Stop the Insanity!

I stopped making sports posts for two reasons. One of them being because I don’t really want to limit this blog to stuff that is only relevant to people at FIU. I would prefer to have a broader reader base than that. Mainly I stopped posting about sports though because, like most sports fans, I am superstitious. About the same time I stopped posting sports related blog entries, the football team started winning. They got their same victory about the same time that the men’s soccer team got theirs and the volleyball team got their first conference win. Since that post the volleyball team continues to roll and both the soccer squads have notched a few victories. The football team went to Denton, Texas and put a whooping on UNT.
So I stopped posting about sports, not out of laziness or a lack of desire to post about sports, believe me. Besides the wins we’ve gotten, some of the stuff I’ve been reading on college football message boards has had me chomping at the bit to post. Let me get the basics out of the way first.
Is there anyone still questioning Paul McCall as the starting QB for this team? Paul has looked great now the he is getting more time to set up and check down to his second and third pass options. I would like to see fewer dropped passes from the receivers though.
Next, how fast is T.Y. Hilton? Damn! That guy can fly. I don’t know that “Goodbye” is an adequate nickname for him. Perhaps it should just be T.Y. “Damn that guy is fast” Hilton. He’s got good hands too. Normally it’s the sure handed receivers are the slow ones and the burners are the guys who couldn’t catch a cold.
Finally, the biggest difference I see between this team and the team that lost its first two games is confidence. This team knows that it has talent and can win games. Even when they went down 13-0 in the first quarter to Troy, they didn’t quit. Winning can do that to you. This team may only lose one more game the rest of this season.
Now that I’ve gotten that out, let me address you insane people. Once the Panthers won a couple of games I started reading message board posts with people talking about a conference championship and subsequent bowl game. Hold on a moment people. We beat three bad teams. Yes, I know that we beat Toledo and then Toledo beat Michigan but guess what? Michigan isn’t a good team either. Rich Rodriguez is installing an offensive system without the proper tools right now. UNT is in the same position FIU has been in for the past two seasons, only they aren’t in a talent hotbed like Miami and they don’t have a recruiter like MC there either. MTSU is the best of the three teams that we beat but they have personnel issues right now.
It is great to be winning and hopefully the stands will begin to fill a bit more with each win but don’t make those New Orleans reservations just yet. We still have two of the better teams in the conference remaining in Arkansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette, not to mention FAU, who I still think is better than their 2-5 record indicates. Two losses in any of those three games leaves us at 6-6, providing we win the games we should win against Louisiana-Monroe and Western Kentucky. We don’t want to overlook those teams the way that Toledo obviously overlooked us.
If we win two of those three games and end up at 7-5, a bowl game is still a long shot. Yes, the Sun Belt conference does have more bowl tie-ins than just the New Orleans bowl but those aren’t guaranteed. The other bowls have other teams to choose from before falling back to the Sun Belt teams and FIU and its young tradition and poor attendance record isn’t likely to wow any bowl selection committees. Even if we win out, we need Troy to lose two conference games now that they have beaten us and that isn’t likely to happen. Winning out would put us at 8-4 though, making passing on FIU a difficult proposition for any lower tiered bowl game. I just don’t think that will happen. I think FIU wins three of its last five games, finishing 6-6 and staying home for the holidays. Considering that most in the sports media had FIU as the worst team in the country this year, a 6-6 season should be more than enough for its fans. Even I only had them 4-8.
Now before any of you FIU fans start bashing me or saying that I’m not a true fan, let me say that I will gladly print out these pages and eat my words if FIU ends up winning the conference or playing in a bowl game.

Sun Belt Shines

Traditionally, Sun Belt teams are the ones that the big conference schools schedule early on in the season when they are tired of beating up on themselves in intra-squad scrimmages and need someone else to practice with prior to the rigorous conference schedule beginning.  They may also schedule them for homecoming when they need a guaranteed win for the students, alumni and distinguished guests (recruits).  It’s a symbiotic relationship from which both schools benefit: the big school gets a pretty much guaranteed win, and the smaller programs get a big payday for their school.

Things have changed though.  Last year, Louisiana Monroe went to Tuscaloosa and came out of Bryant-Denny Stadium with a win over SEC powerhouse Alabama.  Yes, the same Alabama Crimson Tide that has 12, count ‘em, 12 national titles.  Troy beat the Cowboys of the Big Twelve’s Oklahoma State, too.

