Five takeaways from the FIU football team’s emotional win over La. Tech in overtime

He laughed, he cried … and he did everything in between.

FIU football coach Mike MacIntyre admitted he “teared up” following the Panthers’ 42-34 overtime win over Louisiana Tech on Friday night.

“There were a lot of hugs and carrying on down in the locker room,” MacIntyre told the media when he finally made it to the podium at 12:34 a.m., more than a half-hour after the final whistle. ”You want to enjoy those moments when you can.”

MacIntyre, in his first year at FIU, is having a lot of good moments lately. The Panthers (4-4 overall, 2-2 Conference USA) have won consecutive games for the first time all season.

Here are five takeaways on FIU football:

1: COACHING COUNTS: There’s a big sign in FIU’s locker room that reads: “Playmakers make plays, and players win games.”

There’s little doubt of that sentence’s veracity. However, coaching does show up when two teams are fairly even in talent, and that was the. case on Friday.

For example, two coaching moves by FIU special-teams coach Ricky Brumfield resulted in 10 Panthers points in the second quarter.

First, there was an onsides kick, booted by Lucas Matias and recovered by Hezekiah “Zeke” Masses.

Two plays later, Grayson James threw a TD pass to Tyrese Chandler for a 21-17 lead.

MacIntyre said he and his staff noticed that Louisiana Tech’s Smoke Harris was lined up in such a way that he could be targeted. The rest was great execution.

Then, on the last play of the first half, FIU’s Alex Nobles blocked a 29-yard field-goal attempt.

“Great job by Brumfield,” MacIntyre said. “We called timeout [before the kick] so we could change what side we were coming from. We came from the other side.”

2: BANGED-UP O-LINE: FIU was down to its fourth-string center after Julius Pierce and Ming Tjon were out due to injuries.

John Bock, FIU’s third-string center, was unavailable at that position because he was needed at guard.

So, Wyatt Larson, who only took five or six snaps at center in practice all week, took over at the position and did well.

In addition, Phillip Houston, a junior-college transfer got his first start at this level, lining up at right tackle. He stepped in for Lyndell Hudson Jr., who is out due to concussion protocol.

3: KING OF THE HILL: Safety Demetrius Hill, who had a team-high-tying 11 tackles, is feeling good about the Panthers evening their record at 4-4.

“But we’re not done yet,” Hill said. “We still want to reach for a bowl game or a league championship. We’re going big or go home. And we’re not going home.”

FIU is a remarkable 3-2 since a dreadful 73-0 loss at Western Kentucky on Sept. 24.

Hill was asked on Friday night what would happen if his Panthers got another shot at WKU.

“I don’t know what the score would be, but I really think we would win that game,” Hill said. “We played them early in the season. We didn’t have chemistry. We were young, with new faces. We needed time to mature and get with each other and build a relationship.”

4: QB1: Grayson James, who has made seven straight starts, completed 31-of-48 passes for 321 yards, three touchdowns and a two-point conversion. He was not intercepted, although Bulldogs defenders dropped several would-be picks.

“[James] had a time there [on Friday] when it wasn’t going well,” MacIntyre said. “Maybe in the past, he would’ve gotten down on himself. But he knows we believe in him.

“So, he started setting his feet. making throws, making runs.”

5: A-OK in OT: FIU is 2-0 in overtime this season, and the Panthers got a two-point conversion pass by James in both games.

On Friday, James found Kris Mitchell for the conversion pass.

“We had a play, but [the Bulldogs] covered it,” MacIntyre said. “Grayson was able to scramble and make a play.

“He started to run, but he realized he couldn’t. He kind of backed up, and [Mitchell] started to flow over, which was good.”