Pinned
Link copied
FIU is 1-7 against Middle Tennessee since October of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The FIU Panthers will head out on the road to face off against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at 3:30 p.m. ET at Johnny (Red) Floyd Stadium. FIU is expected to lose this one by 11 points, so we'll see if that gives them a bit of motivation.
FIU gave up the first points and the most points two weeks ago. They ended up on the wrong side of a bruising 41-16 walloping at the hands of Jacksonville State. FIU was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 24-3.
Nobody from FIU had a standout game, but they got scores from Grayson James and Kris Mitchell.
The Panthers weren't very productive on the ground and finished the game with only 31 rushing yards. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Jacksonville State rushed for 265.
Meanwhile, Middle Tennessee was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Saturday as they fell 13-7 to New Mexico State. Middle Tennessee has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
The losing side was boosted by Nicholas Vattiato, who rushed for 96 yards, and also threw for 178 yards and a touchdown.
FIU now has a losing record at 4-5. As for Middle Tennessee, their defeat was their fifth straight on the road , which bumped their record down to 2-7.
In addition to losing their last games, the two teams failed to cover the spread. Looking ahead, Middle Tennessee is the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by 11 points. For those looking to play the spread, careful betting on Middle Tennessee: they have a less-than-stellar 3-6 record against the spread this season.
FIU came up short against Middle Tennessee in their previous meeting back in November of 2022, falling 33-28. Thankfully for FIU, Chase Cunningham (who rushed for 32 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw for 279 yards on 29 of 42 attempts) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
