Travel delays can’t slow FIU as Panthers improve to 3-1 with win at UConn

Due to massive flight issues, the FIU Panthers football team arrived in Connecticut much later than expected Friday night/Saturday morning.

But FIU’s performance on Saturday afternoon?

That was right on time — although it got scary for the Panthers at the end.

Still, FIU defeated the Connecticut Huskies 24-17 as the Panthers’ defense came up with a red-zone stop with just 51 seconds left.

The Panthers are now off to their best start since 2017 at 3-1.

But getting that third win wasn’t easy.

FIU’s odyssey began Friday as they departed the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport at 2 p.m. However, the flight was diverted to Orlando due to mechanical issues.

The Panthers were then delayed for more than five hours, finally leaving Orlando at 9:35 p.m. They landed in Connecticut at 11:35 p.m. and reached their hotel in Windsor past midnight (12:15 a.m.).

FIU coach Mike MacIntyre, during a first-quarter interview with a CBS field reporter, said he was not concerned with his players being ready for Saturday.

“They are college kids,” MacIntyre said with a laugh. “They stay up late like we did when we were young.”

Turning serious, MacIntyre said of his players: “They are a resilient bunch.”

Those turned out to be prophetic words.

Here are four takeaways from Saturday’s game:

1: DEFENSE STANDS: Connecticut seemed poised to tie the score at 24-24 as Ta’Quan Roberson was momentarily credited with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Justin Joly. That came on a fourth-and-4 play with 58 seconds left as Joly caught the ball in the right corner of the end zone.

However, the Huskies were called for holding FIU defensive end Jeramy Passmore, who had beaten his man badly.

On the next play, on fourth-and-14 from FIU’s 21, Roberson completed a slant pass to Cameron Ross, but he was quickly tackled by Panthers defensive back Jamal Potts 2 yards short of the first down.

“We blitzed them,” MacIntyre said of FIU’s five-man rush. “We wanted them to cut [their route off before the first-down] sticks, and they did. Potts played it tight and tackled the guy.

“That was an exciting ending.”

2: SATURDAY AFTERNOON LIGHTS: The Panthers are now 3-0 when Keyone “Lights Out” Jenkins starts at quarterback.

Jenkins completed his first six passes for 112 yards before cooling off a bit. He finished 15 of 27 for 284 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

He also ran for 12 times for 24 yards and one touchdown. In addition, Jenkins recovered a fourth-quarter fumble that could have been a disaster for FIU had he not been so alert.

3: SECOND-HALF WOES: It was an overall winning performance by Jenkins, especially for his first road start in college football. However, all 24 points came in the first half.

In the second half, FIU punted five times and had a missed 33-yard field-goal attempt by Chase Gabriel that almost cost the Panthers the game.

Other than the win over North Texas, FIU has struggled in the second half this year.

Against Louisiana Tech, FIU led 17-10 at halftime but lost 22-17. That was with Grayson James at quarterback.

With Jenkins at the controls, FIU led Maine 14-6 at halftime and barely held on to win 14-12.

4: INJURY ISSUES: Three starters left the game at various points Saturday: right guard Jacob Peace, running back Shomari “Showtime” Lawrence and middle linebacker Donovan Manuel.

FIU will need all three next Saturday when the Liberty Flames (3-0) visit for a Conference USA game.