49er Season Preview: Florida International

Team: Florida International

2015 Record: 5-7 (3-5 C-USA)

Head coach: Ron Turner

2015 Statistics:

Total Offense: 348ypg

Rushing Yards per Game: 110ypg

Passing Yards per Game: 238ypg

Total Defense: 406ypg

Rushing: 185ypg

Passing: 221ypg

Points Per Game Offensively: 25.5ppg

Points per Game Defensively: 29.8ppg

Against Charlotte Last Year: FIU defeated Charlotte 48-31, as they had 439 total yards of offense, throwing for 284 yards and rushing for another 155. They recorded seven sacks in the win over Charlotte.

2016 Preview:

9 returning starters on offense

5 returning starters on defense

FIU will hit the road in the middle of October to take on Charlotte in just their second ever meeting, with the first one coming last season, when the Panthers took home the 48-31 win. Much of their attack offensively returns from last season, led by quarterback Alex McGough, who threw for over 2,700 yards and 21 touchdowns. Alex Gardner returns in the backfield rushing the ball and their top three receivers return as well, giving them a nice experienced set of weapons on the offensive side of the ball. On the offensive line, the Panthers only lost one man in Aaron Nielsen, as the rest carry 92 career starts with them this year.

Defensively, FIU will be looking for players to replace, only returning five starters. But one, Anthony Wint, will be a leader for this team as he was the leading tackler last year with 88. This is a defense that could struggle from last year, a year they weren’t very good either, giving up over 406 yards per game. Charlotte was able to rack up 395 total yards offensively in the loss, having one of the best performances through the air with 264 passing yards.