Rain Drowns Out “Sunblazers,” Jacksonville St. Trounces FIU 41-16

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Miami, Fla. | The FIU Panthers (4-4, 1-4 C-USA) hosted the Jacksonville State Gamecocks (6-2, 4-1 C-USA) in a Wednesday night conference matchup. The teams’ previous battle was back in 2020, when JSU outlasted FIU 19-10. The Gamecocks have impressed this season in their first year at the FBS level, with losses only to Coastal Carolina and Liberty. 

To add some excitement (to the mostly empty bleachers at FIU Stadium), the Panthers repped some retro “Sunblazers” helmet decals and field design. Not to mention the PA Announcer continued to refer to FIU as the “Sunblazers” the entire night. Almost added insult to injury in my humble opinion.

The Panthers received the opening kickoff, and RB Shomari Lawrence quickly gashed the JSU defense for 9 yards, followed by a short scramble for a first down by QB Keyone “Lyghtz Out” Jenkins. Nothing doing from there, however, as JSU DE Chris Hardie sacked Jenkins on 3rd & 10 to force a punt.

QB Zion Webb and Co. immediately got to work: RB Anwar Lewis skirted through the Panthers’ front-7 and got the edge for a gain of 21 yards, Webb completed to WR PJ Wells for 17 yards, and Webb fooled the entire Panthers D with a 13-yard QB keeper to start with a 7-0 lead. Efficient first drive.

After an FIU three-and-out, the Panthers defense seemed to hold the Gamecocks, but in a last ditch “running for his life” scramble, JSU’s Webb heaved up a prayer and DB D’Verick Daniel couldn’t get his eyes back to the ball and was called for pass interference. Bail out first down. Two plays later, RB Ron Wiggins rushed for a 22-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 14-0 with only 6:23 left in the 1^st quarter. 5 plays, 61 yards, 1:22.

Jax State forced another three-and-out, and the rain started POURING DOWN—an unfortunate obstacle for this FIU offense that couldn’t sustain any drives in the 1^st quarter. But the rain didn’t faze Webb and JSU: RB Malik Jackson showed some great ballcarrier vision behind the line of scrimmage, jump-cutting and juking his way through the FIU D-Line for 8- and 10-yard gains. After another steady drive,  on 2^nd & 8 from the 9-yard line, Webb rolled out to his right and dumped it off to TE Sean Brown in the flats for a walk-in TD. 21-0 JSU.

Lyghtz Out and the Panthers O seemed to catch a break with a roughing the passer call, but DT Jeff Marks came up with a sack on Jenkins for a 15-yard loss… which eventually resulted in a 4^th & 26 punt. WR Sterling Galban muffed the punt, but JSU WR Jordan McCants made a heads-up play to recover. Finally, FIU showed some fight forcing a three-and-out of their own, capped off by a DL Jordan Guerad sack.

After starting 0-3 passing, Jenkins converted a crucial 3^rd & 3 with a short pass over the middle to WR Eric Rivers for 14 yards. Lawrence rushed for 5 and Jenkins hit Rivers again for 4. On 3^rd & 1, Lawrence burst through the middle of the JSU bear front for a 17-yard gain, only getting caught by S Jeremiah Harris on a shoestring tackle. The newfound momentum didn’t last though, as Jenkins couldn’t connect on a deep shot to WR Kris Mitchell, and Lawrence nor RB Kejon Owens could get anything going on the ground. Still, K Chase Gabriel cashed in on an impressive 50-yard FG in windy conditions to put FIU on the board. 21-3 JSU.

Webb immediately got back to work. He laced a rocket on the run in between two FIU DBs to Wells for a 15-yard gain. Not to mention he was throwing into the wind. JSU took a few deep shots but couldn’t connect, punting it back to the Panthers.

After another FIU three-and-out, JSU’s Lewis made an outstanding diving catch on a HB wheel to convert 3^rd & 2, picking up 9 yards. FIU’s defense stepped up this time with LB Reggie Peterson stopping Webb on a short scramble on 3^rd & 11 to give Lyghtz Out and the FIU offense a two-minute drill opportunity to close out the first half. Another FIU three-and-out…

With no timeouts and only 1:28 to go, JSU appeared to want to run the clock out. However, on 2^nd down, Webb kept it himself for a 29-yard gain to get into FIU territory. Webb followed with a beautiful pass on a go route to WR Quinton Lane for 30 yards, and with 8 seconds left, K Alen Karajic chipped in a 28-yard FG to extend the lead to 24-3.

After halftime, FIU came out of the locker room with a little more pep in their step. Although JSU converted a 4^th & Inches on a “tush push” QB sneak, the Panthers defense didn’t allow another yard, forcing a punt.

In a surprising move, FIU trotted out QB Grayson James in relief of Lyghtz Out. On 1^st & 10, James completed to Mitchell, but S Fred Perry forced an immediate fumble and LB J-Rock Swain recovered at the FIU 25-yard line. The drive stalled, but Jax State picked up a free three points off the foot of Karajic. 27-3 Gamecocks.

