Sunday, September 20, 2015

Alex McGough thrives as FIU Panthers top NCCU Eagles

MIAMI, Florida -- The only lightning involved with FIU football the first two seasons under Ron Turner halted games at FIU Stadium. On Saturday night, lightning from the Panthers powered a 39-14 win against North Carolina Central.

A 64-yard bomb to sophomore wide receiver Dennis Turner built FIU’s lead to 12-0. Two touchdowns in 21 seconds, the second a 26-yard run by freshman Anthony Jones, blew out FIU’s lead to 26-7. Another third-and-long conversion, this one via a 20-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Thomas Owens, fueled the touchdown drive to a 32-14 bulge.

Along with completing 22 of 36 for 242 yards and three touchdowns, sophomore quarterback Alex McGough ran for 77 yards on eight carries, including runs of 29 and 27 yards.



“That’s one thing we’re doing through the first three games that we haven’t had here is some big-play capability,” FIU coach Ron Turner said. “And the good news is we’ve got a lot of guys doing it.”

FIU moved to 2-1, only the second time the Panthers have been above .500 after three games since moving to the FBS level in 2005. The other time, in 2011, the Panthers won eight games and went to their second consecutive bowl game.

The Panthers rolled up 490 yards of offense while holding North Carolina Central to 209. Starting quarterback Malcolm Bell completed only 3 of 7 passes for 22 yards before getting yanked after Niko Gonzalez’s second-quarter interception, the first of three by FIU.

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