Analyst breaks down the strengths and weaknesses for the FIU Panthers football team

FIU’s football team is 4-0 this season when its games have been broadcast by the beIN SPORTS network.

Not surprisingly, Jeremy St. Louis, an on-air anchor for beIN SPORTS , has been impressed with the Panthers.

In an interview with the Miami Herald this past weekend, St. Louis offered his analysis of FIU after having watched the Panthers in wins against Old Dominion, Massachusetts, Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky.

St. Louis, in essence, said FIU is one of the top three teams in Conference USA, trailing league power UAB but on par with, or perhaps slightly ahead of, Middle Tennessee.

“UAB is running away with it — they’re an unbelievable [mid-major] program,” St. Louis said of FIU’s possible opponent in the 2018 C-USA title game. “But FIU has performed above expectations.

“There was an expected regression after they lost their starting quarterback [Alex McGough, who was drafted in the seventh round by the Seattle Seahawks]. But I think that’s what [FIU coach Butch Davis] wanted. He wanted people to underestimate his team.”

St. Louis said he considers FIU quarterback James Morgan to be the strength of the team. The weakness, he said is FIU’s run defense, which allowed FAU to rush for 439 yards on Nov. 3.

“Morgan has been outstanding and efficient,” he said. “He has shown leadership. He doesn’t turn the ball over a lot [five interceptions in 10 games]. He can throw the deep ball, and he has burner receivers.”

If it comes down to a C-USA title game between FIU and UAB — which is the most likely scenario at the moment — St. Louis said the Panthers might struggle.

“UAB has a running back, Spencer Brown, who is a human bowling ball,” St. Louis said of Brown, has 913 yards, a 4.6 average and 14 touchdowns in 10 games. “He runs people over.”

THIS AND THAT

▪ FIU’s men’s basketball team (2-0) will host Milwaukee (0-2) on Tuesday in a battle between two teams with the same nickname (Panthers).

Don’t read too much in the records of these two teams at this stage of the season. The Milwaukee game will be the first time this season that FIU has played an NCAA Division I team. Meanwhile, Milwaukee opened with an ACC team (Boston College).

Milwaukee, which finished 16-17 overall and 8-10 in the Horizon League last season, has five new starters on this team. They lost 73-53 at BC and 63-60 to visiting North Dakota.

▪ FIU’s women’s volleyball team (17-11, 9-5) has earned the sixth seed in the Conference USA tournament at Huntington, West Virginia. On Friday night at 7, FIU will play third-seeded Texas-San Antonio (19-7, 11-3) in a quarterfinal match.

Host UTSA beat FIU 3-2 earlier this season. This will be the FIU volleyball team’s first trip to the league tournament since 2015.

▪ FIU’s men’s soccer team, which reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year, ended its disappointing follow-up season with a 7-10 record and three straight losses. The end came on Wednesday, a 2-1 loss to Marshall in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA tournament in Charlotte.

▪ FIU’s women’s basketball team (0-2) lost its season opener 94-43 to the Miami Hurricanes. FIU then lost 66-63 to Palm Beach Atlantic, an NCAA Division II team that competes with Barry University and NSU in the Sunshine State Conference.

This story was originally published November 12, 2018 at 11:44 AM.