Fourth down, 18 yards to go.
Conference USA games had been particularly brutal to the FIU Panthers this year, but things appeared to be trending upward Wednesday night. FIU never trailed the entire contest, until quarterback Keyone Jenkins whiffed on a pass with under two minutes remaining. Sam Houston pounced on the fumble and claimed a 20-17 advantage with 1:24 to go — on track for its first FBS win.
All the Bearkats needed to secure that long-awaited triumph was prevent one explosive play. That’s exactly what they’ve done all night. At this moment in the final minute, FIU logged just one play spanning 18 yards all game — a 20-yard third quarter run by Kejon Owens.