FIU fumbles chance for a comeback victory against Monmouth a yard short of the end zone

One yard. That’s how close Florida International came to scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 32 seconds left.

But what appeared would be a dramatic come-from-behind homecoming win for the Panthers turned into heartbreak.

Receiver Eric Rivers fumbled at the 1-yard line fighting to get into the end zone near the right pylon, Monmouth safety Deuce Lee recovered and FIU walked off with a stunning 45-42 defeat Saturday at Pitbull Stadium — the Panthers’ first loss to an FCS team since Jacksonville State in 2020.

“It was hard to console a ton of them down there,” FIU coach Mike MacIntyre said of his players after the game. “Both teams played really hard. You hate that someone had to lose and it was us.

“I still love these guys. I still believe in them. We’re so close. I think we can beat anybody we have left to play. Anybody can beat us. But I think we have the ability to do some really good things, and that’s what I see us doing.”

On the game’s defining play, Rivers, who finished with five catches for 101 yards, caught a pass from Keyone Jenkins at the 15-yard line, cut right and weaved his way toward the end zone. But he couldn’t get past Lee, who stripped the ball.

Another costly FIU fumble, by tight end Josiah Miamen minutes earlier, set up Monmouth at FIU’s 39-yard line, eventually leading to Monmouth kicker Michael Calton Jr.’s 43-yard field goal with 1:52 left to break a 42-all tie.

FIU led by 14 points in the first half, but fell behind for the first time, 42-35, with 13:24 left in the game when Monmouth’s Sone Ntoh scored his third rushing touchdown. Kejon Owens pulled the Panthers even with his second rushing score — a 12-yarder after a lateral by Jenkins — with 10:12 left.

“Our kids kept fighting to the very, very end,” MacIntyre said. “We just ended up about 12 inches short there.”

Here are five takeaways from the Panthers’ loss, which dropped them to 1-3 this season:

Monmouth’s gambles paide off

Monmouth came into the game with nothing to lose — and played that way. The Hawks went for it on fourth down seven times and were successful five times. They were 4 of 6 in the first half, with two conversions especially key.

On fourth-and-1 later in the first quarter, Monmouth’s Sone Ntoh up the middle for a 30-yard touchdown. In the second quarter, Ntoh rushed for 2 yards on fourth-and-1 and then for a 3-yard touchdown five plays later.

Evans ejected once again

FIU safety JoJo Evans was ejected for targeting in the first half for the second consecutive game.

Evans made helmet-to-helmet contact with receiver Marcus Middleton on an incomplete pass deep down the middle with 2:54 left in the half.

At the time, Evans had a team-high seven tackles, including one for loss. He sat out the second half last week against Florida Atlantic after he was ejected 25 seconds before the break.

“Losing JoJo hurt us,” MacIntyre said. “The other guys came in and did some good things. But we need to get to the passer a little better, cover a little tighter. … Defense didn’t play good enough for us to win.”

Robertson was hard to stop

As Maine’s quarterback last season, Derek Robertson passed for 213 yards and no touchdowns against FIU. Saturday was a completely different story. Robertson completed 35 of 51 passes for 361 yards and two touchdown passes. The Hawks (2-2) rolled up 540 yards of total offense.

“He’s a heck of a player,” MacIntyre said of Robertson. “He made some great throws.”

Barnes had a stellar performance

Linebacker Travion Barnes led the Panthers’ defense with nine tackles and made an exceptional play on the game’s opening possession.

On fourth-and-5 from FIU’s 14, Barnes jumped the rout, intercepted Robertson’s short pass, and raced untouched for an 85-yard touchdown. The longest interception return in FIU history was also the Panthers’ second pick-six in four games this season.

“Travion is a phenomenal football player,” MacIntyre said. “I don’t think there is a better player in our league.”

Jenkins bounced back

One week after throwing a career-high three interceptions against FAU, quarterback Keyone Jenkins was much better against Monmouth.

The sophomore didn’t throw a pick and completed 23 of 32 passes for a career-high 362 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed five times for 20 yards.

“I thought Keyone did really well,” MacIntyre said.