A new era of IU football has arrived.
First year head coach Curt Cignetti has rejuvenated the Indiana program, and his new look Hoosiers kick off the 2024 season at home against the Florida International Panthers on Saturday afternoon.
Here’s everything you need to know about the week one contest.
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL (0-0) at INDIANA (0-0)
- Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. Eastern, Saturday
- Location: Bloomington, Ind., Memorial Stadium (52,626; field turf)
- Television: BTN — Joe Beninati (pbp), Matt Barkley (analyst), Shane Sparks (sideline)
- Stream: Fox Sports
- Radio: IU Football radio network
- Odds: Indiana is a 22-point favorite
- Weather at kickoff: 80 degrees, isolated thunderstorms, wind 5 mph, 34% chance of precipitation.
- Series: Indiana leads 3-0 (last meeting, Indiana 38 FIU 28, 2018)
- The Coaches:
- Curt Cignetti is in his first year as the head coach at IU. He holds a 119-35 record in 13 seasons as a head coach.
- Mike MacIntyre is 54-80 in 12 seasons as a head coach. This is his third year at FIU, where he holds an 8-16 mark.
A new era begins. pic.twitter.com/wmEYdxt26l
— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) August 31, 2024
IU Football Week One Coverage:
- ‘He didn’t think he would play again’: Cedarius Doss overcame major health scare on his path to Indiana football
- Staff picks: Final score predictions for the 2024 IU football season
- Radio show: Curt Cignetti and Scott Dolson join Don Fischer for first 2024 edition
- Improved play from line, CB Jamier Johnson has Curt Cignetti feeling better about defense
- Not so fast my friend: IU football has hired coaches who never suffered a losing season before
- Watch: IU football coach Curt Cignetti previews season opener with Rhett Lewis
- East 17th Street Ep. 2: IU football 2024 game-by-game predictions
- Here’s the gameday timeline for IU football’s home opener, overview of concession options
- Whoosiers: IU football’s experienced newcomers, young new staff stand out nationally
- Watch: IU football coach Curt Cignetti Monday Q&A — Florida International Week
TALE OF THE TAPE — 2023 STATS
THE COMPLETE BIG TEN WEEK ONE SLATE
| Date | Matchup | Time (ET) | Location | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday, Aug. 29 | Howard at Rutgers | 6 p.m. | Piscataway, N.J. | Big Ten Network |
| North Carolina at Minnesota | 8 p.m. | Minneapolis, Minn. | FOX | |
| Eastern Illinois at Illinois | 9 p.m. | Champaign, Ill. | Big Ten Network | |
| Friday, Aug. 30 | FAU at Michigan State | 7 p.m. | East Lansing, Mich. | Big Ten Network |
| Western Michigan at Wisconsin | 9 p.m. | Madison, Wis. | FS1 | |
| Saturday, Aug. 31 | Penn State at West Virginia | Noon | Morgantown, W. Va. | FOX |
| Indiana State at Purdue | Noon | West Lafayette, Ind. | Big Ten Network | |
| Illinois State at Iowa | Noon | Iowa City, Iowa | Big Ten Network | |
| Connecticut at Maryland | Noon | College Park, Md. | FS1 | |
| FIU at Indiana | 3:30 p.m. | Bloomington, Ind. | Big Ten Network | |
| Akron at Ohio State | 3:30 p.m. | Columbus, Ohio | CBS | |
| Miami (OH) at Northwestern | 3:30 p.m. | Evanston, Ill. | Big Ten Network | |
| UTEP at Nebraska | 3:30 p.m. | Lincoln, Neb. | FOX | |
| Idaho at Oregon | 7:30 p.m. | Eugene, Ore. | Big Ten Network | |
| Fresno State at Michigan | 7:30 p.m. | Ann Arbor, Mich. | NBC | |
| UCLA at Hawaii | 7:30 p.m. | Honolulu, Hawaii | CBS | |
| Weber State at Washington | 11:00 p.m. | Seattle, Wash. | Big Ten Network | |
| Sunday, Sept. 1 | USC vs. LSU | 7:30 p.m. | Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, Nev. | ABC |
FIU 2023 RESULTS
| Date | * | Opponent | Location | Time/Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/26/2023 | * | at Louisiana Tech | Ruston, La. | L 17-22 |
| 9/2/2023 | Maine | Miami, Fla. | W 14-12 | |
| 9/9/2023 | North Texas | Miami, Fla. | W 46-39 | |
| 9/16/2023 | at UConn | East Hartford, Conn. | W 24-17 | |
| 9/23/2023 | * | Liberty | Miami, Fla. | L 6-38 |
