FIU seeks to establish home-field advantage against Buffalo

Twenty-five years after FIU football first took the field, the Panthers will play their home opener at Pitbull Stadium on Saturday looking to celebrate the milestone with their first win of the season against the 1-0 Buffalo Bulls.

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For FIU head coach Willie Simmons, the home opener represents more than just the beginning of the Panthers’ home schedule. It is an opportunity to establish Pitbull Stadium as an advantage for his team and begin building on the high expectations surrounding the program in Year 2 of his tenure.

“Looking for a great game-day atmosphere as we chase one of our goals, which is to be undefeated at home,” Simmons said.

After opening the season with a 19-9 loss to USF in Tampa, FIU will look to respond in front of its home crowd.

Quarterback JJ Kohl has opened his campaign as FIU’s starter and

expressed his gratitude for the trust Simmons and offensive coordinator Nick Coleman have placed in him as he takes control of the Panthers’ offense.

“I’m just thankful for coach Simmons and coach Coleman for pouring into me and believing in me, and giving me the opportunity to start in Week 1 for the first time in my college career.”

That trust extended beyond simply handing Kohl the starting job. FIU gave its new quarterback the freedom to lead an aggressive passing attack against USF, throwing the ball 50 times, the most pass attempts in one game of Kohl’s college career.

The Panthers ran the ball just 25 times, a significant shift from their offensive identity last season. FIU ran the ball on 53% of its offensive plays in 2025 while passing on 47%. Against USF, those numbers flipped, with the Panthers passing on 67% of their plays and running on just 33%.

While the coaching staff showed its confidence in Kohl by putting the offense in his hands, Simmons made it clear after the loss that the pass-heavy approach is not expected to become FIU’s identity moving forward.

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“Obviously we have to run the ball better. We went from rushing for 180 yards a game last season to 80 tonight. That’s unacceptable,” Simmons said.

The message was clear: FIU trusts Kohl to lead the offense, but it does not want to become one-dimensional. Moving forward, the Panthers expect to return to a more balanced attack, with establishing the run serving as a gateway to opening up the play-action pass game, RPOs and read-option concepts for Kohl.

On the other side of the ball, the Buffalo Bulls present a unique challenge for the FIU defense. Buffalo’s tight end room will provide one of the biggest tests for FIU’s secondary, particularly after its strong showing against USF.

Veteran defensive back DeAndre Boykins, who led the team with eight tackles in the opener, spoke about his belief in the defense’s ability to help carry the Panthers throughout the season.

“As everyone knows, in the game of football, defense wins championships. So, we could have won that game against USF on defense for sure.”

The Panthers’ defense still has more to prove. After allowing just 208 yards of offense against USF, Saturday will provide another opportunity to determine whether that performance was a fluke or a sign of things to come throughout the season.

FIU enters the matchup as a double-digit favorite, putting added pressure on the Panthers to deliver in their first home game of the season.

With a 25th anniversary celebration along with high expectations entering Year 2 under Simmons, Saturday presents FIU with an opportunity to protect its home field, respond from the season-opening loss and show that the Panthers are capable of turning those expectations into results.

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