The last time UMass traveled to Florida International, the resulting loss spelled the beginning of the end for coach Mark Whipple.
The 63-24 beatdown the Panthers laid on the Minutemen last September in Miami was the third straight pummeling UMass received and dug a hole Whipple and the Minutemen couldn’t escape. Now, Walt Bell will lead UMass back down to Riccardo Silva Stadium on Oct. 5 to face an FIU team that is arguably the best one Butch Davis has had in his third year leading the program.
Davis has had a lot of early success at FIU after taking over a program that hadn’t had a winning season in the five years prior to his arrival. He has led the Panthers to back-to-back bowl games, including a win in last season’s Bahamas Bowl for a program-record ninth victory.
OFFENSE: If a player had the ball in his hands last season, the chances are extremely high he’s back this season for the Panthers. In addition to starting quarterback James Morgan, FIU returns its four top running backs and seven of the eight receivers who caught at least 10 passes last season.
The Panthers have an accurate, efficient signal-caller with Morgan, who is looking to build on a career season last year, his first at FIU. He threw for 2,727 yards and 26 touchdowns while completing more than 65 percent of his attempts. He grew as the season progressed with a 19-to-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio in his final eight games and completed more than two-thirds of his passes in that span.
Morgan is aided by his established chemistry with almost all of his major targets this season. Maurice Alexander and Austin Maloney combined for 70 catches, 10 touchdowns and 1,084 yards last season to lead the pack of experienced weapons returning. Also, Sterling Palmer had a standout freshman campaign with 26 catches at tight end.
Yet the key to the Panthers’ offense is the ground game that gashed the Minutemen last season. All four running backs who are back this season ran for at least 300 yards and four scores last season as they shared time in the backfield.
Anthony Jones missed seven games due to a gunshot wound last season, but returned in November and made a huge impact in the bowl win with three touchdowns and 92 yards rushing. He’ll be supported by Napoleon Maxwell, who led FIU with 684 yards last year, and D’Vontae Price, who had 560 yards and averaged more than 6 yards per carry. Shawndarrius Phillips is the fourth running back in the quartet, and nearly a third of his 393 yards last season came in the win over UMass.
DEFENSE: FIU did lose some of its defensive playmakers from last season due to graduation, but the unit still has plenty of difference makers remaining on the roster.
It all starts with Sage Lewis at middle linebacker, who made 132 tackles and broke up nine passes last season. Lewis is the leader of a group of linebackers that showed a lot of promise last season despite not compiling gaudy stats.
The Panthers are also fairly set in the secondary with a group of ball-hawking defensive backs. Four of the five backs who had multiple interceptions return this season, most notably safeties Richard Dames and Dorian Hall, who tied for the team lead with three picks. Olin Cushion III returns at the other safety spot after making 65 tackles last season, which was the third most on the team.
FIU also retains cornerback Stantley Thomas-Oliver III, who had a team-best 10 pass breakups and also made 40 tackles. His presence will put more pressure on corners like Isaiah Brown and Rishard Dames, although both players made the most of their opportunities last season.
Defensive line is the Panthers’ biggest weakness as they try to replace half of its starters and most of the impact players in the trenches. Teair Tart led FIU with four sacks and seven tackles-for-loss returns, although the defensive tackle will need to make more than 19 stops in his larger role. Noah Curtis returns as an end, and finished fourth on the squad with 49 tackles.
Josh Walfish can be reached at jwalfish@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshWalfishDHG. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.