AT A GLANCE
FMU Lions (0-4, 0-1) at Cumberland University Phoenix (0-2, 0-0)
When: Saturday, September 25, 2021
Where: Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tenn. | Nokes-Lasater Field
Kickoff: 2:30 p.m. ET (1:30 CT)
Last Meeting: First Meeting
Live Stream: Link
Live Stats: Link
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – A hungry lion is one of the most dangerous things in the jungle.
Florida Memorial University's football program is hungry for a victory and has hit the road in search of that W, traveling to Lebanon, Tennessee to face Cumberland University Saturday at CU's Nokes-Lasater Stadium at 2:30 p.m.
Saturday's game, which will be FMU's second road game in as many weeks, will be broadcast live via Cumberland University's athletic streaming portal and can be viewed free of charge.
The Lions (0-4, 0-1 Mid-South Conference Sun Division) enter the weekend having dropped a tough battle at Faulkner University on September 18. Already shorthanded due to a litany of injuries on both sides of the ball, FMU was hampered by a horrible mix of turnovers, penalties, and bad weather during the 34-10 loss.
One of the positives to come out of the game against the Eagles though was the performance of freshman running back
George Young. Young, a Miami, Florida native who was making his healthy return to the Lions' lineup after missing the previous two games due to injury, set new modern-era, single-game records for rushing attempts (23), rushing yards (91, and total yards from scrimmage (117).
Young's performance powered the Lions to racking up their highest team rushing-yard total of the season up to this point.
Looking ahead to Saturday, Florida Memorial will be taking on a Cumberland University that has been equally yoked with it in that CU hasn't earned a victory in 2021.
The Phoenix (0-2) dropped their first two games of the season – both to Mid-South Sun Division teams No. 4 Keiser University and St. Thomas University – and has been outscored by a combined 79-12 in the two contests. Over the past handful of seasons, Cumberland has been a middling program but has taken a bit of a dip recently – going just 2-5 in the shortened 2020 season and opening 2021 with back-to-back losses.
Cumberland's offense is a balanced attack that is quarterbacked by freshman Dylan Carpenter and features sophomore Treylon Sheppard as the feature running back. Unlike FMU's previous two opponents (Faulkner and University of The Cumberlands), Cumberland University has a more modestly sized offensive line, which could lead to greater run-stuffing and pass-rushing opportunities for the Lions' defense.
Also, the Phoenix defense has struggled at stopping the run this season. CU has surrendered an average of 182 yards on the ground this season while also allowing opposing ball carriers to rattle off runs of 15 or more yards seven times through two games.
Florida Memorial head coach Tim "Ice" Harris Sr. said that he wants to see his team clean up its penalties this week – saying that the penalties have stymied the offense's ability to get into a rhythm – while also saying that the defense needs to limit the number of big plays it gives up.
"We have to do a better job of playing without committing so many penalties…make sure we're paying attention to what we're doing on the field," Harris began.
"Penalties have taken points off the score board and have killed our rhythm offensively this season – especially last week [at Faulkner University]. We can't hurt ourselves like that moving forward. Defensively, we have to do a better job of not letting the opponent stack big plays on top of each other. Sometimes you're going to give up a chunk play, but we have to do a better job of locking back in and not allowing them to just hit it again and again and move down the field on us."
