2020 FIU Panthers football team

The 2020 FIU Panthers football team represented Florida International University (FIU) in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Panthers played their home games at Riccardo Silva Stadium in Miami, Florida, and competed in the East Division of Conference USA (C-USA). They were led by fourth-year head coach Butch Davis. The season was notably truncated due to several cancellations stemming from the effects of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

2020 FIU Panthers football
Conference	Conference USA
Division	East Division
Record	0–5 (0–3 C-USA)
Head coach	Butch Davis (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Rich Skrosky (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Co-defensive coordinator	Jeff Copp (2nd season)
Co-defensive coordinator	Jerod Kruse (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Riccardo Silva Stadium
Seasons ← 2019 2021 →

2020 Conference USA football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Marshall xy		4	–	1					7	–	3
Florida Atlantic		4	–	2					5	–	4
Western Kentucky		4	–	3					5	–	7
Charlotte		2	–	2					2	–	4
Middle Tennessee		2	–	4					3	–	6
FIU		0	–	3					0	–	5
West Division
UAB xy$		3	–	1					6	–	3
UTSA		5	–	2					7	–	5
Louisiana Tech		4	–	2					5	–	5
North Texas		3	–	4					4	–	6
Rice		2	–	3					2	–	3
Southern Miss		2	–	4					3	–	7
UTEP		0	–	4					3	–	5
Championship: UAB 22, Marshall 13
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Note: Due to COVID-19, Old Dominion opted out of the season.

Schedule

This years season intended to feature nine games. FIU had scheduled Old Dominion and UMass, which were canceled. Both schools would not play football in the fall over concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[1] Although UMass reversed their decision they intend to schedule and play a limited number of football games this fall.^[2] UCF was also scheduled for September 12, 2020 but later called off due to FIU choosing to resume athletics on September 16, 2020.^[3] On November 3, 2020, the game against UTEP was canceled due to positive testing of COVID-19.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 26	1:00 p.m.	at Liberty*	Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA	ESPNU	L 34–36	1,000
October 10	4:00 p.m.	Middle Tennessee	Riccardo Silva Stadium Miami, FL	ESPNU	L 28–31	2,213
October 23	7:00 p.m.	Jacksonville State*	Riccardo Silva Stadium Miami, FL	ESPN3	L 10–19	1,041
November 13	7:00 p.m.	Florida Atlantic	Riccardo Silva Stadium Miami, FL (Shula Bowl)	CBSSN	L 19–38	1,512
November 21	2:00 p.m.	at Western Kentucky	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	ESPN3	L 21–38	3,823
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 24 released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

Schedule Source:^[4][5]

Game summaries

At Liberty

Florida International at Liberty

1 2 3 4 Total Panthers 14 0 14 6 34 • Flames 14 0 13 9 36 Date: September 26, 2020 Location: Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA Game start: 1:05 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 19 minutes Game attendance: 1,000 Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C) • Weather: Cloudy • Wind: 3 E MPH Referee: Riley Johnson TV announcers (ESPNU): Matt Warner (play–by–play), Joe Jauch (analyst), and Emily Austen (sideline reporter)

Scoring summary 1 14:51 FIU Lexington Joseph 100-yard kickoff returned (Chase Gabriel kick) (0 plays, 0 yards, 0:09) FIU 7–0 12:40 LIB Noah Fritch 24-yard pass from Malik Willis (Alex Barbir kick) (5 plays, 75 yards, 2:11) TIE 7–7 05:20 LIB Peyton Pickett 2-yard rush (Alex Barbir kick) (10 plays, 57 yards, 5:51) LIB 14–7 02:16 FIU D'vonte Price 30-yard rush (Chase Gabriel kick) (8 plays, 82 yards, 3:04) TIE 14–14 3 12:26 LIB Alex Barbir 27-yard field goal (6 plays, 66 yards, 2:34) LIB 17–14 08:37 LIB DJ Stubbs 14-yard pass from Malik Willis (Alex Barbir kick) (6 plays, 61 yards, 2:23) LIB 24–14 08:02 FIU D'vonte Price 65-yard rush (Chase Gabriel kick) (2 plays, 79 yards, 0:35) LIB 24–21 04:35 LIB Alex Barbir 21-yard field goal (9 plays, 72 yards, 3:27) LIB 27–21 01:42 FIU Bryce Singelton 45-yard pass from Stone Norton (Chase Gabriel kick) (7 plays, 75 yards, 2:53) FIU 28–27 4 12:27 LIB Joshua Mack 2-yard rush (two-point conversion rush attempt failed) (9 plays, 75 yards, 4:15) LIB 33–28 06:32 LIB Alex Barbir 27-yard field goal (7 plays, 73 yards, 3:12) LIB 36–28 04:30 FIU D'vonte Price 6-yard pass from Stone Norton (two-point conversion pass attempt failed) (4 plays, 33 yards, 2:02) LIB 36–34