FINALLY, FIU gained a spark! James lofted a perfect spiral down the sideline to Mitchell for a South Florida-patented BLURRRR that went for 60 yards. The Panthers picked up another first down after three consecutive rushes by Lawrence to set up on the JSU 2-yard line, and James punched in a QB sneak of his own to score FIU’s first TD of the game. The score was now 27-9 after an unsuccessful two-point conversion.

The FIU defense carried that momentum over and came up with a three-and-out of their own, aided by a poor snap over the head of Webb that put JSU in a difficult situation. James got back out slinging it, connecting with Mitchell on a quick hitch that resulted in a 20-yard gain after the catch and run. James sat back again, now seeming to have all the time in the world to sit in the pocket, and connected with Rivers for 6 yards. But a holding penalty pushed FIU back to a 3^rd & 14 and a handoff to Lawrence put the Sunblazers in a difficult 4^th & 9 inside the JSU 40-yard line. FIU GOES FOR IT, and just when it looks like James is getting sacked, he throws across his body to WR Rocky Beers who converts with a 19-yard gain.

After a pair of QB sneaks to pick up another first down (3^rd & 1, 4^th & Inches), James floated a fade ball to Mitchell who absolutely MOSSED his defender, managing to get a foot down for the 8-yard TD score. 27-16.

The FIU defense came up with another big stop, and we now got a ballgame. Trailing by 11 points with the 4^th quarter to go. Who would’ve thought after the lackluster start?

P Jack Dawson pinned a beauty to the FIU 9-yard line, and the rain picked back up as James and the offense took the field.

James quickly connected with WR Dean Patterson who stiff-armed a defender and ran away to pick up 21 yards. Unfortunately for Panthers fans, James followed by taking two poor sacks that put FIU in a 4^th & 19. And an opportune muffed punt and recovery by FIU was negated by a kick catch interference call, setting up JSU across midfield. The small crowd actually filled the stadium with boos, here.

Webb quickly scampered for 30 yards on a QB keeper, and Wiggins caught the edge to punch it in on an unscathed 16-yard TD. 34-16 Jax State. Absolutely devastating for the Sunblazers.

James completed a critical 4^th & 6 pass to Josiah Miamen for 15 yards, and the rain started coming down even harder. Ironic weather for Sunblazers day. On another 4^th down attempt, this time 4^th & 15, James ran for his life but the ball slipped out of his hand on a last ditch pass attempt, recovered by LB Quae Drake, who was likely singing “Hold On, We’re Going Home” to his teammates after dealing the dagger. Webb rushed for another TD on a 3-yard QB keeper, and that’s all she wrote.

FINAL SCORE:
Jacksonville State beats FIU 41-16

GAME TAKEAWAYS:
FIU: The “Sunblazers” kept pounding inside zone straight into the brick wall of the JSU bear front, headlined by NG Jeff Marks, DT Jackson Luttrell, and DE Chris Hardie. Side note: the insistence of continuing to use the “Sunblazers” moniker while getting blown out in front of an empty crowd didn’t really sit well with me. Especially when it was time for the “Dance Cam…” just embarrassing. While the FIU offense looked better after their halftime adjustments, I don’t believe benching Jenkins was the difference maker. James sparked the offense and scored their first touchdown of the game, but Jenkins didn’t have much to work with in terms of play-calling in the first half. 1^st down run for 1 yard. 2^nd down run for nothing to a yard. 3^rd & 10. Neither QB was really put in a position to succeed with the exception being James connected on that 60-yard bomb.

FIU somehow still had a chance after that, but the catch interference call on what would have been a field-flipper in an 11-point game sucked the remaining energy out of the Panthers. They immediately allowed a quick and easy TD and couldn’t recover. James provided a spark to this offense, though, and one wonders whether they stick with him or go back to Jenkins.

Overall, this team has talent and potential to compete in C-USA but the Panthers are far too inconsistent and undisciplined. The Panthers picked up 8 penalties for 80 yards and rushed for only 23 yards (59 yards when adjusted to exclude sacks…not much better). FIU falls to 4-5 and is among the bottom dwellers of C-USA (1-5 conference record).

Jacksonville State: The Gamecocks dominated on the ground on both sides in the first half. The combination of Webb, Wiggins, Lewis, and Jackson gashed the FIU defense with ease. The defense dominated in the FIU backfield, yet the pass rush was much more conservative in the second half, sometimes only rushing three down linemen. This gave James all day to throw, who in his own right, displayed poise, comfort, and an innate ability to extend plays. Noticeably, however, a 5-man rush with just a single blitzer caused issues for James and it makes one wonder why they didn’t keep their foot on the gas into the second half. Webb couldn’t be stopped all night—a true dual-threat QB—rushing 20 times for 125 yards and 2 TDs, and passing for 105 yards and a TD.

The Gamecocks are a disciplined football team, only picking up 1 penalty for 15 yards. However, to beat their better opponents, including next weekend’s game at South Carolina (in a battle of the Gamecocks), Webb needs to become a more efficient passer. His legs made up for his inefficiency through the air today, but 9-19 isn’t going to cut it against an SEC defense. Nevertheless, JSU is now 7-2 and is en route to rematch Liberty in the C-USA championship, so long they get past Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State after traveling to Columbia, SC.