FIU/North Texas LIVE Blog

DENTON, TEXAS -- About 15 minutes from kickoff between FIU and North Texas, hopefully they play this game in 4 quarters and not 7 overtimes like the last time these 2 teams played here in Texas.

FIU is in its road white tops and pants and looking for its first 2-game winning streak since finishing the 2005 season by winning 3 in a row.

They got a track around the football field here at Fouts Field similar to old FIU Stadium. Also there are renderings of NT's new on-campus stadium on the floors of the stadium. The smell of Texas Bar-BQ engulfs Fouts Field and we got clear blue skies with low 70 temps. Let's get this live blog going....

Comments

[FIU Love]

ESPN 360 lets me see the game perfectly. This is the best thing ever. FIU is kicking butt.

[AxlRoseLovesWRGP]

I'm quite surprised that the offense has moved the ball. TY Hilton has made me a true, true believer that we might be able to move the ball a little bit this year

[gpantera]

Went to campus with Quijote to try and find the FIU football watch party. It wasn't at The Cage. It wasn't at the rat. If there was a watch party, it was poorly advertised. While Pete and Mario worry on getting us these W's, it should be someone's job at the athletic department to ensure there's a well organized watch party for away games, don't ya think?

We're winning and that truly eases the fustration but it's classic FIU administration fustration nonetheless.

Go G-Panther Football!

[FIUFan]

Can't wait for next week !!!

Go Panthers !!!

[FIUFloridaPower&Light]

Pete, can you tell the CCS crew to call him TY GOODBYE?

[AxlRoseLovesWRGP]

and based just on special teams and defense alone, we'll be able to bother Ark St., FAU, and ULL in conference

[FIU Fanatic]

From what I heard, he was just ecstatic about he way the team was playing...also, said he wasn't surprised FIU was winning with that score....

[Pete Pelegrin]

FIUFPL: Pete, can you tell the CCS crew to call him TY GOODBYE?

------------

Got a lot cooking right now, don't have time for that, sorry.

[Pete Pelegrin]

FIU D is going for its first shutout since 42-0 shutout of Butler in 2002.

[Pete Pelegrin]

Reggie Jones INT looks like Reggie Bush running it back

[FIU Fanatic]

Int. by Reginald Jones!!! He thinks he is a running back...looked good on the return...

[Pete Pelegrin]

FIU about to punch it in

[Pete Pelegrin]

PM to Kirch TD pass

[NYCFIUFan]

This is unbelievable, Pete how do I buy tickets for the New Orleans Bowl?

[gpantera]

Stay classy FIU. No unsportsmanlike flags please.

[Pete Pelegrin]

NYCFIUFan: This is unbelievable, Pete how do I buy tickets for the New Orleans Bowl?
---------------------

Whoa! Still got the big boys from the SBC to play: Middle Tennessee, Troy, Arkansas State and FAU

[CJ]

wow great that im tunning in now lol sounds like the game has been crazy

[Baltimorepanther]

The guys on ESPN Game Plan are saying that now the rest of the SBC is taking note of FIU with the score 35-0

[NYCFIUFan]

Pete, I know it is early, but a fan can dream. GO FIU!!! How is FAU doing vs Troy?

[Baltimorepanther]

sorry 34-0
What a hit on Vizza, that is Miami style D

[NYCFIUFan]

Baltimorepanther: Miami style D? Miami gave up over 40 today....at home. This is FIU sytle D!

[Baltimorepanther]

I was right 35-0 espn took too long to add the extra point

[The OC Panther]

THe ref said the extra point was good.. ??

[Baltimorepanther]

I am not talking about ucg, I am talking about Miami Dade county, most of the kids who played defense there like to hit like that44

[The OC Panther]

yeah Vizza and FItzgerald from UNT have really earned their scholarships today. They have been impressive with the amount of heart they've played with.

[Baltimorepanther]

why is Mario so upset?

[Pete Pelegrin]

NYCFIUFan: dream away, FIU has not won 2 in a row since 2005.

Will find out MC was upset after...he just got a flag for unsportsmanlike

[kjharris02]

aol sports has FIU 35 No Texas 0....

[kjharris02]

WOW, FIU intercepted!!!!! GO FIU!

