SHSU
FIUSam Houston and FIU close out last season's series with FIU on top and trending up — this time the Bearkats want the receipt back.
Bush’s Picks
FIUFIUFlorida InternationalFIU is the program moving in the right direction here — a winning season, bowl eligibility, and a head-to-head win over this same Sam Houston team last year. Sam Houston went 1-7 in conference play in 2025, and a healthier QB alone doesn't erase that kind of collapse. Back the Panthers to win outright off the stronger recent trend line.
Sam HoustonFlorida InternationalPhil Longo is a year deeper into his rebuild in Huntsville, and the headline is health: Landyn Locke gets a full offseason on a rehabbed ACL instead of scrambling through one. Longo has already said Locke is his guy, which matters for an offense that stalled out repeatedly during a rough 2025. FIU, on the other hand, isn't rebuilding anything — it's trying to prove last year wasn't a fluke.
The subplot worth watching is depth. Sam Houston's QB2 job is genuinely up for grabs, with a pair of true freshmen in the mix behind Locke, which tells you the cupboard behind the starter is still thin. FIU doesn't have that kind of uncertainty at the top of its depth chart — it's coming off a season where continuity, not scrambling for answers, was the story.
None of that erases how lopsided things got for FIU in its bowl trip, a 57-20 First Responder Bowl loss to UTSA that exposed real limits when the Panthers faced a step up in competition. That's the tension of this one on paper: a Panthers team trending up against a Bearkats team with better health at quarterback but a losing record to shake off.
