Coming off the high of winning their first Shula Bowl since 2016, the Panthers fell to the Delaware Blue Hens 38-16, marking the first win in Conference USA for head coach Ryan Carty and his Blue Hens. As for head coach Willie Simmons, it snaps a 22-game home game win streak dating to his time at Florida A&M.
FIU Panthers defenders tackle Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens running back Viron Ellison Jr. (23) during football game on Saturday, September 20, 2025 at FIU Pitbull Stadium in Miami. Andrew Uloza / for Miami Herald
“Definitely not the outcome we wanted,” Simmons said. “We knew Delaware would be a good team coming in by what we saw on film, and we allowed them to play their game, and we didn’t play our best. I think we got outcoached, and that’s on me. We need to get these guys ready to play, get them a plan that they can execute on in all phases. It sucks, but the bye week comes at a really good time for us to do some reassessing, see who we are, what we’ve done well over the last four weeks, what we need to improve upon, and get ready to come back for the long haul.”
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Delaware had the momentum throughout the first half, playing well on offense, defense and special tteams to take a commanding 24-7 lead.
On the Panthers’ first offensive drive, junior quarterback Keyone Jenkins was picked off in the end zone. FIU then forced a three-and-out, which ended with Olasunkonmi Agunloye sacking Nick Minicucci. It marked Agunloye’s second sack of the season.
FIU responded on the ensuing drive, needing just three plays to cover 54 yards. Jenkins capped it off with a 2-yard touchdown run—his fourth of the season—giving the Panthers a 7-3 lead.
To close the first quarter, the Panthers forced a turnover on downs. The momentum was short-lived, however, as Jenkins threw his second interception of the game — and third of the season. It marked the first multi-interception performance by Jenkins since September 14, 2023, against Florida Atlantic. Delaware capitalized quickly, with running back Jo Silver punching in a 14-yard touchdown to reclaim a 10-7 lead.
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Delaware got on the board two more times in the second quarter. Minicucci connected with wide receiver Nick Laboy on a 2-yard touchdown, and the Panthers’ struggles on special teams continued, as Kyre Duplessis returned a punt for 68 yards.
“We’ve got to get Trey [Wilhoit] his confidence back,” Simmons said. “We have a tremendous weapon at punter, but two weeks in a row we’ve had a punt blocked, and then this week we gave up a return for a touchdown with five guys in Biscayne Blue standing right there by the returner — and we still didn’t make the tackle.”
Simmons noted that Brian Blades II, who missed the game due to a foot injury, would’ve made that tackle “10 out of 10 times.” There is a chance he is back for the UConn game, FIU’s head coach noted postgame.
The second half of play was opened with a 35-yard field goal from Robert Czeremcha to cut the lead to 24-10. The Blue Hens countered with a 14-yard touchdown reception from Laboy, marking his first career multi-touchdown game.
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FIU did make the game interesting with 12:22 left in the fourth quarter as Jenkins connected with Alex Perry for a 5-yard passing touchdown, making it a 31-16 game. The Panthers failed to convert on the two-point conversion, though. Perry finished the game with five receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown, marking a career high in receiving yards.
FIU Panthers quarterback Keyone Jenkins (1) celebrates a touchdown against Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens Saturday, September 20, 2025 at FIU Pitbull Stadium in Miami. Andrew Uloza / for Miami Herald
The Blue Hens put the game out of reach and completed the scoring when Minicucci completed a 5-yard touchdown to Viron Ellison Jr..
With the loss, the Panthers fall to 2-2 on the season while the Blue Hens are now 3-1. FIU will head into a bye week before beginning a stretch of back-to-back games on the road. It will begin at UConn on October 4, at 3:30 pm on CBS Sports Network.