[Baltimorepanther]

I wish that Fitzgerald kid was at FIU, he is their play maker

[CJ]

MC got upset when they gave up the 3 points he wanted the shut out

[Pete Pelegrin]

FIU lost the shutout on a FG, 35-3

[Baltimorepanther]

I think now that chris Cawthon is out, we should bring Younger for the last quarter

[NYCFIUFan]

I am still watching the game...after losing 35 of 26 games, it is nice to have a little winning streak!

[FIU Love]

Why does ESPN 360 still refer to FIU as Florida International? They should refer to them and have the team name posted as FIU, no????

[Puma]

it's great to be winning. it's great to be watching on espn360. this is awesome.

last week espn got it right. this week, they're referring to us as FIU but the screen scoreboard reads Fla Int'l. i guess it's going to take some time.

Go FIU Panthers!!!!!!

U24/7, where are you? I thought you'd be cheerleading.

FUMBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[FIU Fanatic]

Fumble!...What a lick on that running back....hope the UNT kid is ok....wow!

[FIUFloridaPower&Light]

Bring in Younger!

[NYCFIUFan]

Puma, the U 24/7 is still crying over his Canes blowing it against FSU. They have their own problems.

[FIUFloridaPower&Light]

ANOTHER TD!

[The OC Panther]

wow hell of a touchdown!!!! McCall is on fire!

[NYCFIUFan]

TD!!! What a play by Paul McCall!!! I wonder if the NT coach will pull a Randy Shannon and complain that FIU is pouring it on?

[NYCFIUFan]

Bring on Middle-Tennessee, a game that will determine who is in first place in the Sun Belt, come on FIU fans, show up!

[CJ]

what a TD catch.. ellingson is showing some vet. sawvy with that lil push off
great throw and catch for the TD

[Baltimorepanther]

WOW we are looking like the Gators of the mid 90's, even running the score.
I don't like to compare us to other teams, but now we have the same record that ucg has. How do they like those oranges?

[FIU Fanatic]

Great catch by Ellingson...Wow..it's 42-3 FIU, folks!

[NYCFIUFan]

Pete, what is the capacity of FIU Stadium? I hope what ever it is, we can get that next week.

[Pete Pelegrin]

Younger and Owens now in the game for FIU O

[Pete Pelegrin]

NYCFIUFan: Pete, what is the capacity of FIU Stadium? I hope what ever it is, we can get that next week.
--------------------

Seats alone is 18,000, but you can get 20,000 people in there if you want to.

[Puma]

this was our most winnable game in the conference. it's nice to see that we're taking care of business.

let's see how we do against the creme de la creme of the sun belt. i for one plan to be at the cage and i'm gong to get my extra tix.

see everyone there.

pete, maybe linda, manny, greg and edwin pope can't jointly write an article encouraging fans to come on out to show us some love this week.

[The OC Panther]

put PM back in!!!

WE dont have to score again but I dont want us to give up anymore points

[Pete Pelegrin]

going down to the field for postgame interviews and then writing story.

Will blog to you good people when I get back to Miami.

[pumaconcolorcoryi]

i feel for north texas what i felt for palin after the couric interview.

her kids' names are as strange as north texas's. what is the mean green anyway?

i wish them luck the rest of the season.

[Baltimorepanther]

Have a safe trip back to Miami Pete. I hope we show the same intencity next week, and maybe we can go 3-3 2-0 that would be something.
And for the doubters, we have improved from the last 2 seasons. I am optimistic and I know we have the play the best teams in SBC, but maybe we can compete with them and who knows our defense is sick, maybe we can sneak in a bowl game.

[The OC Panther]

Dag, wish we could have kept it to 3 but oh well,

just happy we won and that the team and coaching continue to show strong sign of development.

[FIU Fanatic]

Good to see!!! FIU wins 42-10...We have a two game winning streak..

[TNGoldenPanther]

Damn its good to be in the W column!

Good job boys! Lets take care of business next week against MTSU!

GO FIU!!

[FIUFan]

Let's bring the 'Rage to the Cage' against Middle next Saturday.

FIU 3 - 3 in their last six games.

Go Panthers !!!

[CJ]

great win by FIU . Pete safe trip back.. def goin to be a fun flight back with a win! now lets get that stadium rockin ! Go FIU beat them blue ponies!

[FIUrulez]

"We won yesterday. We won today. If we win tomorrow, that's called a winning streak. It has happened before."
-Major League

I love being wrong. Great win!!!!

