FIU Pulls Away Late from Florida Atlantic in Shula Bowl, 38-28

Miami, FL — The 2025 Shula Bowl is in the books, and the trophy has returned to Miami. In a very fun affair, the FIU Panthers defeated the Florida Atlantic Owls by a score of 38-28. FIU breaks a seven-game losing streak with the victory, and the series is now 17-5 in favor of FAU. It was a close contest in the first half, but thanks to a strong run game and defense performance in the second half, the Panthers cruised to victory and moved to 2-1 on the year.

FAU, on the other hand, faltered in key moments and did not find a way to capitalize in key moments in the second half. They fell to 1-2 on the season, with a tough Memphis team on the horizon.

FIU vs. FAU 2025: Shula Bowl Recap

FIU Imposes Its Will On FAU on Offense

Through two games in the 2025 regular season, the FIU Panthers had plenty of success running the football. Whether it was Bethune-Cookman or Penn State, the offensive line was getting push and the running backs were making good things happen. And against FAU, more of the same occurred.

The first half saw things go solid for FIU, but not to a crazy, successful level. Thanks to Wilky Denaud and Naejuan Barber, the Owls were punching back consistently and making things a bit difficult for the Panthers.

However, the second half was a different story.

Behind the strong blocking of the offensive line, running back Kejon Owens elevated to a new level. The standout broke off consistent chunk gains, powering through arm-tackles and racing past the Owls’ defense. He demoralized FAU and played an instrumental role in the Panthers pulling away in this game.

As much as Owens was instrumental for the victory, Keyone Jenkins’s rushing ability was key as well.

Throughout the game, the quarterback was decisive and opportunistic. He took advantage of poor containment from the Owls’ defense and poor tackling in the open field, keeping the chains moving for the Panthers.

On top of his passing, Jenkins showed that he can make plays whenever the Panthers need him to. Jenkins showed an excellent mindset in keeping the ship steady for the Panthers to win the game.

Going forward, it’ll be exciting to see what this unit can do in its games against Conference USA opponents. If they continue to run the ball at this level, it should be a very fun year for the Panthers on offense.

The Trenches Make the Difference

The trenches were going to play a massive role in this game. And, on both sides of this game, the trenches truly made a big difference.

For FAU, the run defense was average when looking at the totality of the game. The majority of the production came early in the game, and thanks to missed tackles in the backend, the Owls struggled in a major way to stop the run in the second half. More worrisome, though, was the pass-rushing production.

On the day, FAU only mustered one sack on Keyone Jenkins, and linebacker Khmari Johnson was the only player to muster more than one pressure on the day. FIU, as a result, did not have any player allow more than one pressure on the entire night.

Flipping things around, the FAU offensive line struggled to keep the Panthers out of the backfield. Alex Atcavage and Ja’Kavion Nonar allowed four pressures apiece, while Daughtry Richardson allowed three pressures. These did not result in sacks, but they put quarterback Caden Veltkamp under pressure constantly and threw him off his spot on multiple occasions.

Leading the charge for FIU in this area were Kenton Simmons and Keegan Davis, who had three and four pressures, respectively. Add in solid games for Josiah Taylor and Robert Williams, and it is clear that the Panthers have some fun players in the trenches.

Despite being very similar teams, one of the main differences is the trenches. FIU looks set to compete this season thanks to its play on the offensive and defensive lines, while FAU may have some big-time issues in the American Conference if they cannot compete on the inside.

Passing Games Make an Impact, Good and Bad

On both sides of the game, the passing games made some of the biggest swings happen for FAU and FIU.

Starting with the Panthers, Keyone Jenkins showed his comfortability and confidence within the offensive scheme. He hit passes to all levels of the field and looked very comfortable maneuvering the pocket. Most importantly, Jenkins finally hit on deep passes down the field, showing his great touch and accuracy. Between the deep post to Maguire Anderson and the touchdown to Alex Perry, the quarterback displayed why many people were excited about him heading into the 2025 season.

On the other side of things, the FAU Owls rode a rollercoaster with Caden Veltkamp.

Outside of a first drive interception, Veltkamp was very impressive early in the game. He was accurate, decisive, and executed Zach Kittley‘s play calls to perfection. The quarterback was punishing the FIU defense for miscommunications and looked to have the Owls in a great position to take control in the game.

But in the waning moments of the half, Veltkamp got greedy, tried to fit a throw in a tight window, and got picked off by Shamir Sterlin. And everything went downhill from there.

Veltkamp started missing high on multiple throws, not displaying the same comfort level that he did in the first half. He also started holding the ball much longer, letting the pressure affect him and throwing the offense off of its rhythm. This all culminated in the game-clinching play, as Veltkamp was picked off by freshman defensive back Jessiah McGrew.

It was a drastic change for the Owls’ quarterback, and not a welcome one. Veltkamp, for all of his successes, had major struggles that played a major role in the Owls losing the game. FAU needs to figure out how to get consistency from its signal caller ahead of a major showdown with Memphis; otherwise, things could get dark early for the Owls this season.

Other Notes from 2025 Shula Bowl

• FAU had an unacceptable day in regard to penalties, notching 11 of them for 92 yards. That cannot happen going forward, and if it does, it will be a major reflection on the coaching staff.
• Gemari Sands is a star that not many people are aware of. He had to create so much on the ground, and found major success doing so. If he gets more help from the scheme and playcalling, Sands could be in store for some amazing games in 2025.
• Jayshon Platt and Easton Messer are good receivers. Along with Asaad Waseem, the Owls have some fun wideout options for this offense. However, they may need to start getting reps from a bigger outside wideout to find more success in the red zone. Would love to see some reps from Jade Card or Branden Hoch to fill this void.

Looking Ahead

FAU, after a bye week, welcomes Memphis to Boca Raton to start off American Conference play. FIU welcomes Delaware to Miami to start Conference USA play.