So far in this young season, Sun Belt teams have come close to playing spoiler in some big conference school’s seasons.  In week one Arkansas State beat Texas A&M and in week two Middle Tennessee beat Maryland, who then beat #23 California.  On top of the victories, Sun Belt teams, with the exception of our beloved Golden Panthers, have been able to play competitive football, too.  Last week Arkansas needed a last minute touchdown to beat ULM.  This past weekend MTSU played Kentucky very closely, as did Arkansas State with Southern Miss, Brett Favre’s alma mater.  Louisiana-Lafayette almost sipped the fun out of Champagne, Illinois, losing to Ron Zook’s 24th ranked Fighting Illini 20-17.  I also believe that, had it not rained as badly as it did, FAU might have been able to beat Michigan State in East Lansing.  Instead, Mother Nature did her part to shut down Rusty Smith and the high flying offense of the Owls.  I don’t know who to blame Cortez Gent’s sudden case of the dropsies on though.

Granted, the Goliaths that have fallen at the hands of Davids of the Sun Belt have been  middle of the pack teams, with the exception of Alabama.  The Sun Belt has yet to conquer the Floridas, Ohio States and Texas’ of the world, but that day may dawn sooner than later.  Maybe the Sun Belt teams aren’t too far from passing their counterparts in Conference USA or the MAC as the whipping boys of the NCAA.  

Is this the week that FIU’s football program gets the signature win it so desperately needs?  Perhaps.  After all, FIU did play well against Kansas, despite what the lopsided score would indicate.  Our opponent this week, the Bulls of the University of South Florida, who are led by stud quarterback Matt Grothe, needed a heroic effort from their star to rally past the Jayhawks in Tampa this past weekend.  

USF may be the most talented team we’ll face all season.  They play with speed and finesse on offense and hit hard on defense.  But we are opening our new stadium this week and I’m sure that Coach Cristobal is pounding that into the boys every day in practice.  The university has invested a ton of money not only in the construction of the stadium, but in the marketing of this as a program on the rise.  The last thing they want to see is the Panthers getting blown out in The Cage‘s inaugural game. 

FIU @ Iowa Review

I don’t know where to start.  That game was abysmal.  Like I said, the key to the offense having any success at all was going to be the play of the offensive line, who got pushed around all day.  Paul McCall was scrambling for his life and often had to throw the ball prematurely.  Wayne Younger had  some success in the second half but that didn’t last long.  It seemed like the Iowa defense was able to adjust to his mobility and soon he was scrambling for his life, too.

As far as individual play goes, Marquis Rolle left me scratching my head on a couple of occasions.  One of those times he had a sure first down had he just kept running once he caught the ball.  Instead, he chose to try to run around the defense in hopes of gaining extra yardage.  What happened?  The same thing that happens almost every time someone tries t get more than what is there, he lost yards.  On a positive note, he was our leading receiver in the game.

Wayne Younger, as good as he looked on his first few series, took a sack on a fourth down late in the game, something that absolutely should never happen.  You have to at least chuck that ball up.  What’s the worst that could happen, an interception?  You were going to lose possession anyways.  That being said, until the offensive line can provide some protection, he may be the best quarterback for this offense.

Iowa’s mammoth offensive line was able to open holes big enough to drive a truck through all day.  Shonn Green was over 100 rushing yards by halftime and Iowa called off the dogs in the second half, otherwise he might have run for two bills.  Their O-line also prevented FIU’s defense from getting near their quarterbacks all day long.  Some of FIU’s key defensive players on the day were: Scott Bryant, with seven total tackles; Robert Mitchell, who had six total tackles to go along with a fumble recovery and an interception; and Anthony Gaitor, who had five total tackles and two pass breakups.

In all fairness to both the offensive and defensive lines, these Iowa lines were probably the biggest they will face all season, so this game may be an unfair measuring stick.  As far as coaching and intangibles go, I think Mario Cristobal is an excellent recruiter and a player’s coach, that being said, I question his ability to be tough on these players when he needs to be.  When Marquis Rolle decided to run backwards and cost his team a sure first down, he didn’t need a pat on the ass and a “We’ll get ‘em next time” talk.  He needed someone in his grill or to spend the next series or two on the bench.

As far as offensive play calling goes, why, other than because we fell behind so quickly, did Bill Legg abandon a running game that gained 13 and six yards on it’s first two attempts, respectively.  I’m just a spectator and have no better ideas or methods to make this team successful so I’m speaking purely out of a fan’s right to be an armchair quarterback but, as I said in my game preview, the threat of a run game, which we may have been able to establish, opens up the passing game.  So why, when you seem to be having early success, abandon it so quickly?

All in all, the game was dreadful to watch.  I was so looking forward to a competitive game.  Especially since it was the first FIU game I’ve ever watched.  Actually, it was the first collegiate game I’ve ever watched as a student of that particular institution, so you can imagine my desire for the game to be a competitive one.  We just seem light years away from being able to compete on the D-1 level.  Some of our conference rivals have been able to be competitive with big conference schools.  UL-Monroe, who beat Bama in Tuscaloosa last year, lost to Arkansas of the SEC on a last minute play and Middle Tennessee beat the ACC’s Maryland.