See also: 2020 Liberty Flames football team

Pregame line	Over/under
LIB –7	59[6]

Statistics	FIU	Liberty
First downs	16	31
Total yards	304	527
Rushing yards	168	219
Passing yards	136	308
Turnovers	0	0
Time of possession	22:39	37:21

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
FIU	Passing	Stone Norton	9/13, 120 yards, 2 TDs
	Rushing	D'Vonte Price	13 carries, 148 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Bryce Singleton	2 receptions, 50 yards, 1 TD
Liberty	Passing	Malik Willis	24/30, 285 yards, 2 TDs
	Rushing	Joshua Mack	13 carries, 107 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	DJ Stubbs	8 receptions, 119 yards, 1 TD

Middle Tennessee

Middle Tennessee at Florida International

1 2 3 4 Total • Blue Raiders 0 17 7 7 31 Panthers 7 7 14 0 28 Date: October 10, 2020 Location: Riccardo Silva Stadium Miami, FL Game start: 4:02 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 31 minutes Game attendance: 2,213 Game weather: 89 °F (32 °C) • Weather: Partly Cloudy • Wind: NE 10 MPH Referee: Kevin Randall TV announcers (ESPNU): Clay Matvick (play–by–play) and Rocky Boiman (analyst)

Scoring summary 1 12:09 FIU Shaun Peterson Jr. 1-yard rush (Chase Gabriel kick) (4 plays, 23 yards, 1:41) FIU 7–0 2 13:57 MTSU Asher O'Hara 4-yard rush (Crews Holt kick) (12 plays, 80 yards, 5:20) TIE 7–7 09:09 MTSU Asher O'Hara 1-yard rush (Crews Holt kick) (5 plays, 64 yards, 1:38) MTSU 14–7 08:53 FIU Shaun Peterson Jr. 63-yard rush (Chase Gabriel kick) (1 play, 78 yards, 0:16) TIE 14–14 00:53 MTSU Crews Holt 44-yard field goal (9 plays, 46 yards, 3:42) MTSU 17–14 3 06:54 FIU Nate Jefferson 7-yard rush (Chase Gabriel kick) (5 plays, 36 yards, 2:06) FIU 21–17 00:28 MTSU CJ Windham 6-yard pass from Asher O'Hara (Crews Holt kick) (10 plays, 76 yards, 3:15) MTSU 24–21 00:11 FIU D'vonte Price 65-yard rush (Chase Gabriel kick) (1 play, 65 yards, 0:17) FIU 28–24 4 01:20 MTSU Jarrin Pierce 12-yard pass from Asher O'Hara (Crews Holt kick) (8 plays, 59 yards, 3:26) MTSU 31–28

See also: 2020 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team

Pregame line	Over/under
FIU –6.5	57[7]

Statistics	Middle Tennessee	FIU
First downs	23	15
Total yards	404	328
Rushing yards	136	270
Passing yards	268	58
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	31:46	28:14

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Middle Tennessee	Passing	Asher O'Hara	23/42, 268 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
	Rushing	Asher O'Hara	23 carries, 106 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Jarrin Pierce	5 receptions, 80 yards, 1 TD
FIU	Passing	Kaylan Wiggins	5/15, 37 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	Shaun Peterson Jr.	15 carries, 117 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Nate Jefferson	2 receptions, 19 yards

