Davis looks for bright spots despite 0-4 start
FIU football coach Butch Davis put things in perspective late Friday night, following his team’s 38-19 loss to the Florida Atlantic Owls in the annual “Shula Bowl” rivalry game.
“It’s one of those years when things don’t seem to go our way,” Davis said. “We’ve lost 16 or 17 guys for the season due to injury. … From the first week of August to now, we’ve probably lost half our practices [because of COVID-19, contact tracing and not having enough players available].”
Friday’s loss to Florida Atlantic continued several negative trends for FIU.
The Panthers (0-4 overall, 0-2 Conference USA) lost their sixth consecutive game, dating to last season. They also lost their fourth Shula Bowl in a row, a game Davis has yet to win, and, in those four defeats, FIU has been outscored 176-64.
Here are five takeaways from Friday’s game:
A 1: Price is still right:
FIU senior running back D’vonte Price continues to carry the offense, rushing 26 times for 178 yards and one touchdown, a 77-yarder.
Price has rushed for more than 100 yards in three of FIU’s four games. For the season, he has rushed for 481 yards (7.9 per attempt) and has five overall touchdowns, looking like a potential NFL draft pick.
“D’vonte is doing an amazing job,” Davis said, “especially since four of the five offensive-line starters we thought we’d have are not here.”
Davis mentioned injuries to left tackle D’Antne Demery, who is considered the best NFL prospect at his position in the conference, and guard Mershawn Miller. In addition, Davis mentioned Devontay LoveTaylor, who transferred to Florida State.
A 2: Special teams takes a hit: FIU’s Lexington Joseph, who entered the weekend ranked sixth in the nation in kickoff-return average (33.5 yards), is out for the season.
“He fractured his wrist in a half-speed drill,” Davis said.
Davis, though, praised veteran punter Tommy Heatherly and kicker Chase Gabriel, a true freshman who made field goals of 21 and 41 yards without a miss.
Heatherly punted seven times and averaged 45.9.
“Tommy continues to be one of the. best punters in the country,” Davis said. “His hangtime is excellent, between 4.6 and five seconds.”
A 3: QB issues: Redshirt freshman Stone Norton, who became the first FIU quarterback to start a second game this year; was benched midway through the third quarter. He completed 7-of-12 passes for just 43 yards. He was sacked four times, and three of them led directly to punts, and he led the team to just 10 points in nine possessions.
He was replaced by Maryland transfer Max Bortenschlager, who completed 11-of-21 passes for 149 yards. He threw one TD pass, a 67-yarder to Rivaldo Fairweather.
“I’m proud of what Stone is trying to do,” Davis said. “I’m proud of what Max has done. You saw Max make some fast decisions [in the pocket to avoid sacks].
“Max took only 30 percent of the practice reps this week. But he’s a guy who has played in Big Ten games. He’s a veteran guy. Hopefully, his confidence will become contagious in the huddle.”
A 4: Defense couldn’t stop the scrambles: FAU (4-1, 4-1) was led by redshirt freshman quarterback Javion Posey, who passed for just 80 yards but had two touchdowns and ran for 140 yards and one score.
Posey, who is from Alabama and played wide receiver last year, set a school record for FAU single-game rushing by a quarterback.
“We knew it was coming,” Davis said of Posey’s scrambling, “but he’s a talented athlete. When you don’t make good tackles
[for five yards or less], they run for 15, 20 or 30 yards.”
FAU had averaged just 16 points per game this season before breaking out against FIU.
A 5: FIU bright spot: Fairweather, a true freshman tight end from Fort Lauderdale’s Boyd Anderson, finished with career highs in catches (seven) and yards (116).
“He made a fantastic run after the catch [on the 67yarder],” Davis said. “He had a great catch in the Liberty game, but, unfortunately, he dropped a twopoint conversion [that would’ve tied the score].
“He has a great future. I’m happy he’s showing what he can do.”