I’ll end this rant on a positive note.  The opening of our beautiful on-campus stadium is now less than two weeks away.  I hope to God that our boys defend “The Cage” with pride.  USF, who has come along way in a very short time with their program, were taken to the limit by UCF this past weekend, squeaking out an overtime win against the Knights.  Let’s hope they overlook the Golden Panthers and give this program the signature win it so desperately needs.

That’s all for now, see you on campus!

-ELI3

FIU Football Preview

My own personal Panther preview.  If the last 2 seasons are any indicator or if the trend continues, we should win 2 games this season (0 wins in ’06 and 1 in ’07).  Rivals.com has the Golden Panthers ranked 120^th out of 120 Division 1-A teams and says that merely doubling our win total from last year is a legit goal.  I’ve got loftier expectations.  We have four conference home games and I say we win three of those, with our lone conference home loss likely being to Middle Tennessee (Rivals #100).  On the road, I think we steal a win at either North Texas (#115) or Louisiana-Lafayette (#97). 

FAU (#74) is once again picked to win the conference and in the Shula Bowl they are likely to squeak out a win but you can never predict a rivalry game.  Now some of you may be asking, “What is this guy smoking?”  Yes, FAU has Rusty Smith who at 6-5/215 is a future NFL prospect.  Smith threw for 32 TDs last year and is likely to improve upon that number this season, especially throwing to his favorite target, junior WR Cortez Gent.  But the Golden Panthers’ strength this season will be its secondary and like I said, it’s tough to predict rivalry games.  Another positive for the Golden Panthers is that they face FAU and their 2 new starting safeties at the end of the season after the offense has had plenty of time to master Bill Legg’s spread offense.

The question is, who will be calling the plays in the huddle? Paul McCall got us our only win last season and his stats were pretty impressive (35/63, 55.6 comp. %, 413 yards, 5/1 TD/Int., 133.64 passer efficiency rating and 1-0 as starter) but I don’t like to make assumptions based on stats.  On one hand, his lone start was against the second worst team in the conference.  On the other, he did force FAU to put their 1^st string defense back in after replacing an injured Wayne Younger during the second half of the Shula Bowl.  I attended the Spring Game and one of the fall scrimmages before coach Cristobal closed them to the media and public and McCall seems to have a grasp on Legg’s offense.

Wayne Younger (121/265, 45.7, 1357, 9/17, 87.05, 0-11) is returning from an injury and not likely to give up his position without a fight.  He led the team in pass yards and touchdowns as well as being second in net rushing yards.  Unfortunately, for most of the season he was the leader of an offense that finished next to last in the nation in total offense.  Wayne, based on his mobility, is probably the better fit for this offense.  Spread offenses require a mobile quarterback and Younger is definitely that.  The biggest question mark with Wayne is whether or not his down time while recovering from the broken collarbone hampered his ability to master this intricate offense the way Paul McCall has.

From what I saw during the scrimmage that I attended, the wide receiver position should be a concern.  We have a lot of speed guys but none of them seem to be able to hold onto the ball.  I saw too many dropped passes for an offense that will be pass heavy.

We also have a lot of talent at the tailback position.  Julian Reams, A’mod Ned and Daunte Owens should get the lion’s share of the touches, meaning we have experience and speed in the offensive backfield.

The strength of this team though will be the defense, especially the secondary.  We are stacked with talented corner backs and safeties and the competition for playing time among them will only make them even better.  Jeremiah Weatherspoon, who should be the next FIU alum playing football on Sundays, is back from injury and leads a talented crop of defensive backs.  On the line, freshman Kambriel Willis spent so much time during the fall scrimmage in the offensive backfield that I thought he was just a really big fullback.

During the scrimmage, the defense was dominant.  That could mean one of four things: our defense is that good; our offense is that bad; both the offense and defense are bad but the offense is so bad that it makes the defense look good; or that the offense is really good and the defense is very good.  Let’s hope for the latter. 

            I’m predicting a 4-8 2008 campaign although I’m hoping for a 12-0 season and a BCS Bowl berth.  Hey, a guy can hope.  I’ll see you at The Cage!

            BTW, FIU is getting next to zero respect on the FIU vs. Kansas message boards.  One person predicted a 62-0 blowout.  Go over there and show the Panthers some love.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/conversation?gameId=282432305

 

                I’m leaving for Atlanta this afternoon and probably won’t be posting again until next week.  Have a good weekend everyone.

-ELI3