[FIUfantastic]

Great start to the season.

Already WAY better than last season and we're seeing a much improved FIU football team.

Even if we lose every single game from now on (which I dont think we will) this season is a winning season in our books.

We had our first Div-1A non-conference win, on the road. We started out conference play with a BIG win (42-10). We are also seeing an FIU QB throwing TD passes (what?!?!). And we have TY Goodbye, which is a monster along with El Oso and a steady defense.

FIU is doing their part. Now its up to us to go and bring FIVE people with us to the Middle TN game.

Let's not get crazy and talk about Bowl invites and SBC Champs; one step at a time.

We are very young but Cristobal is taking us in the wrong direction. Very glad we got Cristobal and not the Canes....

[SouthPaw]

Nice win. Good teams beat the opponents they're supposed to. A real sign of maturity that the guys didn't let up for this game or let up in the second half. Kudos to the coaching staff for that.

Hilton is special. Can't wait to see Mertile start making plays next. Our defense has some real leaders. Those guys are impressive. If our OL can hold up (not good seeing Cawthon going down), we can make some real noise in the SunBelt.

[fiuchris]

I'll wait till tomorrow to be debbie downer.

[Max]

Great victory! Saw the whole thing on ESPN Gameplan! Let's keep it going next week against MTSU!

[nycfiufan]

FIU wins, canes lose, another great college football weekend!!!!!

[Golden Panther 90]

Same record as the Hurricanes except our 2 wins come against Division I teams. 0-2 at Dolphin Stadium and starting a different streak than at the OB. I wonder if Randy can recruit outside of Northwestern High School

[goldenpantherhunni]

Thanks for keeping up this blog! I missed the game so it was great to recap on here.

Thanks to all who contributed.

GO FIU!!

[nycfiufan]

I wonder who will be favored next week?

[alt7787]

PETE!!!!! Make the Herald print FIU football articles on the front page of the sports page the whole week!!! No more articles about UM players. who the hell cares about dedrick epps?! People need to take notice that FIU has finally started winning. Finally after long last. Last week's win was nice, but to see another commanding win this week shows that the near future may be bright for FIU. So far the UCG have shown that they cannot close out a game. After they beat Charleston Southern every friggin sports writer in this bandwagon city was writing "UM is back" "National Championship here we come". Ok well its time for the bandwagon city to jump on to FIU's bandwagon. A sold out crowd against MTSU will surely show the team that people actually care.

[TheChampionUnderdog]

Pete, i wonder if you noticed that i predicted the score EXACTLY..... thats gotta give me like a +5 in the contest or something....

whaddya say buddy? ;)

[quijote]

Great win! Unlike last week where the majority of our offense came on turnovers, we were able to produce with a variety of different opportunities. And its ended 42 - 10 because we simply turned off the offense switch.

ANOTHER great effort by FIU...clearly we are on the rise. The sleeping giant is starting to wake up and once out of bed, will create some SERIOUS noise.

Earlier this evening, around 11:30pm, I was driving home and listening to 790 and don't know who was on but he was talking up FIU BIG TIME. Even went to the extent of saying that UM should be very scared because they haven't been able to do anything in the last five years but FIU has done so much. He was incorrect in saying we will have 50k stadium by 2010, but still drove home the point that sooner than later, UM will no longer be the prominent college football team. He said some other stuff and also mentioned that we need to start beating some real teams, but that we're clearly headed in the right direction and that UM should be afraid.

When you get wins, you get attention. Lets keep it going this weekend against MTU, let's rock the cage guys!!!

ROAR BABY!!!

[quijote]

Can someone please clear up what the deal was with the Panther Club watch party? GPan and I were going in circles at FIU trying find it, but eventually left. FIU needs to do a better job of communicating, AND organizing, these events for their growing fanbase to follow.

The ESPN guys even gave heads up to this gathering that was apparently MIA.

[Gazi]

Great win for FIU, they looked really good all around!! I had a watch party at my house with 50 alumni, we can't believe that The Herald and none of the local media has anything on the website!!! Of course they are covering a University of Coral Gables LOSS

[FIUer]

Wow is hardly enough. Couldn't watch the game live, just watched it recorded. What domination. Never seen this type of domination by the boys in gold and blue 2 weeks in a row. TY is unbelievable, he reminds of me of watching D Wade when he was a largely unknown rookie and talking to people about D Wade and they were like, "who", well that's TY, in a few years and he'll be thrilling us on Sundays if he keeps up on this pace.

