Florida International Panthers at Delaware Blue Hens
Sat Nov 14 · 2:00 PM CT
By Pablo SanchezUpdated 5d ago·2 min read
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Two programs that finally broke through in 2025 collide in November, and this one says a lot about who's actually built for the long haul in Conference USA.
Bush’s Picks
FIUDEL
FIUDEL
OverUnder
Best BetDelaware
Delaware's the more proven program right now — a bowl winner with continuity at head coach heading into year two of true FBS status. FIU is likable given the turnaround under Simmons, but asking a roster with close to 17 new starters to go on the road and beat the presumptive league favorite is a lot to bank on this early in its evolution.
Florida International
+First winning season in 7 years under Simmons
+Bowl appearance in 2025, program trending up
+Added portal WR Greg Gaines III (1,018 yards in 2025)
−Close to 17 new starters to integrate
−Defense ranked 120th+ in SP+ for 4 of 5 years
−Lost leading receiver Alex Perry to Illinois
Delaware
+Won the 68 Ventures Bowl over Louisiana, 20-13
+Fifth-year coach Ryan Carty brings continuity
+Presumptive Conference USA favorite entering 2026
−Still adjusting to true bowl-eligible FBS status
−4-4 CUSA mark in 2025 shows league play isn't automatic
−No margin for the same late-season letdowns that cost games last year
Delaware enters this one as the presumptive class of the league. The Blue Hens went 7-6 in year one of full Conference USA membership, capped it by beating Louisiana 20-13 in the 68 Ventures Bowl, and now get to do it all again with actual bowl eligibility on the line instead of a technicality. Ryan Carty is in his fifth year running the program, which in a conference full of coaching turnover and roster overhauls is its own kind of edge.
FIU's story is different but no less real. Willie Simmons took over a team that had gone 4-8 and got the Panthers to 7-5 with their first bowl appearance since 2019 — the program's first winning season in 7 years. The catch is how much of that roster is gone. FIU brought in close to 17 new starters this offseason, including transfer portal quarterbacks JJ Kohl and Zach Marker, and had to replace leading receiver Alex Perry after he left for Illinois. Rhode Island transfer Greg Gaines III, who caught 65 passes for 1,018 yards a year ago, is the plan at receiver, but that's a lot of new pieces to have humming by mid-November.
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FIU Florida International
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Defense is the other half of the FIU question. Simmons' group has ranked 120th or worse in defensive SP+ in 4 of the past 5 years, which is why the offseason plan leaned so heavily on adding defensive tackles and linebackers to rebuild the run front. Delaware, meanwhile, is the team that just won a bowl game and returns a program with continuity most of this league doesn't have.
Florida International Panthers
Nov 7?vs Missouri State—
Oct 31?@ Liberty—
Oct 20?vs Middle Tennessee—
Oct 13?@ Jacksonville State—
Oct 7?vs New Mexico State—
Sep 26?vs Long Island University—
Sep 19?@ Florida Atlantic—
Sep 12?vs Buffalo—
Sep 5?@ South Florida—
Delaware Blue Hens
Nov 7?@ Kennesaw State—
Oct 27?@ Western Kentucky—
Oct 20?vs Missouri State—
Oct 13?@ Middle Tennessee—
Oct 2?vs Liberty—
Sep 25?@ Virginia—
Sep 19?vs Coastal Carolina—
Sep 12?@ Vanderbilt—
Sep 3?vs Merrimack—
Recent form.
By the time these two meet, both will have a full season of tape to define who they actually are — whether FIU's new-look roster gelled the way Simmons needs it to, and whether Delaware's carried its 2025 momentum into being the CUSA favorite it's expected to be. This is exactly the kind of game that decides whether either program's breakthrough season was real or a one-off.
Delaware's home crowd and the fact that this program just won a bowl game give it the benefit of the doubt here. FIU has the higher ceiling if the new pieces click, but banking on that many new starters clicking on schedule, on the road, against a more established outfit is a tougher ask.
