SAN MARCOS, Texas — In preparation for this weekend's football game at Florida International, below are five talking points to preview the Panthers:
GOING, GOING, GONE
D'vonte Price is a home run threat waiting to go yard every time he carries the football. Last week against Long Island, the senior running back out of Punta Gorda, Fla., by way of Charlotte High School had five carries for 165 yards and three touchdowns. Price had three carries (24, 37 and 8 yards) on the Panthers' first three of offensive plays. Later in the game's opening quarter, he rushed for a 68-yard touchdown. His last carry of the contest came with 5:47 left before halftime when he carried the rock 28 yards for his third score on the afternoon.
Price enters Saturday's contest with a 33.3 yards per rush average, which leads the C-USA. With his rushing performance against Long Island, Price now has the seventh-most rushing yards in a career in FIU history.
FLIPPING THE FIELD
Florida International has a game-changing threat in punter Tommy Heatherly. Heatherly was named to the Ray Guy Award Watch List in July after starting five games in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. In those five games, Heatherly earned a 44.38 yards per punt with 10 punts over 50 yards in 32 attempts. His 44.38 yards per punt average last season set the program mark for highest single-season average.
Hetherly, a Grove, Okla., native, was the only Group of Five punter to be named a Ray Guy Semifinalist in 2020.
QUICK AND EASY
Against Long Island, Florida International had eight total scoring drives. Of those eight drives, five lasted under two minutes with two more lasting between 2:00 and 2:31. The longest scoring drive for the Panthers lasted 3:34 and covered 73 yards in eight players that was capped by a 12-yard scoring toss. All of FIU's first-half scoring drives did not last more than three plays or last longer than 1:16.
JUST THE FIRST TIME
Last week's 48-10 win over Long Island on Thursday, Sept. 2 marked the first time under head coach Butch Davis that Florida International won its season-opening football contest. The Panthers suffered a loss at UCF to open the 2017 season, loss against Indiana to start the 2018 season, suffered road woes at Tulane to begin the 2019 campaign, then dropped a 2-point game at Liberty last season.
The Panthers have not won its second game of the season since beating Old Dominion 28-20 on Sept. 8, 2018.
