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FIU gets demolished under the Hilltoppers offensive air raid
If you're a fan of the Florida International University football program, I suggest you bleach your
eyes after the performance in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
The Golden Panthers(1-2, U-CONF. 0-1) were defeated by the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers(3-
1, U-CONF. 1-0) Saturday, 73-0, the most points allowed in FIU program history.
The Panthers only produced 180 yards offensively on the way to the Hilltoppers first shutout
victory since 2011 against Florida Atlantic University.
The Florida International defense was atrocious to watch. From the secondary to the defensive
line, all 11 men on the field looked sluggish as Western Kentucky kept chipping through the
Panthers with 32 first downs and 688 yards of total offense.
Western Kentucky senior quarterback Austin Reed exploded, passing for 381 yards and five
touchdowns.
To open up the scoring, Reed found sophomore wide receiver Malachi Corley for a 76-yard
touchdown on a bubble screen in the middle of the first quarter. The speed of Corley was too
much for the FIU defense as three Panthers dived to tackle down the Orange City, Florida,
native.
The Hilltoppers moved down the field with the running game to end the quarter to set up a 9-
yard touchdown pass to junior tight end Joey Beljan as time expired in the first.
Even though FIU had more time of possession than WKU with 30:32 on the field, they didn’t do
much with it. Panthers sophomore quarterback Grayson Games threw for 85 yards Saturday
while the run game put up 56 yards among five different rushers.
After a 21-yard touchdown thrown once again to Corley early in the second quarter, FIU redshirt
freshman quarterback checked into the game for the Panthers the next drive to attempt to
answer back before the game slipped out of their hands.
However, an interception by redshirt junior Kahlef Hailassie continued the Hilltoppers
dominance as it set up WKU’s offense for a 12-yard score, the fourth straight passing
touchdown through four offensive drives by Reed.
Reed would finish the second half with another passing touchdown to redshirt senior Daewood
Davis to put up a staggering 42-0 lead over Florida International.
With two touchdown runs by redshirt junior running back Davion Ervin-Poindexter, a 35-yard
scoring run by freshman running back L.T. Sanders, a touchdown throw by the Hilltoppers
backup redshirt freshman quarterback Darius Ocean and a Panthers fumble recovered by
freshman linebacker Aaron Key that resulted in a 48-yard return to the endzone for WKU, the
Panthers nightmare was over.
Dropping their first Conference-USA matchup of the year on the road, FIU continue out west as
they face the New Mexico State Aggies on Oct.1 at 8 p.m.
Written by: Brandon Hernandez
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