After 2 consecutive turnovers on offense, Panthers squander third-quarter lead
Butch Davis and his Panthers (0-5, 0-2) remain the only winless team in Conference USA. The loss to Western Kentucky seals FIU’s second consecutive losing season.
Two mistakes — on consecutive scrimmage plays — doomed FIU.
Host Western Kentucky, thanks to a pair of defensive scores, rallied to defeat FIU 38-21 on Saturday afternoon.
The Panthers (0-5, 0-2) remain the only winless team in Conference USA. With three games remaining, the defeat clinched FIU’s second straight losing season.
FIU, which has lost seven consecutive games dating to last season, led 13-10 in the third quarter. But quarterback Max Bortenschlager, making his second start of the season, was stripped of the ball by NFL prospect DeAngelo Malone. Roger Cray scooped up the fumble, running 19 yards for a score.
On the next play from scrimmage, Bortenschlager threw a pass over the middle that became a pick-6 to Eli Brown, who ran the interception back 22 yards.
FIU never recovered
from that sequence, and WKU improved to 4-6 overall and 3-3 in league play.
Besides the turnovers, Bortenschlager completed 10 of 18 passes for 106 yards and one touchdown. He was benched in the fourth quarter in favor of redshirt freshman Stone Norton, who went 1-for-8 passing for 2 yards.
FIU then turned to its third QB, Kaylan Wiggins, a redshirt junior who led the Panthers to a TD drive with just 18 seconds left in the game and the outcome already decided.
Three Panthers players turned in noteworthy performances, even in defeat:
• Senior running back D’vonte Price, who rushed for 100 yards on 24 carries. It was the fourth time in five games this season that he has rushed for at least 100 yards.
• FIU true freshman EJ Wilson ran a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. It was FIU’s second kickoff return for a score this year as Wilson joined Lexington Joseph, who did it on the first play of the Panthers’ season.
• JJ Holloman, a wide receiver who transferred from the University of Georgia, caught his first TD pass as an FIU player. He finished with two catches for 54 yards.
For the first time this season, the Panthers led at halftime, holding a 13-10 advantage. The first half featured no turnovers and just one penalty, which was on WKU.
The Panthers’ special teams had a major role in providing that lead.
First, Bryce Singleton’s 12-yard punt return helped give FIU a short field, and the Panthers cashed in on a nine-play, 52-yard drive, capped by Bortenschlager’s 28-yard toss to Holloman. FIU was 3 for 3 on third downs during that drive.
After a WKU field goal, FIU took a 13-3 lead on Wilson’s kickoff return. True freshman Chase Gabriel missed the extra point.
WKU quarterback Tyrrell Pilgrome’s 1-yard run closed the first-half scoring.
After the two defensive scores, WKU got a 1-yard TD run by Gaej Walker and a 4-yard TD run by Pilgrome.
FIU closed the scoring on a remarkable 21-play, 75-yard drive that was capped by Wiggins’ 1-yard TD run on fourth down. FIU was 3 for 3 on fourth downs in that drive, two on Wiggins runs and one on a Wiggins pass.
Wiggins, who also ran for the two-point conversion, completed 5 of 11 passes for 39 yards. He ran five times for 24 yards.