Very proud to be a Golden Panther right now, thank you MC, PG, and Mitch...keep the gas on the pedal gentlemen.

[FIUFloridaPower&Light]

Pete-

PLEASE tell the administration they really dropped to ball on the WATCH PARTY. Was there even one? I kept trying to find info about it all FIU's website but nothing.

ALSO, the administration BETTER do an amazing job of promoting this next game.

1.)Ask all the professors to give extra credit for those that go to the game.
2.)Put signs all over school that we are on a winning streak and need everybody out there.
3.)Hold rally's EVERYDAY in GC not just for one day.
4.)Have an employee call up 790 and 560 during programming to tell listeners about coming out.

JUST sending emails is not ACCEPTABLE!!

[FIUJM]

Impressive victory!!! Heard 940 postgame announcer saying that the message board was calling T.Y. Hilton, T.Y. Goodbye.

Let's do our part to get as many people at stadium as possible. Our boys play a tough team next week and playing at THE CAGE should make them feel pumped to beat Middle Tennessee.

Where do I start? What I enjoyed most about this game is that there were many players that had great game. Great interception by R. JONES and great leap. DEZ JOHNSON seemed to be all over the field. MCDUFFIE nice interception. ELLINGSON first TD catch of the year. KIRCHENBERG scored TD. NED is also playing great at RB. The team effort was there to see.

This coaching staff still believes they have much work ahead of them. But MC, Legg,Galiano, and whole staff have them learning what it takes to win.

GO FIU!!!

[CJ]

FIUJM great points. the coaching staff is still learing how to win but they sure look like they are starting to get it. i think if we could even get the stadium 3/4 filled we can def beat MTSU. these guys seem to feed off the crowd during the USF game i think they could do it again.. everyone has got to do their part. invite everyone and anyone! great win by the guys congrats and lets keep it goin

[Baltimorepanther]

IL have a good feeling about our next game, now our guys know the feeling of winning games, and to dominate other teams, they have won 2 on the road, but it is time to win one at home, and with the second game at the cage there is no better timing. I think they will come out blazing to protect their turf and keep winning, I know MTS i a better team than NT but if the cage is sold out and loud, and the energy is there FIU can pull the W.
GO FIU

[Puma]

loved the victory and all the big plays.

however, would love to see some sustained drives. that's going to be important when we get into tougher games.

our fist drive lasted all of 10 seconds, our second td came off a blocked punt. our third drive lasted 52 seconds and our fourth 26 seconds.

our average rush yielded 2.8 yards per carry despite ned's 26 yard run for a td.

somehow nt racked up 22 first downs to our 13 and generated 428 yards of offense. i'd love for us to move the chains, move the ball down the field and chew up some time.

like cristobal said post-game, this is great but we still have a lot of work to do.

pete, what's the injury report? didn't robert mitchell get hurt?

[Ricolando]

The watch party was at the FIU Arena. I was at the football stadium standing around for an hour and a half until someone suggested we check out the basketball arena. Turnout was maybe 100 people, but would have been much higher had they announced things correctly! I'll definitely let people know to come out to the games and represent. Amazing win for us and a lot of fun to watch! Let's carry this to our next two home games! Go Panthers!

[GO FIU!]

GO PANTHERS!

[FIUFan]

I challenge all Panther fans to take a look at the hard copy of the Herald today. The sports editor had two photos of FIU in there, one was a goofey looking picture of T Y holding up the football after a TD in some ackward way and the other was a photo of Julien being sandwiched between three UNT players.

Are you telling me Mr. Sports Editor that after a 42-10 blowout the best photos you could find were those two. That is the usual herald crap. Get your act together, we know what you're up to.

Now on to next weeks game v. Middle. FIU is on a two game winning streak looking for number 3. This is what the FIU community has been waiting for, for oh so long. Now is the time for all the FIU fans to get out there and keep this momentum going. Don't let this opportunity slip by. Confidence is a huge part of sport and nothing bodes confidence like having a rabid crowd at your back.

Let's create a home field advantage!

Go Panthers !!!

