FIU Tackles Trojans Tuesday

MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – Florida International University is becoming a regular staple on the ESPN family of networks. The latest appearance will be Tuesday night against the Troy Trojans.

The Sun Belt Conference game could give the Panthers an added boost as they try to hold on in a race to win a bowl berth from the conference.

FIU is currently fifth in the nine-team Sun Belt Conference. FIU is 1-2 in conference and can't afford another loss in conference.

Troy is out of the race in the Sun Belt if they lose after running their record to 2-4 on the season last week.

FIU's offense, which typically runs through T.Y. Hilton, is putting up 26 points per game in 2011. Troy on the other hand is managing just 22.7 points per game, according to cfbstats.com.

Overall, FIU is gaining nearly 390 yards per game in total offense, with the offense being fairly balanced between running and passing.

Troy can counter with a spread offense that is putting up better than 400 yards of total offense on the board at a time.

FIU will have a definite defensive advantage in the game. The Panthers' defense is holding opponents to 23 points per game on the season.

Overall, FIU's defense is allowing just 357.7 yards per game to opposing teams.

FIU is doing much of their damage defensively by putting constant pressure on the quarterback.

FIU is averaging 2.57 sacks per game and has racked up a total of 18 sacks on the season, good for 26th in the nation, according to cfbstats.com.

The FIU game kicks off at 8 p.m. and can be seen live on ESPN2.