FIU football set for home opener vs. Central Michigan at newly named Pitbull Stadium
FIU is looking to avoid any pitfalls at Pitbull Stadium.
The Panthers (0-1) are set to play their 2024 home opener against non-conference opponent Central Michigan (1-0) on Saturday at 6 p.m. (ESPN+).
This will be FIU’s first home game since its home field was renamed Pitbull Stadium in honor of the bilingual rapper who donated $1.2 million per season, minimum five years, to become the celebrity face (and voice) of the program.
“We’re excited about our first game at Pitbull Stadium,” FIU coach Mike MacIntyre said. “That’s a big deal for us.”
Here are five takeaways regarding FIU football:
1. FOR STARTERS
FIU is just 9-13 in home openers. However, the Panthers have won three straight home openers, beating Long Island, Bryant and Maine.
A couple of caveats: All three of those victims were FCS teams. Also, in its two home openers under MacIntyre, the Panthers won those contests by a total of just three points. They beat Bryant, 38-37, in 2022. Last year, FIU beat Maine, 14-12.
2. CENTRAL MICHIGAN FAVORED
Last week, FIU lost to Indiana of the Big Ten Conference, 31-7. That margin of defeat was exactly the same as FIU experienced last year when it lost to another Power Four conference team: Arkansas, 44-20.
Meanwhile, Central Michigan routed an inferior FCS squad, beating Central Connecticut State, 66-10.
So … it’s hard to know what to make of FIU or Central Michigan, although FanDuel SportsBook has made the Panthers 6½-points underdogs.
3. THESE TEAMS HAVE HISTORY
FIU hasn’t faced a Mid-American Conference team since Butch Davis was the Panthers’ coach in 2021. The Panthers, who went 1-11 that year, lost at Central Michigan, 31-27.
Remarkably, the Panthers blew a 27-10, fourth-quarter lead in that game.
Central Michigan finished that season 9-4, including a Sun Bowl win over Washington State.
Since then, the Chippewas have had two straight losing seasons at 4-8 and 5-7.
4. KEY MATCHUP
FIU will try to stop Central Michigan quarterback, Joey Labas, who spent the past three years mostly riding the bench at Iowa.
He played just one game at Iowa. As a redshirt freshman in 2022, he led Iowa to a 21-0 Music City Bowl win over Kentucky. Labas completed 14-of-24 passes for 139 yards with one touchdown pass and no interceptions.
Last week, in his Central Michigan debut, Labas completed 18-of-24 passes for 342 yards, three TDs and no interceptions.
5. EVANS KNOWS
Safety JoJo Evans, who redshirted last season, made his FIU debut on Saturday, leading the Panthers with 11 tackles.
However, Evans said this week that he “left some plays” on the field.
“After sitting out a year, I missed two or three tackles,” Evans said, “and I dropped an interception. You live, and you learn.”
Evans is highly experienced. He played 17 games for Marshall (2020-2021). In 2022, he started 11 games for Kent State, a Mid-American Conference rival of Central Michigan.
Although he didn’t face the Chippewas that season, Evans knows their style.
“MAC football is always ground and pound,” Evans said of the league. “They are going to try to run the ball and probably try to attack what we put on film (against Indiana). But we’re fixing the little things, and we’ll see what happens.”
