12/8/2019 football Edit

Arkansas State vs Florida International: A Short History

Chase Gage • RedWolfReport

Staff Writer

Chase is a staff writer for RedWolfReport.com and ArkansasVarsity.com and a Multimedia Journalism Student at Arkansas State University.

{{ link.display_text }} |

The Arkansas State Red Wolves are going bowling for the ninth consecutive season. This time, they’ll face former Sun Belt foe Florida International in the Camellia Bowl. The game will take place on Saturday, Dec. 21 in Montgomery, Alabama.

The Red Wolves (7-5, 5-3 Sun Belt) and Panthers (6-6, 3-5 CUSA) are very familiar with each other, as both were members of the Sun Belt from 2005 to 2010. The two teams have faced off eight times since 2005, all as conference foes. This will be the first non-Sun Belt game between the two schools.

Jay Adams finished the season third in the Sun Belt in receiving yards, two spots behind teammate Omar Bayless and one slot ahead of Kirk Merritt. (Justin Manning)

The Red Wolves own a 6-2 advantage in the series on the field, but two A-State wins were vacated in 2005 and 2006. The official series sits at 4-2 in favor of the Red Wolves.

In their first meeting in 2005, the Arkansas State Indians toppled the Panthers in emphatic fashion by a final score of 66-24 in Jonesboro. The next year, the Indians won again on the road, this time by a tune of 31-6. Both wins were later vacated by the NCAA, as previously stated.

However, the Red Wolves extended their on-field win streak over the Panthers to three games with their 2007 meeting, as A-State pulled off a slim 27-24 victory at home. FIU got their revenge the next season in Miami with a 22-21 win. The teams continued to trade wins as A-State won in 2009 and the Panthers won in 2010.

Then, the Red Wolves handled business in their final two contests as conference foes, 34-16 in 2011 and 34-20 in 2012.

The Panthers then left the Sun Belt at the end of the 2012 season to join Conference USA. FIU struggled to find much success in their early years in CUSA, but caught fire after hiring current head coach Butch Davis. In his first season, he took the Panthers to an 8-5 record and their first bowl appearance since 2011. Though they lost to Temple 28-3, things were looking up in Miami.

In his second season, Davis led the Panthers to a 9-4 mark including a 6-2 conference slate and a Bahamas Bowl win over Toledo. The 2019 Panthers took a slight step back, but finished the regular season with a 6-6 record, good enough to earn a bowl bid in Montgomery.

Now, the two squads will face off for the ninth time in Montgomery on Saturday, Dec. 21. Check back for more news and analysis surrounding the 2019 Camellia Bowl.