Jacksonville State

Jacksonville State at Florida International

1 2 3 4 Total • Gamecocks 3 10 3 3 19 Panthers 3 0 7 0 10 Date: October 23, 2020 Location: Riccardo Silva Stadium Miami, FL Game start: 7:00 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 3 hours Game attendance: 1,041 Game weather: 86 °F (30 °C) • Weather: Mostly Cloudy • Wind: E 10 MPH Referee: Jonathan Noli TV announcers (ESPN3): A. J. Ricketts (play–by–play) and Cam Lynch (analyst)

Scoring summary 1 09:45 FIU Chase Gabriel 37-yard field goal (6 plays, 20 yards, 2:10) FIU 3–0 05:58 JSU Alen Karajic 30-yard field goal (10 plays, 62 yards, 3:47) TIE 3–3 2 11:43 JSU Josh Samuel 2-yard rush (Alen Karajic kick) (14 plays, 98 yards, 7:32) JSU 10–3 02:08 JSU Alen Karajic 39-yard field goal (12 plays, 55 yards, 6:35) JSU 13–3 3 09:53 JSU Alen Karajic 20-yard field goal (11 plays, 72 yards, 5:07) JSU 16–3 02:28 FIU Nate Jefferson 6-yard pass from Stone Norton (Chase Gabriel kick) (7 plays, 63 yards, 3:00) JSU 16–10 4 02:35 JSU Alen Karajic 23-yard field goal (14 plays, 66 yards, 7:22) JSU 19–10

See also: 2020 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team

Pregame line	Over/under
FIU –10	56[8]

Statistics	Jacksonville State	FIU
First downs	26	6
Total yards	444	156
Rushing yards	285	72
Passing yards	159	84
Turnovers	0	1
Time of possession	42:16	17:44

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Jacksonville State	Passing	Zion Webb	12/17, 103 yards
	Rushing	Josh Samuel	25 carries, 163 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Ahmad Edwards	3 receptions, 62 yards
FIU	Passing	Stone Norton	5/14, 66 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	D'Vonte Price	9 carries, 43 yards
	Receiving	Nate Jefferson	2 receptions, 38 yards, 1 TD

Florida Atlantic

Florida Atlantic at Florida International

1 2 3 4 Total • Owls 7 17 0 14 38 Panthers 0 10 0 9 19 Date: November 13, 2020 Location: Riccardo Silva Stadium Miami, FL Game start: 7:00 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 3 hours and 26 minutes Game attendance: 1,512 Game weather: 79 °F (26 °C) • Weather: Overcast • Wind: ENE 7 MPH Referee: Chris Bynum TV announcers (CBS Sports Network): John Sadak (play–by–play) and Randy Cross (analyst)

Scoring summary 1 11:35 FAU LaJohntay Wester 11-yard pass from Javion Posey (Vladimir Rivas kick) (8 plays, 75 yards, 3:25) FAU 7–0 2 13:17 FAU Vladimir Rivas 43-yard field goal (9 plays, 48 yards, 3:07) FAU 10–0 13:01 FIU D'Vonte Price 77-yard rush (Chase Gabriel kick) (1 play, 77 yards, 0:16) FAU 10–7 11:11 FIU Chase Gabriel 41-yard field goal (4 plays, 4 yards, 1:42) TIE 10–10 09:52 FAU Malcolm Davidson 37-yard rush (Vladimir Rivas kick) (4 plays, 75 yards, 1:19) FAU 17–10 01:41 FAU Brandon Robinson 5-yard pass from Javion Posey (Vladimir Rivas kick) (8 plays, 70 yards, 2:54) FAU 24–10 4 14:09 FIU Chase Gabriel 21-yard field goal (15 plays, 79 yards, 6:26) FAU 24–13 12:41 FAU James Charles 32-yard rush (Vladimir Rivas kick) (4 plays, 68 yards, 1:28) FAU 31–13 02:29 FAU Javion Posey 2-yard rush (Vladimir Rivas kick) (12 plays, 78 yards, 6:02) FAU 38–13 01:55 FIU Rivaldo Fairweather 67-yard pass from Max Bortenschlager (Max Bortenschlager two-point pass conversion attempt failed) (3 plays, 67 yards, 0:34) FAU 38–19

