FIU Panthers: Just beat the FAU Owls

“You guys are the worst. Your whole team is terrible. Why would you ever want to watch them play?”

Those were the words said by one of my coworkers when talking about the FIU football program.

As a proud alumni of Florida International University, I came from the era of the first two bowl games in school history. I was there to watch T.Y. Hilton dominate inside of the Cage (FIU Stadium) by running kickoffs back for touchdowns and then celebrate with his signature TY dance.

I saw Jonathan Cyprien time and time again play excellent pass coverage and get picks in the open field. I saw Winston Fraser stop the run, or drop back in coverage to play the pass. 

I was apart of that crowd, loud and proud as a Golden Panther. 

So it was tough for me to see my beloved program fall so fast. Losing head coach Mario Cristobal hurt. I wasn’t bitter though, I wished him the best because he worked hard to bring us success. 

Last year (this is the last time i’ll mention it) was tough to endure. We did suck, and there was no answer for it. We had no heart, no energy and no passion. We ended up with an 1-11 record.

Nevertheless, just like a bad undisciplined child, I still held unconditional love in my heart for my school.

So I shouted out at my colleague when he started trashing FIU. “My Panthers will beat your sorry team” without realizing what school he had graduated from…FAU. 

Then I got extra confident and even more hyped knowing that we were playing a rival school. “We’ll see y’all Oct. 2, 7:00 pm inside the Cage where Owl’s can’t fly” I replied. I even got so confident, I offered to purchase the tickets since I know we are going to win this game. The way the Panthers have played, I have more than enough brass to prematurely celebrate.

Then the season started and I was beyond excited. Besides the opening game loss, this year I must say has been really impressive. We are a different team from last year and it shows.

FIU’s current head coach Ron Turner has even seen the progression of his team from the beginning of the season. In an interview with the Pittsburgh Post Gazette Turner said this:

"“It’s a totally different team, totally different feel… And it really started the day after the season ended last year. The seniors left, and the guys looked at it and said it’s a new team.”"

We played hard against Pittsburgh at home. That was one of the best efforts I have seen us play in a while. I don’t believe in moral victories, but what I do believe in are litmus tests. The Pitt game was the beginning when my eyes opened. The way everyone competed was insane. I saw EJ Hillard look like EJ Manuel, and our defense was trying so hard to stop James Conner.

Nevertheless, we ended up losing the game allowing Pitt to score 26 unanswered points after jumping out to a 16-0 lead.

Then came the Louisville game, where again we hung around but couldn’t contend. James Quick and Eli Rogers were just too good for our cornerbacks and we got cooked through the air. Will Gardner threw for 295 yards and two touchdowns. But then again, we only lost 34-3 to a team we previously lost 72-0 the year before.

How could I get upset?

Following our loss to two major college programs, we played against UAB and defeated them 34-20.

Now we begin FAU week and the record between our schools sits at 9-3, with Florida Atlantic University having nine wins to their name.

This game means a lot more than a rivalry win though. We sit in third place within the C-USA conference and we have the opportunity to move up to second place with a win against the Owls in the Shula Bowl.

If we can get the fourth win in our annual season series we will end up 3-3 with a future to control our own destiny within the conference.

I don’t want to put tremendous pressure on our players because they have played so well this season.

I only have one request this year, beat FAU. I’ll be at the game, with that same coworker who continues to trash our school. We have to have some semblance of pride.

We didn’t beat Pitt, We didn’t beat Louisville, but we can do this. Again I say, just beat FAU.

Memo to FAU, we have more players in the NFL than you. How does that feel?

We are the FIU, the proud, the Panthers.

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