With James Morgan out, this quarterback will start Friday for the FIU Panthers

FIU’s chance of setting a school record with its ninth victory and of winning Friday’s Bahamas Bowl against Toledo just got significantly more difficult.

Quarterback James Morgan, Conference USA’s Newcomer of the Year, will be forced to sit out the Bahamas Bowl because of a sore shoulder, according to comments made by FIU coach Butch Davis in a Miami Herald story posted on Wednesday.

Morgan set a school record this season with 26 TD passes and was intercepted just seven times.

In all likelihood, he will be badly missed by the Panthers (8-4).

However, his replacement — backup QB Christian Alexander — is in his fourth year with FIU as a redshirt junior and in his second season under Davis.

Alexander, who is highly mobile and has great size at 6-3, 225 pounds, gave Morgan a strong battle for the starting job this fall. Perhaps he can pull an upset in his first career collegiate start.

But Toledo (7-5) was a 5.5-point favorite before the Morgan injury news hit, and FIU’s long-shot odds will only increase now.

Here then are four keys to the game:

▪ 1: Win Specials Battle: Diontae Johnson, Reggie Gilliam and Jameson Vest are surely prominent on FIU’s scouting report. Johnson is the Mid-American Conference Special Teams Player of the Year. He leads the MAC with 18.3 yards per punt return and is second on kickoff returns (25;8). He’s the only player in the league to return a punt and a kick for TDs this season. Gilliam leads the nation with four blocked punts. And Vest leads the MAC in scoring (8.6 points per game) and set school records for career field goals and extra points. He is 14-of-19 on field goals, including 4-of-5 on kicks longer than 40 yards.

But as good as Toledo is at specials, FIU is also talented with players such as Maurice Alexander, Jose Borregales, Stone Wilson and Sean Young. Alexander made first-team All-Conference USA as a punt returner, averaging 15.6 yards, including one TD. Borregales matched Vest by making 14-of-19 field goals. Borregales also set a school record with a 53-yarder. Wilson was second in the league with a 44.3 punting average, making second-team all-league. And Young achieved touchbacks on 43 of his 53 kickoffs.

▪ 2: Negate the Wind: The possibility of heavy winds and rain in the Bahamas on Friday could hurt the kicking and passing games for both teams.

FIU, which set a school single-season record by averaging 34.6 points per game, ranks 30th in the nation in that statistic. Toledo ranks 11th at 40.5.

But if the wind is whipping, FIU’s run game could increase in importance. Napoleon Maxwell leads FIU in rushing yards (673) and TDs (7) while averaging 5.6 yards. D’Vonte Price (521 yards, 5 TDs) leads the team in average per carry (6.2). Anthony Jones (246 yards, 4.7 average, 3 TDs) adds quality depth and could be a big factor now that he’s healthy again.

FIU’s offensive line, led by second-team all-league guard Jordan Budwig, is the best group of pass-blockers in the league. They rank third in the nation with just eight sacks allowed. But they may need to do heavier work than usual on run-blocking in this game.

▪ 3: Alexander Needs to Rise Up: This is a huge opportunity for Alexander, a highly religious young man who is well-liked by his teammates, by all accounts.

Here is his chance to show he can handle being the QB at FIU.

Alexander will have some established targets, including CJ Worton, who leads the team in receptions (36), yards (620) and TDs (6).

The biggest threats to FIU’s passing game in the Bahamas figure to be Toledo third-team all-league players Tuzar Skipper and Josh Teachey. Skipper, a defensive end, ranks third in the MAC with 8.5 sacks. Teachey, a safety, has 11 pass break-ups.

▪ 4: Limit the Damage: Toledo’s offense is tough to stop, especially with two receivers who are first-team all-league, Diontae Johnson and Cody Thompson. Gilliam, the special-teams ace, is also a second-team all-league tight end. And wide receiver Jon’Vea Johnson (third team) completes an explosive group of targets for quarterback Eli Peters.

FIU’s defense is led by middle linebacker Sage Lewis, who set the school record with 126 tackles. Lewis made first-team All-C-USA.