Takeaways from FIU football’s loss to Texas State in overtime on Saturday night

It wasn’t like a cat slipping off its upper-deck perch or anything quite that crazy, but there was still another rare sight in local college football on Saturday night.

It was the ball slipping out of D’vonte Price’s hands.

Twice.

FIU’s star running back fumbled twice on Saturday as the Panthers lost to visiting Texas State, 23-17, in overtime.

The Panthers lost the turnover battle, 3-0, as quarterback Max Bortenschlager dropped the ball in overtime. Two plays later, the game was over as Texas State’s Brock Sturges ran for an 11-yard touchdown.

With a trip to Texas Tech set for this week’s game, here are five takeaways regarding FIU (1-1):

1: Price still trusted: In 280 career rushes and pass receptions entering Saturday, Price had lost only one fumble, and that happened in 2018.

Yep, this was cat-in-a-stadium rare.

“D’vonte gets in piles, and he’s tenacious,” FIU coach Butch Davis said. “He grinds and spins. Sometimes, he gets stripped. But I trust him. I know he’s a great player. [Fumbling] is not who he is.”

After his second fumble, several FIU players were seen trying to console Price.

“They love him,” Davis said. “I love seeing the other players support him.”

2: Support for Max, too: FIU used three starting quarterbacks in five games last year, and Davis is determined to avoid that fate. Davis praised Bortenschlager after the sixth-year senior completed 17-of-34 passes for 259 yards and one touchdown on Saturday. He was not intercepted, but he lost that one crucial fumble.

“He didn’t have a great night, but I think he’s played really [well overall in two games],” Davis said.

Davis said he likes Bortenschlager’s attitude.

“It’s crushing him that we didn’t win,” Davis said. “If guys are not upset or crying after a loss like this, they need to play someplace else.”

3: Key play: On the strip sack of Bortenschlager in overtime, Davis said no one was open.

“We didn’t want Max to take a sack there, but [Texas State] plastered [all eligible receivers],” Davis said. “He could’ve thrown it up, but it would’ve been intercepted possibly.”

Bortenschlager explained his thought process on that play.

“My first read was covered, and I moved on,” he said. “I went through my progressions. I was holding the ball to see if [tight end] Rivaldo [Fairweather] could come open on the corner route to the end zone.

“I didn’t feel [the linebacker who got the sack] coming off the edge. I tried stepping up, but they made a great play. I should have had better ball security there. That’s something I have to keep working through.”

4: Bright spot: FIU, which outgained Texas State in yards, 400 to 336, seems to have found its tight end in second-year freshman Fairweather.

Listed behind veterans Sterling Palmer and David O’Meara, Fairweather has five catches for 74 yards and one touchdown in two games. During that span, Palmer has just one catch for 19 yards, and O’Meara has zero receptions.

“Rivaldo is a freak athlete,” Bortenschlager said. “He’s 6-5, 250 pounds, and he ran a 4.5 in the 40 this summer. He’s way too big for a corner and too athletic for a linebacker.”

5: Texas Tech next: The Red Raiders (2-0) will be home, where they have won three consecutive games. Tech will be favored to win again on Saturday night.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Bortenschlager said of the game versus a Power Five conference team. “It will be a great test for us.”