LITTLE HAVANA SHOCKER
The Miami Hurricanes and FIU Panthers met Saturday at Marlins Park, the former site of the iconic Orange Bowl. The night was shocking, with FIU defying the odds for a victory.
The Orange Bowl ghosts are turning on their hallowed ground.
The FIU Panthers? Dancing all over it after stomping all over the Miami Hurricanes for most of the night.
The Panthers defied the odds Saturday by upsetting the 20point favorite Miami Hurricanes 30-24 at Marlins Park — the site of the former iconic stadium that housed the Hurricanes for 71 seasons through 2007.
With the FIU victory, the Panthers (6-5, 3-4 Conference USA) — led by former UM coach Butch Davis — qualified for a bowl game. The Hurricanes
(6-5, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), in turn, gave up any chance of being selected for the Capital One Orange Bowl.
Buoyed by a swarming defense, deadly kicker and three interceptions by Miami quarterback Jarren Williams, FIU led 16-0 for nearly three quarters until Miami scored its first three points off a 22-yard field goal by
Camden Price with 1:52 left. Williams actually threw four interceptions, but one was negated by an FIU penalty.
After FIU quarterback James Morgan threw an early fourthquarter touchdown to Tony Gaiter IV, Miami got some life when Cam’Ron Harris scored on a 14-yard sprint to make it 23-10 with 8:07 left in the game. Then a subsequent 35-yard UM
touchdown pass from Williams to Mark Pope with 3:10 left made the score 23-17, and a comeback seemed possible.
But the Panthers just kept stomping, and former Miami Central star Anthony Jones scored on a 37yard rush to seal the victory with 2:17 left. UM’s Dee Wiggins scored on a 3-yard catch in the final minute, but it was too late.
“FIU! FIU! FIU!’’ the Panthers fans chanted gleefully.
FIU kicker Jose Borregales, whose younger brother Andres, also a kicker, is committed to UM’s recruiting class of 2021, kicked field goals of 29, 50 and a career-long 53 yards Saturday. The 53-yarder tied the program record.
FIU, which became the first non-Power 5 team to defeat Miami since Cincinnati did it in 2015, will have bragging rights indefinitely, because no future games are in the works between the two programs. It was the Panthers’ first victory against the Canes in four attempts.
With the loss, according to ESPN, the Canes “became the only team in the last 40 years to lose three times as a 14-point favorite in a single season.” UM lost to Virginia Tech as a 14-point favorite, to Georgia Tech as an 181⁄ 2- point favorite and to FIU as at least a 20-point favorite.
The best Miami can do in the ’19 regular season as it looks ahead to the finale at Duke in Durham, North Carolina next Saturday: 7-5 — its same regular-season record from a year ago.
The best the Canes can do after a still-to-be-determined bowl game: 8-5 — its 2015 record in Al Golden’s last season as head coach.
Saturday marked the third time this season that the Hurricanes lost after an open week, the previous such losses coming against North Carolina and Virginia Tech.
After going three-andout in their opening drive, the Panthers came out roaring. On UM’s second offensive play of the game, Williams threw the ball right into the gut of Panthers cornerback Stantley Thomas-Oliver III, who brought it 23 yards to the Miami 18-yard line. Four plays later, Borregales kicked his 29-yarder to make it 3-0 Panthers.
FIU scored again on its next drive, going 80 yards in 11 plays that culminated with Morgan’s 29-yard touchdown pass to Shemar Thornton. The junior wideout used both hands afterward to throw a kiss to the crowd, and FIU led 10-0 with 3:59 left in the first quarter.
At that point, the Hurricanes had been outscored a combined 48-0 to open their three games after bye weeks.
The Canes had two shots at fourth-and-1 in the second quarter, and were stopped by a determined FIU defense both times. The first time, the Canes were 1-yard from a touchdown. The next time they got as far as the FIU 18, and were held there on second and third down as well.