2011 Duke Blue Devils Football: Duke @ Florida International

There’s just one question to ask as a basketball school plays a defending conference champion in the lower-income bracket of college football: Which FIU crew will show up this weekend in Miami?

The Florida International Golden Panthers began the season as one of the nation’s surprise teams, opening 3-0 with wins over North Texas, Louisville and UCF. However, the Panthers followed those wins with an inexplicable loss to Louisiana-Lafayette. Duke enters the game at a healthy 2-2 after losing the first two games to Richmond and Stanford. The Blue Devils’ season took a turn for the positive when Boston College missed a last minute field goal attempt, resulting in a rare ACC win for Duke, followed by a 48-27 win over Tulane.

Duke brings a potent passing attack but a lackluster run game. The Blue Devils are averaging over 300 yards per game through the air with quarterback Sean Renfree completing 105 passes out of 143 attempts for over 1,000 yards before the arrival of October. Renfree is fortunate to have one of the top receiving corps in the conference. Three receivers already have more than 20 receptions, with Conner Vernon having caught 26 for 388 yards and two scores, Donovan Varner with 22 receptions for 236 yards, and Brandon Braxton with 21 catches for 147 yards. Juwan Thompson is the primary running back, with 48 carries for 252 yards and a pair of touchdowns. No other back has more than 80 yards.

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Whether the FIU defense is equipped to stop Duke is an open question. It’s tempting to say that if FIU could shut down Louisville and UCF, it should be able to shut down Duke, but Duke’s wide open passing offense is nothing like the offenses run by UCF or Louisville. ULL’s offense is probably closer to the offense Duke runs, and the Ragin’ Cajuns scored 36 in their win over the Panthers. FIU’s pass defense isn’t all that great. The Golden Panthers are giving up almost 250 yards a game through the air and over 60 percent completions.

The FIU offense is what has turned the nation’s collective heads towards Miami, though, specifically star receiver T.Y. Hilton, who is also an explosive kickoff returner. Floridians and Sun Belt fans have known about Hilton for quite some time, but his game against Louisville caught the nation’s attention. Hilton has 20 receptions for 395 yards and three touchdowns for an average of nearly 20 yards per catch. However, Kendrick Rhodes is the Panthers’ workhorse running back, with 70 carries already for 339 yards. Wesley Carroll is the FIU quarterback, the man who will be distributing the ball to the Panthers’ playmakers, including Wayne Times, who has 17 receptions and 210 yards of his own.

The Blue Devils’ defense has struggled, giving up 28 points and 350 yards per game, including 250 passing. Matt Daniels is an impressive linebacker who should be getting more attention. He’s already racked up 39 tackles and leads a good linebacker corps, but the defensive backs have struggled at times, and TY Hilton could torch the Duke secondary. Better defenses than Duke’s have not been able to slow Hilton.

Duke needs to find a way to apply the brakes to the Golden Panthers’ superstar, or the countdown to basketball season in Durham, North Carolina, will become that much more eagerly anticipated.

Duke Blue Devils @ Florida International Panthers Football Preview