FIU has no plans to replace its starting quarterback against Marshall

Although the FIU Panthers have lost 13 of their past 14 games, don’t expect a change at football’s most important position.

Following FIU’s 34-19 home loss to Western Kentucky last week, Panthers coach Butch Davis was asked if he would consider benching sixth-year quarterback Max Bortenschlager and turning to second-year freshman Haden Carlson or true freshman Grayson James.

“No,” Davis said quickly. “Max potentially has another year [of college eligibility]. It’s not guaranteed, but he has that potential [for a medical redshirt] due to the surgeries he had before he came here.

“He has played great. He is an unbelievable competitor. You’ve seen the hits he’s been getting.”

Bortenschlager, who spent his first four collegiate seasons at the University of Maryland, is having a career season in terms of passing yards (2,026), completion percentage (52.9) and passing touchdowns (15). He has been intercepted five times.

In Conference USA, he ranks fifth in touchdown passes and third in passing yards per game (289.4).

However, FIU is 1-6 overall — its only win was against an FCS team — and 0-3 in the league.

With the season slipping away, FIU might be better off seeing what it has in Carlson, who drew high praise from Davis in the offseason but has yet to throw a collegiate pass.

Meanwhile, James has completed an impressive 65.2 percent of his passes in four games of mop-up duty this season, seemingly moving past Carlson on the depth chart.

Both players are listed as second string, but only James has gotten the call, completing 15-of-23 passes for 129 yards with no TDs or interceptions.

“We’ve tried to get some of the younger guys some playing time,” Davis said when asked about his quarterbacks. “James did a nice job [on Saturday] He drove the team down [in the final minutes], put them in the end zone.

“If Max does leave [to try the NFL in 2022], then James has some experience.”

In analyzing Bortenschlager, he has been solid overall, but his completion percentage is low, and that has been an issue throughout his career. In addition, he is not overly mobile, and that showed in the Western Kentucky game, when he took seven sacks.

Certainly, FIU’s offensive line deserves a lot of the blame for the sacks, but some of that is on Bortenschlager, too.

“We got off to a great start, but then [Western Kentucky] started dialing us up [with blitzes],” Bortenschlager said. “We didn’t have a great answer.”

Bortenschlager went 15 for 32 for 192 yards and one TD.

James, though playing in “garbage time” with and against fellow backups, completed 6 of 7 passes for 57 yards. He was not intercepted or sacked.

Bortenschlager hinted at how complex defenses are at this level, which is all the more reason to give James and Carlson exposure this season.

“They started mixing up some of the coverages and disguising some of the blitzes,” Bortenschlager said of WKU. “They were doing some different stuff.

“I can do a better job of getting the ball out of my hands quicker. Credit [WKU] for doing a good job covering some of the routes.”

MARSHALL’S NEXT

On Saturday, FIU will visit Marshall (4-3, 2-1). A loss would clinch a losing season for the Panthers.

Marshall is led by Grant Wells, who is second in C-USA in passing yards per game (332). The third-year sophomore has made 17 career starts, and he is 11-6. However, he has yet to face FIU.

The Thundering Herd also has the league’s third-leading rusher in Rasheen Ali (675 yards). Ali, who is averaging 5.5 yards per rush, leads the league with 13 rushing TDs.

CONFERENCE SHIFTS

With news that nine schools have decided to bolt C-USA — six to the American Athletic Conference and three to the Sun Belt — the Herald has requested an interview with FIU president Mark B. Rosenberg and/or athletic director Pete Garcia. Neither has agreed to an interview, but Rosenberg, in a statement, said:

“We remain in C-USA and expect to find a viable equilibrium sometime in the next few months. We believe in C-USA, and we see a bright future for a strong, competitive athletics and academic cluster with existing and new members.”