See also: 2020 Florida Atlantic Owls football team

Pregame line	Over/under
FAU –9.5	42[9]

Statistics	Florida Atlantic	FIU
First downs	22	15
Total yards	461	348
Rushing yards	381	156
Passing yards	80	192
Turnovers	1	0
Time of possession	31:28	28:32

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Florida Atlantic	Passing	Javion Posey	10/16, 80 yards, 2 TDs
	Rushing	Javion Posey	18 carries, 182 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	TJ Chase	1 reception, 28 yards
FIU	Passing	Max Bortenschlager	11/21, 149 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	D'Vonte Price	26 carries, 178 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Rivaldo Fairweather	7 receptions, 116 yards, 1 TD

At Western Kentucky

Florida International at Western Kentucky

1 2 3 4 Total Panthers 7 6 0 8 21 • Hilltoppers 0 10 14 14 38 Date: November 21, 2020 Location: Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY Game start: 2:05 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 3 hours and 14 minutes Game attendance: 3,823 Game weather: 66 °F (19 °C) • Weather: Mostly Cloudy • Wind: S 5 MPH Referee: Joe Lehring TV announcers (ESPN3): Nate Gatter (play–by–play) and Brandon Doughty (analyst)

Scoring summary 1 08:40 FIU JJ Holloman 28-yard pass from Max Bortenschlager (Chase Gabriel kick) (9 plays, 52 yards, 3:36) FIU 7–0 2 10:33 WKU Brayden Narveson 39-yard field goal (9 plays, 55 yards, 3:41) FIU 7–3 10:19 FIU EJ Wilson Jr. 100-yard kickoff returned (Chase Gabriel PAT failed) (0 plays, 0 yards, 0:00) FIU 13–3 00:43 WKU Tyrrell Pigrome 1-yard rush (Brayden Narveson kick) (8 plays, 65 yards, 3:11) FIU 13–10 3 09:25 WKU Roger Cray 19-yard fumble returned (Brayden Narveson kick) (6 plays, 18 yards, 2:34) WKU 17–13 09:08 WKU Eli Brown 22-yard interception returned (Brayden Narveson kick) (1 play, 0 yards, 0:08) WKU 24–13 4 13:54 WKU Gaej Walker 1-yard rush (Brayden Narveson kick) (3 plays, 59 yards, 0:56) WKU 31–13 09:23 WKU Tyrrell Pigrome 4-yard rush (Brayden Narveson kick) (4 plays, 44 yards, 1:27) WKU 38–13 00:18 FIU Kaylan Wiggins 1-yard rush (Kaylan Wiggins two-point conversion rush) (21 plays, 75 yards, 9:05) WKU 38–21

See also: 2020 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

Pregame line	Over/under
WKU –7	42[10]

Statistics	FIU	Western Kentucky
First downs	17	13
Total yards	268	278
Rushing yards	121	157
Passing yards	147	121
Turnovers	2	0
Time of possession	33:51	26:09

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
FIU	Passing	Max Bortenschlager	8/18, 106 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	D'Vonte Price	24 carries, 100 yards
	Receiving	JJ Holloman	2 receptions, 54 yards, 1 TD
Western Kentucky	Passing	Tyrrell Pigrome	14/25, 121 yards
	Rushing	Gaej Walker	17 carries, 127 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Mitchell Tinsley	3 receptions, 28 yards

References

1. "Old Dominion postponing football and fall sports". The Virginian Pilot. August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
2. "UMass reverses call, to play limited fall schedule". ESPN.com. September 21, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
3. "UCF football schedule in flux after FIU game is called off". Orlando Sentinel. August 14, 2020.
4. "2020 Football Schedule". FIU Athletics. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
5. "2020 Florida International Panthers Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
6. "FIU Panthers vs Liberty Flames". Odds Shark. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
7. "Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders vs FIU Panthers". Odds Shark. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
8. "Jacksonville State Gamecocks vs FIU Panthers". Odds Shark. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
9. "Florida Atlantic Owls vs FIU Panthers". Odds Shark. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
10. "FIU Panthers vs WKU Hilltoppers". Odds Shark. Retrieved December 29, 2020.