The Year of the FCS punking the FBS -- and taking a paycheck along the way -- continued Saturday night in South Florida.
Monmouth outscored host Florida International 24-14 in the second half and got a game-saving forced fumble at its own 1-yard line inside the game's final minute for a 45-42 triumph -- the Hawks's first-ever win against an FBS foe.
"Just an awesome, awesome win," said Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan. "First and foremost, I am so happy for the players on our team; they really believed and knew we were going to have to play a full 60 minutes and it went right down to the last 30 seconds before we pulled it out.
"There were some times where maybe it didn't look like we were going to come away with the win as they were driving at the end of the game and we were able to strip the ball at the one-yard line and get it back. It just shows there's no quit in this team, they are going to play the entire game until there are zeros on the clock and we got a great result tonight."
THE play by @thedeucelee ✅ pic.twitter.com/tOKHfz0Dd5
— Monmouth Football (@MUHawksFB) September 22, 2024
Historic Win ‼️@MUHawksFB gets their first-ever victory over an FBS team, defeating FIU 45-42. pic.twitter.com/CQF2EPA9IW
— NCAA FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) September 22, 2024
Though it took an heroic effort to force the goal-line fumble, Monmouth positioned itself for this win through no fluke actions. The Hawks had 540 yards' offense and commanded a nine-minute edge in time of possession.
Down 28-21 at the half, Monmouth outscored host FIU 24-14 in the second half to secure the program-record win.