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9/11 vs. Alabama
Hot start, tough defense leads FIU to season-opening win over Alabama
FIU Football News
FIU jumped out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead and used some surprisingly tough defense to hold off the visiting Alabama Crimson Tide to secure a 27-15 season-opening win.
The FIU offense, which ranked #1 in the nation last season, moved the ball at will in the 1st quarter in building their early insurmountable lead. Senior QB DeMarcus Jean hooked up with All-American junior TE Chris Hendrix for two scores and new starting RB senior Josh Chance scored on the ground as FIU led 21-0 at the end of the 1st quarter.
"We got off to such a great start," FIU head coach Kyle Borland said. "It was really impressive to see these boys come out firing right out of the gates. We struggled a little bit on offense the rest of the way, but our defense stepped up to help put the game away. Overall, I was very satisfied with the win."
Jean was the biggest name in FIU's big early lead, but he struggled in the 2nd quarter and eventually got knocked out of the game. Jean turned the ball over three times in the 2nd frame, including 2 interceptions, and then left the game due to a shoulder injury. The senior Heisman candidate finished only 7-of-16 passing for 109 yards and added 10 yards rushing.
Sophomore QB Lamont Whitworth entered as the full-time QB after Jean's injury but was not as explosive as he usually is. Whitworth ran for 60 yards on 13 attempts and completed 3-of-6 passes for 49 yards in Jean's absence. FIU managed only 6 points on two Dwight Heinz field goals for the final 3 quarters.
Chance, who is set to replace the graduated Ray Brooks, had a solid showing in his 1st career start. Chance totaled 118 yards on the ground on 28 carries and his 1st-quarter score for a good day. Fellow senior RB Alonzo Fisher added 13 yards rushing as FIU totaled 201 yards on the ground as a team.
The FIU defense was very impressive against the Alabama offense, holding them to only 204 yards of total offense and recording 7 sacks and 2 interceptions. Junior DE Harvey Diggs picked up 2 of those sacks, while sophomore MLB Nathan Jenkins nabbed 3 of his own and sophomore SS Tim Sykes recorded both interceptions.
FIU starts out 1-0 for the 3rd straight year and will look to push thier record to 2-0 for the 2nd time in the past 3 years as well. The Golden Panthers travel to face South Florida next week. FIU crushed USF 62-21 last year to start their current 11-game winning streak.
Box Score
BAMA 0 6 3 6 - 15
FIU 21 0 3 3 - 27
1st --- FIU --- Hendrix 11 pass from Jean (Heinz kick)
1st --- FIU --- Chance 10 run (Heinz kick)
1st --- FIU --- Hendrix 12 pass from Jean (Heinz kick)
2nd --- BAMA --- Jennings 35 FG
2nd --- BAMA --- Jennings 48 FG
3rd --- FIU --- Heinz 35 FG
3rd --- BAMA --- Jennings 37 FG
4th --- BAMA --- Bell 50 run (conversion failed)
4th --- FIU --- Heinz 45 FG
Team Stats
1st Downs: BAMA --- 10 ... FIU --- 22
Total Offense: BAMA --- 204 ... FIU --- 359
Rushes-Yards: BAMA --- 21-82 ... FIU --- 50-201
Passing (C-A-I): BAMA --- 15-29-2 ... FIU --- 10-22-2
Pass Yards: BAMA --- 122 ... FIU --- 158
Times Sacked: BAMA --- 7 ... FIU --- 3
3rd Down Conversions: BAMA --- 1-11 ... FIU --- 6-14
Turnovers: BAMA --- 2 ... FIU --- 4
Individual Stats
ALABAMA
Arnold Cribbs, QB --- 15 - 29 - 122 yds, 2 INT
Chad Bell, RB --- 6 att. - 97 yds, TD
Seth Gaither, RB --- 4 att. - 13 yds
Antoine Hairston, TE --- 5 rec. - 45 yds
Paul Griffin, SS --- 9 tkls, INT
Josh Dailey, DT --- 9 tkls (7 TFL), 1 sack
Lawrence Bailey, DE --- 8 tkls (2 TFL), 2 sacks, FF
FIU
Jean, QB --- 7 - 16 - 109 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT; 4 att. - 10 yds
Whitworth, QB --- 3 - 6 - 49 yds; 13 att. - 60 yds
Chance, RB --- 28 att. - 118 yds, TD
Fisher, RB --- 5 att. - 13 yds
Arnold, WR --- 5 rec. - 103 yds
Hendrix, TE --- 2 rec. - 23 yds, 2 TD
Lloyd, WR --- 2 rec. - 26 yds
Hunter, OLB --- 5 tkls
Diggs, DE --- 5 tkls (2 TFL), 2 sacks
Jenkins, MLB --- 4 tkls (3 TFL), 3 sacks
Sykes, SS --- 4 tkls, 2 INT
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