Five schools, including Minnesota in the Big Ten.

• A familiar name on FIU’s roster – to fans of a certain age, that is – is cornerback Brian Blades II.

Blades’ father is Brian Blades Sr., who had a storied career at both the University of Miami and in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks as a wide receiver. His uncle is Bennie Blades, an All-American at Miami and a star with the Detroit Lions as one of the hardest-hitting safeties of the 1990s.

Blades Sr. played his entire NFL career with the Seahawks from 1988-98. He was second-team All-Pro in 1989 and had 581 career receptions for 7,620 yards and 34 career touchdown catches. Blades had four 1,000-yard receiving seasons in Seattle.

Blades II is a junior. It is anticipated that he will start at one of FIU’s corner spots. In 2023, Blades II had 36 tackles and led FIU with six defended passes.

FIU Notes

Not highly rated: FIU is ranked 130th in the Pro Football Focus  preseason power rankings – dead last in FBS.

Despite that, PFF projects 5.7 wins for the Panthers and gives them a 54% chance at a bowl game. Why is there a discrepancy? It’s because Conference USA has four other teams ranked 120th or worse in their rankings. Someone has to win those games, and FIU hosts two of those foes.

Former Hoosier comes back: FIU’s visit to Memorial Stadium brings former Indiana defensive lineman Jeramy Passmore back to Bloomington.

Passmore was originally recruited by Indiana and was on the Hoosiers’ roster in 2019 and 2020. The Miami native was redshirted in 2019, but got into three games in 2020. He was Academic All-Big Ten for the Hoosiers in 2020.

Passmore went back home to play for FIU and has had a solid career. The defensive end has started 32 games for the Panthers. In 2023, Passmore had 26 tackles, including four for a loss and he had 2.5 sacks. He’s expected to be FIU’s starting right defensive end on Saturday.

Sep 1, 2018; Miami, FL, USA; Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Peyton Ramsey (12) throws the ball under pressure from FIU Golden Panthers defensive lineman Noah Curtis (90) at Riccardo Silva Stadium. Indiana defeated FIU 38-28. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Prior history: Indiana and FIU are familiar nonconference foes, having met three times in the 2010s. Expect Indiana to put up points against the Panthers. The Hoosiers never scored fewer than 34 in the previous matchups. This game is the fourth in a series that featured two games at FIU’s stadium in Miami. Indiana won the previous home game in 2015, a 36-22 triumph during the Kevin Wilson regime.

Related stories on Indiana football

• 2024 IU FOOTBALL SCHEDULE: Here are the dates for the 2024 Indiana football schedule, with game time and TV information to be announced at a later date. CLICK HERE.

• CIGNETTI WANTS DEFENSIVE LINE TO STEP UP: Curt Cignetti was complimentary of FIU quarterback Keyone Jenkins. He will be a test for Indiana's defensive line. CLICK HERE.

• CIGNETTI'S THOUGHTS: Read what Curt Cignetti had to say in the pre-game press conference ahead of the FIU game. CLICK HERE.