FIU quarterback Paul McCall fired a pass down the middle of the field that receiver Jeremy Dickens snared and sprinted in for a 63-yard touchdown on the third play of the FIU Blue & Gold Spring Game on Friday night.
In the game's third series, quarterback Colt Anderson connected with receiver Marquis Rolle up the sideline for a 32-yard touchdown pass.
The rout was on for the Golden Panthers offense (blue).
Or so it seemed.
The FIU defense (gold) made some adjustments and recovered to stymie the offense and win the game 29-18 in front of an FIU spring game record crowd of more than 3,000 at the FIU soccer stadium.
''A lot of fireworks early on both sides,'' FIU coach Mario Cristobal said. ``But the defense came out in the second part of the scrimmage and really put it on the offense in a big time way: pressure on the quarterback, got the ballcarriers on the ground, forced some turnovers, did a nice job.''
In FIU's two spring scrimmages, the offense, with its revamped spread scheme, controlled the defense.
But between McCall and Anderson's touchdown passes, the defense gave a glimpse of what was ahead.
In the second series, the offense tried the deep pass again, but safety Jeremiah Weatherspoon got the first of his two interceptions.
''We just had to warm up,'' Weatherspoon said. ``We weren't ready for the deep ball. They kind of shocked us with that, because in practice they didn't really throw a lot of deep balls.
``We just had to get ready and settle down.''
Did they ever.
After Anderson's touchdown gave the offense a 14-3 lead, the defense stopped the offense on nine consecutive possessions before a missed field-goal attempt late in the fourth quarter.
The defense finished the scrimmage with stops on 10 of the last 11 series.
''[The defense was] really fired up,'' Dickens said. ``Because the first couple of [scrimmages] we were kind of taking it to them. They turned their heads around when we were playing well. That helped them, because nobody wants to play bad on this team. Everybody's goal is to be the best that they can be. When they see us doing good, that motivates them to do better.''
In the scrimmage, points were awarded to the defense for scoring touchdowns, causing turnovers, forcing a three-and-out by the offense, sacks and missed field-goal attempts. The offense got points for scores and converting three consecutive first downs.
Linebacker Jarvis Wilson set up the defense's lone touchdown by stripping the ball from quarterback Darold Hughes near the goal line, where several defenders pounced on the ball in the end zone for the touchdown.
By halftime, the defense narrowed the offense's advantage to 15-13.
In the fourth quarter, two sacks by Quentin Newman and sacks by Jonathan Betancourt and Reggie Jones, plus interceptions by Marcelus Manear and Weatherspoon, sealed the victory.
Despite not being able to play in their new stadium, which is under construction, for the second consecutive year, the Golden Panthers drew more fans to their spring game.
''[FIU] is growing and it's growing fast,'' Cristobal said. ``We have some great fans and that fan base is growing. It's a young program. It's good to see when there are ooohs and aaahs and there's all kinds of cheers. We had a good time tonight.''