| 10/4/2023 | * | at New Mexico State | Las Cruces, N.M. | L 17-34 |
| 10/11/2023 | * | UTEP | Miami, Fla. | L 14-27 |
| 10/18/2023 | * | at Sam Houston | Huntsville | W 33-27 (2OT) |
| 10/25/2023 | * | Jacksonville State | Miami, Fla. | L 16-41 |
| 11/11/2023 | * | at MTSU | Murfreesboro, Tenn. | L 6-40 |
| 11/18/2023 | at Arkansas | Fayetteville, Ark. | L 20-44 | |
| 11/25/2023 | * | WKU | Miami, Fla. | L 28-41 |
FIU NOTES AND NUMBERS
Returning production, offense: 76 percent (per Bill Connelly/ESPN)
Offensive outlook: FIU’s offense struggled in 2023, ranking in the bottom 20 in FBS in scoring. But it was the ground attack that particularly held back the Panthers, as they finished with the eighth-fewest rushing yards per game in the country and the fewest in C-USA. Their passing game fared better, at fourth in the conference and 59th in the country.
The Panthers rolled with true freshman Keyone Jenkins at quarterback last season, who had some ups and downs while getting good experience. He returns as a sophomore, likely again starting. Jenkins completed 58.4 percent of his passes for 2,414 yards on the season, with a 1:1 touchdown to interception ratio. He also rushed for six touchdowns.
FIU brings back last season’s leading rusher, now-redshirt junior Shomari Lawrence (566 yards on 125 carries with four touchdowns). The team also gets 2022 leading rusher Lexington Joseph (536 yards on 108 yards with five touchdowns) back after missing last year with a torn ACL. The Panthers lost leading receiver Kris Mitchell (64 receptions, 1,118 yards, six touchdowns) as he transferred to Notre Dame, and the receivers they do bring back were far less productive. FIU brought in a few wideouts from the transfer portal, but few with much prior production to their name.
FIU’s offensive line has two returning starters, but last season’s group tied for the seventh-most sacks allowed in the country (46). The Panthers also posted the 10th-worst PFF grade in run-blocking last year, so their O-line will have to play better for the team to have any chance of improving.
Returning production, defense: 60 percent (per Bill Connelly/ESPN)
Defensive outlook: FIU’s defense didn’t fare much better last season, finishing with the 12th-worst total defense in the country, and the worst in C-USA, allowing 436.7 yards per game. The Panthers ranked near the bottom of the country in both sacks and takeaways, as well as in rushing defense. But they did rank stronger in tackles for loss (65th in the country, fourth in the conference), passing defense (100th in the nation, sixth in the conference) and red-zone defense (52nd in the country, fourth in the conference).
FIU has five starters back from last season’s team. Leading tackler Donovan Manuel is gone, but two of the team’s top four tacklers return in linebacker Reggie Peterson and defensive back Jamal Potts. Senior safety CJ Christian is back after grabbing three interceptions last year. But the Panthers didn’t have many standout defensive players to begin with, and still have to plug some holes left by outbound transfers and graduations.
Eddie Walls III could be a key player to watch on FIU’s defense, after transferring in from Bethune Cookman in the offseason. Last year, Walls had the highest overall PFF grade of any defensive player on FIU’s roster for this season.
WELCOME BACK
FIU senior defensive tackle Jeramy Passmore returns to Bloomington for the first time since beginning his collegiate career with the Hoosiers.
Passmore played for Indiana during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. He redshirted in his initial season before appearing in three games in 2020. He was honored as a 2020 Academic All-Big Ten selection.
PREDICTIONS
Season openers can get weird, but Indiana will have plenty of big plays in them on both sides of the ball to pull away in the second half.
TDH PREDICTION: INDIANA 42 FIU 21
ESPN SP+ (Computer): Indiana 35-18
ESPN FPI (Computer): Indiana has an 84.8% chance to win.
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