[quijote]

damn it it was at Pharmed?! Jeeez THANKS FIU for letting us know and having many of your students and Alumni running around like headless chickens looking for the damn thing.

I want to point something out...the importance of special teams, specifically the FSU/MIAMI game's safety

The FSU punter missed the snap, so instead of taking a smack and falling inside the 5 (which would've resulted in an easy ongoing TD or Field Goal) he kicked it into the endzone. The objective was to sacrifice 2 points with that QUICK THINKING and kick it deep and hold them. Although U eventually scored anyways, this sort of stuff can really make or break a game and obviously they practice these scenarios during the week.

[FIU Fanatic]

I agree with your analysis, Puma of the game. It was great win...we made some..or a lot of plays...and I'm flying high at this point, like any other Golden Panther fan has to be. However, let's all put this win in proper context before going crazy...statistically speaking, believe it or not, they actually 'beat' us. Of course, much of those numbers were generated by them when the game was out of reach, so you also have to take that into consideration.

What I'm getting at is that now we are about to get into SBC's toughest competition, while UNT might be SBC's worst team this year...uncontested. Toledo just got killed 31-0 at home to a very good and talented Ball State team. MTSU, and then Troy...and ULL....and then FAU...should be the strongest competition of the SBC.

Let's try to get everyone pumped up about FIU, and bring as many people as possible for next Saturday's game against MTSU...but let's measure our comments, and remember what our expectations were at the beginning of the season. One step at a time, and we might help them keep improving and growing so that they become that much better in game 10 of this season than what the kids just showed us in Game 5 of this season.....

[FIUChris]

So for that Debbie Downer stuff:

We still can't sustain drives, and yeah, he had 4 touchdown passes, but I'm still not too impressed with McCall. I still don't he's ever going to be a guy who can win you a game on his own.

That said, love the ball hog defense we're playing, and you aren't going to lose many game when you can be plus 3 in TO differential. We are being smart with the ball, and McCall hasn't made too many mistakes, so it could keep going. But I still want to see the offense put more than a few plays together at a time.

Of course, with TY Goobye, we might not need more than a few plays. I'll be very interested to see how we do against MTSU, we should match up pretty well.

They cannot run the ball, and our strength is easily our secondary. If we put some pressure on the QB, we can shut their offense down.

The difference for us thus far has been special teams, though. Averaging 20 yars on kick and punt returns is solid as hell. With TY, we can keep that up, though teams have to start thinking about trying to keep it away from him.

I feel pretty confident going into this week, all that said. If McCall can keep the mistakes down like he has the last two weeks, we should be able to win. But I have zero confidence in our ability to win if we have to put it all on him.

[SouthPaw]

FIUChris, good points. The offense is far from where it needs to be. We won the last two games because of our defense and turnovers. When we win a game after loosing the turnover battle, we can say our offense has arrived.

The offense has improved, but that has more to do with the level of competition than anything. Hopefully we'll be able to move the ball on the better Sun Belt teams. The running game has been disappointing this year once again. Ned and Reams have made a few plays, but far too few. I was happy to see Owens in the game late on Saturday--he had a few nice runs.

And FIUJM, you're right, Dez Johnson had a breakout game. He was all over the field making plays. Same goes for Reggie Jones, in his first game this year. He earned a starting job against MT in my opinion.

[ridgepanther]

GREAT WIN......TY is making people better around him

[TheFIUfan]

Great coverage as usual, Pete. Thanks again.
NOTE TO ALL THE BLOGGERS AND READERS OF THIS BLOG: Keep contacting the so-called local newspaper and remind them what FIU means to the South Florida community. They need to make sure that the coverage improves and grows as this team grows. They should not give us that CRAP that they will cover FIU when they win. That is horse poop.

[LMessinaFIU]

Good but expected win for the Golden Panthers this week against a North Texas team that is quite a while away from fielding a decent team in the FBS.

While the 42-point output was encouraging as well seeing McCall distribute the ball to others besides Hilton was nice, the Golden Panthers are going to need to play there best offense game of the season to contend with Middle Tennessee. At the end of the day (sorry for the cliche`)it cannot be just Hilton as the Reams/Ned duo will need to step up as well the other core of receivers.

Defensively, I feel the unit is improving a little bit more each week. The d-line played well this week and the linebackers and secondary were consistent as well.

