By: Jorge Corrales/Staff Writer

The Panthers welcome the Florida Atlantic University Owls to Ocean Bank Field on Thursday, Oct. 2. Kickoff for the annual Shula Bowl is set for 7 p.m. The Owls lead the all-time series 9-3.

The Panthers are coming off an impressive road win over University of Alabama at Birmingham. They left for Birmingham, Alabama with a 1-3 record and came back with a 34-20 victory.

The Panthers were led on offense by freshman quarterback Alex McGough. He was only 9 of 24 passing but finished with 204 yards. The bulk of those came from two long touchdown passes of 75 and 85 yards. Senior wide receiver Glenn Coleman was on the receiving end of the second one and led the Panthers with 106 yards.

The Panther defense was impressive again against the Blazers. UAB was averaging over 40 points per-game but were held to only 20. The Panthers were helped by two interceptions returned for touchdowns; one by junior cornerback Richard Leonard and one by senior safety Demarkus Perkins. The Panthers forced six turnovers in total. It was the second time this year that a FIU opponent has turned the ball over six times.

“You win the turnover battle 6-0, you’re up plus-6, you’re going to win,” said Head Coach Ron Turner after the game. “We got a bunch and we didn’t turn it over. There are a lot of positives and a lot of things to work on.”

Leonard finished the afternoon with two interceptions and was named Conference-USA defensive player of the week.

“We knew they were gonna take shots down field,” said Turner after the game. “I thought our corners, along with the rest of the defense, did a really good job.”

This week, the Panthers will try and stop the reigning C-USA offensive player of the week. FAU quarterback Jaquez Johnson was awarded that honor after leading the Owls to a comeback victory against the University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners. Johnson had three passing touchdowns to go along with a rushing touchdown.

The Owls enter Thursday night’s game with a 2-3 record – the same as the Panthers. Both schools are coming off important wins in their conference openers. A victory for either school could mean the difference between a conference title and another year in the middle of the pack.

The Shula Bowl is named after Miami football legend Don Shula. Each school’s inaugural head coach has ties to Shula. FAU’s first coach, Howard Schnellenberger, coached under Shula in the 70s as FIU’s first coach, Don Strock, played under Shula in the 70s. The two schools play every year for the “Don Shula Award”.

Last year’s Shula Bowl was a one-sided affair. The Owls defeated the Panthers 21-6 in the final game of the season for both schools. That loss was the seventh in a row for the Panthers as they closed out the year with only one win. The Panthers already have twice as many wins as they did in 2013. They are hoping to ride the momentum of a strong road win into the Shula Bowl.