2010 Florida International Panthers Football Preview

2009 Results: 3-9, No Bowl

Head Coach: Mario Cristobal (4th year @ FIU, 9-27 Overall)

Home Venue: FIU Stadium (18,000), Miami, Florida

It has been a difficult eight years in D-1A football for the Florida International Panthers, who have never earned a bowl berth. While Coach Mario Cristobal did a good job pulling the team out of the mess that was created during an infamous brawl with Miami, he has not yet fielded a winning team and he need to show progress to avoid ending up on the hot seat. Will he be able to guide an inexperienced team to the postseason?

OFFENSE

The Panthers get a major upgrade this season under center as Mississippi State transfer Wesley Caroll is finally eligible. He set a Bulldog record for consecutive passes without an interception during his short SEC run, so he should be a great pivot for the Panthers’ pass-heavy offense. He inherits a strong set of receivers, led by junior T.Y. Hilton, who caught 57 passes for 632 yards and 5 TDs last season. In fact, FIU returns their top eight pass-catchers from 2009!

That’s the good news. The bad news is that the backfield is fairly bare as junior Darriet Perry is the team’s top returning rusher despite barely netting 300 yards in 2009. While Syracuse transfer Jeremiah Harden should form a decent tandem with Perry, there is also the major issue of the O-Line’s inexperience, as they return only two starters. Senior center Brad Serini, a two time All-Sun Belt choice, is one of the league’s best but both tackle positions might be manned by underclassmen. That lack of experience is the biggest concern on the offensive side of the football this year.

However, there is no doubt that this offense should be more effective than it was in 2009, when the Panthers averaged less than 23 points per game. With Carroll under center throwing to a veteran set of receivers, expect FIU to have one of the conference’s best passing games. While the running game is a concern, the Panthers were the one of the worst rushing teams in America last year so there is nowhere to go but up. Expect the Panthers to post their best offensive showing in the Cristobal era this fall.

DEFENSE

Perhaps the biggest reason for FIU’s nine losses last year was the abysmal play of their defense, which at 35.3 points per game was the 9 th worst scoring defense in the country! The good news for 2010 is that four of the top six tacklers from last season are back and hungry for a better showing.

However, the fundamental concern with this season’s defense is the same as 2009’s: Stopping the run. After allowing 233 rush yards per game last season, the Panthers have only one returning starter on the line and could start as many as three underclassmen!

Things look much brighter in the back seven, where the aforementioned top returning tacklers all reside. Sophomore safety Jonathan Cyprien is the team’s top returning tackler after recording 78 stops as a true freshman and will be a major player in run support this season. He’ll be supplementing a solid set of linebackers that features junior MLB Aaron Davis. Despite losing last season’s top tackler, the Panthers have a very athletic group around him. Finally, it is important to single out two time All-Sun Belt cornerback Anthony Gaitor, who will be one of the conference’s elite corners in his 3 rd season in the starting lineup.

But as good as the back seven look, they don’t compensate for the possibility of a D-Line that could be dominated by underclassmen. The best secondary in college football can’t keep receivers from running free if there is no pass rush! Considering how poorly they performed last year, FIU should improve upon last season’s rush defense numbers by default. However, that still means that opponents are going to find a lot of room to run and a lack of a pass rush could turn out to be their Achilles Heel in 2010, especially with a difficult early schedule.

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SCHEDULE

The schedule simply does the Panthers zero favors. Their first four games are against BCS conference opponents Rutgers, Maryland, Texas A&M and Pittsburgh and only the Scarlet Knights come to south Florida! Then the Sun Belt schedule opens up with four road games in the first six contests! The only good news is that the Panthers have an off week built into the middle of the slate but this simply doesn’t set up well for Cristobal’s crew.

OUTLOOK

The Panthers are definitely one of the most improved teams in the Sun Belt. Their passing game should be very strong and they have good team speed on defense. However, they are weak along the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football and their running game is a major concern. Furthermore, their schedule leaves literally no margin for error. While this should definitely be a better Florida International team, it seems very unlikely that the Panthers will post a .500 record in 2010.

PREDICTED RESULT: 4-8 (4-4 Sun Belt)