This Saturday the (1-0) Florida International Panthers and the (0-1) Texas State Bobcats will face off in week 2 of the college football season. Kick-off will be at 7:00 PM EST inside Bobcat Stadium (TX). Both of these teams are coming off disappointing seasons in 2021, and they will be looking to start this game fast and strong on both sides of the field.
The Florida International Panthers picked up a win in week one, as they edged out Bryant 38-37 in overtime. FIU looked great when they had the ball, as they continued to march up and down the field. But their defense struggled, as they will have to be better in this one if they want to challenge the Bobcats.
The Texas State Bobcats struggled last week, as they fell to the Nevada Wolfpack. Texas State struggled on the offensive side of the field, as they finished the game with -12 rushing yards. They will need to move the ball more efficiently in this one if they want to get back to .500 on the season.
New head coach Mike MacIntyre got his first win last Saturday, as the Florida International Panthers seemingly moved the ball up and down the field in week one. They finished with 310 passing yards, as Grayson James threw for 207 yards and four touchdowns and Gunnar Holmberg threw for 103 yards and one touchdown. Unfortunately, they struggled to run the ball, though. They only averaged 2.6 yards per rush, as their offensive line struggled and their running backs couldn't break free. The Panthers finished last week's game with 67 rushing yards. According to Sports Reference, the Panthers averaged 20.3 PPG last season, but they scored 38 in week one. The Bryant defense isn't impressive, but they still moved the ball efficiently. They also averaged 1.8 turnovers in 2021, as they will need to focus on securing the ball. They had zero turnovers in week one. MacIntyre did turn around the San Jose St. offense and he will be looking to do the same with this team. They also only had two offensive linemen come back this season, as they will need to do a better job of blocking for their quarterbacks and running backs. The Panthers also committed eight penalties for 60 yards in week one.
On the defensive side of the field the Panthers gave up 492 yards per game in 2021 and they allowed 39.7 PPG. The FIU defense also struggled against Bryant in week one. Florida International gave up 37 points and they struggled against the run. They gave up 229.2 rushing yards per game in 2021 and that trend continued to begin this season. FIU gave up 121 rushing yards to Bryant, as their tackling was shaky. The Panthers also surrendered 349 passing yards, as their secondary continued to get torched throughout the game. Last week, the FIU secondary gave up 8.5 yards per pass. Luckily, they did get back their two young safeties and Gaethan Bernadel. Bernadel finished last season with 44 tackles, as he will be one of their main contributors on the defensive side of the field. FIU also finished week one with zero forced turnovers, as they will be looking to win that battle against the Bobcats.