Great coverage Pete!

[2006PA]

Go FIU!!!!

[gpantera]

FIU Chris,

We've had 3 victories in the last 2 years. There's only be 1 QB under center for all 3 wins, Paul McCall. If his 4 TD's on Saturday did not convince you,then I hope you keep on doubting him while he continues to produce TD's and W's.

Some folks simply cannot be pleased and cannot stand prosperity.

Oh well. I'm too darn happy to give your debby downer stuff to much air play.

[gpantera]

I'd like to apologize for the offense not sustaining drives and instead connecting with TY on short routes that TY then takes to the house in one single play.

I'd also like to apologize for the defense generating turnovers deep in enemy territory resulting in a short field for FIU that FIU turns into TD's.

Boy, i guess we forgot the days not so long ago where a 1st and goal from the 3 yard line was not a sure score for FIU.

I say just keep doing what you're doing boys and keep the streak alive!

[FIUChris]

Come on, Gpantera. Paul's been alright over the last few games, but you are telling me if the game is on the line and he needs to make plays, you have even a little confidence in his abilities?

You are, essentially, giving him credit for the defense and TY Hilton playing well. Sure, he's been under center for those 3 wins, and he's completed 54% of his passes. We haven't won those games because of him. He's been a decent game manager in those games mostly because he's played terrible defenses and hasn't been forced to make any plays.

I have zero confidence in his ability to put a team on his shoulders when we need him. This week will be a big test because MTSU is pretty stingy against the pass, with only ASU really having a great game through the air.

I hate to be that guy, but he's not winning us games. Bottom line. It's not like we've got a guy who is going 24-33 every week and picking people apart. He's a career 50% passer. Was 1:5 on INT:TD ratio before this last game.

Is the difference between Wayne and Paul's passing abilities that great? Probably not? If anything, Paul's a little better as a passer (though Wayne never had a guy like Hilton last year), but Wayne can get out of the pocket and make things happen. I said it before the USF game and the last two weeks haven't changed anything for me. Wayne is the guy who gives us the best chance to win a tough game. Anyone can complete 11-19 against the worst defense in Div 1 over the past two years. But Paul hasn't shown much unless he's playing UNT.

Sorry to bring everyone down, but it's my opinion.

[FIUfantastic]

Pete,

Any chance what-so-ever of this game being picked up by ESPN U or something of the sort?

I would love this game being at an earlier time instead of 7 cuz I cant make it!

Thanks.

[Ultimate FIU Fan]

Absolutely perfect football weekend ALL the way around in South Florida! Makes Monday morning a GREAT morning!

GO FIU & Fins!!!

[CJ]

FIU Chris to be honest i wouldnt want it all On McCall but not for the reason you think. the guy can make the throws you can see that in the pass to ellingson. for the TD. a QB's job is to destribute to his playmakers, make smart plays, and be efficient. once we got to competition that is more our speed, weight, and game sawvy he has done that. as for sustaining drives. im sorry but ill take that 17 sec scoring drive any day any time. right now your right i wouldnt want the game on our Offense (not just McCall) i would rather it be on our Dfense who has been playing great and are finally playing like a ball hawking Defense. this will change w/ time remember McCall as started what.. 6 total games and been in 7 in his time at FIU.. wayne started 11 and has played in 15 (16 if you count that one play at Toledo) im not saying he deserves equal amount of time to find out what we got but for now hes managing the game right and winning

[NYCFIUFan]

What is the best way to watch the game if I am not in the Miami area? Panther Pass?

GO FIU!!! Keep it up, winning feels good! Nice to see we are the team in town with the winning streak and not the losing streak.

[Miri]

I really am excited about our win on Saturday. I am sure the players and coaches are as well. I just hope that they remain focused and get ready for Middle Tenn.

Go Golden Panthers!

[FIUPanther07]

Be sure to congratulate the players if you see them on campus.

Hope we do well this Saturday.

GO GPanthers!

[FIUBlueandGold]

I agree with an earlier post. FIU from the very TOP (Maidique down thru Student Activities need to mobilize a meeting/ pep rally of department heads, deans, administration and athletics.) The CAGE needs to be ROCKING against MTSU. No excuse for this game not to be sold out !!

Every professor should take 1 minute to brief their classes about the game this weekend and the 2 game winning streak.