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

[CrazyCane]

MTSU 50

FIU 17

[Clawing Cancer]

Figured the board would be lit up after a game like that.

First off... great win. Maybe it's a Texas thing. I haven't seen FIU dominate a game like that since SF Austin. Sure, NT won a bunch of the stat categories, but sometimes the stats mislead. FIU whooped butt in this game on both sides of the ball. There's no doubt about that.

With that said... yeah, some probs still exist. I thought the D played well, but there's something that's starting to annoy me, and I'm surprised no one's mentioned this. There were a LOT of attempted kill shots in this game. One I remember in particular was when Mitchell knocked a NT guy 5 yards back, but he stayed on his feet. He uses his arms, and the NT guy goes down immediately. There was another (don't remember who) where, had the FIU guy used proper technique, the NT RB would have gained like 15 less yards. They need to use their ARMS to wrap. This kill shot crap has to stop or else you're going to see the good teams make big plays on FIU. The D is good, but not that good.

As for the O... good Lord, some of you Younger lovers just won't let it go, will you? Who cares if he's the better athlete? Who cares if he can "scramble"? McCall seems to do fine enough there... AND he can actually throw a decent ball. Once WY can do that consistently, get back to me.

A QB's job is to direct the offense, and McCall is doing a hell of a good job considering the circumstances. That kid may not be able to win you games (which, by the way, I don't think anyone can say right now), but he doesn't have to. All most QB's can really do is get the ball in the hands of the play-makers, and if McCall does that, that's good enough to win if the D does their job. And, for God's sake, give the kid a chance to play a year and then see what he's got. I like what I see from him so far. He knows what a QB's supposed to do.

Anyway... kinda sad the MT game's not on TV... guess I'll just re-play the NT game on my Tivo. Man, that was fun to watch!

[Golden Panther 90]

MTSU 20
FIU 17

[FIUJM]

The advantage of McCall is that he has had Hilton this year. Regardless, I trust the coaches to play the guy they feel will give us best chance to win. I wasn't impressed with some throws McCall made, but overall he was efficient and led us to victory. That's what matters.

Let's just focus on next weeks game. Middle Tennessee will be a tough game. Hope the players remember the loss last year and get their payback.

GO FIU!!!

[Quijote]

CrazyCane,

I think what you meant to say was:

UCF 50
UM 17

Crazy, don't take out the box of tissues just yet, but both FIU and UM are 2-3. Except all of FIU's wins came against Div 1 schools.

Randy Shannon can't coach, and he can't recruit outside of Northwestern lol.

[NYCFIUFan]

Alright, I am starting to believe. This game is a measuring stick game against one of the better teams in the Belt. I think we can win this one, we have the momentum:

FIU 28
MTSU 17

Go FIU!!!

[TNGoldenPanther]

FIU 27
MTSU 24

[FIUfantastic]

Man, I'am confused.

Do I predict a win against Middle coming off a two-win streak?

Or do I pin a loss on them?

I think North Texas' Vizza is a great scrambler, and he got past the D a bunch of times. Middle will probably do the same with their QB. Hmmm, but it is a home game. And the fans are going to be pumped and fill up the stadium.

Let's say, FIU 27, Middle 20.

[SouthPaw]

North Carolina beats UM with their third string QB in a mostly empty Dolphin Stadium. Embarrassing. Now I understand why they scheduled Charleston Southern.

[FIUBlueandGold]

Anyone know what happened to other FIU message board ?? I get a 404 error on the web link ??

[pikedanny]

Try www.fiugoldenpanthers.com they switched over to another layout and they're going to be using that address from now on. Instead of fiugoldenpanthers.com/forum/

[FIUJM]

My prediction for Saturday:

FIU 21
MTS 20

Great defensive performance is going to be needed for this huge win. Defense needs to pressure Craddock all game long, like they did against USF. I actually think Hilton will score on special teams play this weekend and give us a big lift.

GO FIU!!!

[FIUBlue82]

FIU 24, MTSU 17

[Gazi]

FIU 28, MTSU 17

[FIU Fanatic]

A definite step up in competition in MTSU versus UNT...but the game is at home rather than away, so that helps us a bit as well...hope a lot more people than expected (by me , anyways) show up...

[NYCFIUFan]

Pete, do you know what the expected attendance is for the game? In general are they expecting as many as the USF game? More? Less?

[Pete Pelegrin]

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? ;)
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TCU, I got you down for a 42-21 FIU score, still missing it by 11 points is not bad. I will have the new WIN A GPP BLOG standings when I blog later today.

[Pete Pelegrin]

FIUFPL: 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.

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Will do. I'm sure they'll have it better organized for the Troy game.

[Pete Pelegrin]

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

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Will know more after Tuesday's practice. RM left the game with a clavicle injury. Toronto Smith had a calf injury and Chris Cawthon had a knee injury. Will know the extent of each injury after Tuesday.

[Pete Pelegrin]

FIUfantastic: Pete,

Any chance what-so-ever of this game being picked up by ESPN U or something of the sort?
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Not likely, ESPNU has their schedule set usually 1 to 2 weeks in advance.

[Pete Pelegrin]

NYCFIUFan: What is the best way to watch the game if I am not in the Miami area? Panther Pass?
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Panther Pass will be your only way to watch the game. Unless you attend the game.

[Pete Pelegrin]

NYCFIUFan: Pete, do you know what the expected attendance is for the game? In general are they expecting as many as the USF game? More? Less?
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Probably less than USF game, but should be a good crowd with FIU riding a 2-game win streak.

[blkpanther]

Pete is the Live Blog something you will do in the future or you scrapping it?

[Pete Pelegrin]

blkpanther: Pete is the Live Blog something you will do in the future or you scrapping it?
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Worked out pretty well in Denton, so let's keep it going.

[CJ]

pete i called up the mad dog on 560 wqam asking him how come theres not that much FIU love riding that 2 game win streak.. now i must have bad timeing cause he said they did 1/2 a segmant (big whoop if you ask me) and then he told me that no1 covers FIU football like they do.. in your opinion who covers FIU football better 560 or 790f

[FIUJM]

CJ, good job in calling 560; that's what we all need to do. Have been hearing many FIU calls on the radio lately. I know your question is for Pete, but in my opinion, 790 is better with FIU coverage. Sid Rosenberg really likes Cristobal. Sedano is former FIU grad and Dos Amigos(Larry Milian...former FIU grad), all mention FIU. The more we start winning the better the coverage will be. Right now, I'm just glad people are talking FIU on the radio.

GO FIU!!

[FIUBlueandGold]

We are getting some media attention on SunSports Tailgate Overtime, 2 segments so far - game recap against UNT and debate on futures of UM and FIU programs...

[CJ]

its just really bugged me that the Mad dog said he has the best FIu coverage... and really.. i dont think he could say that
based on knowing what chrisotbal and the recruiting websites say.. and having a half a segment on FIU maybe once every like 2 weeks

[pikedanny]

790 is by far better when it comes to FIU coverage. They had a live broadcast at the first game in the new stadium from about 11 am. Larry of the Dos Amigos threw us a watch party last week and has shown up at our watch parties both at Village Tavern and at my house last Saturday. He's working hard to push FIU just like we are.

[Ultimate FIU Fan]

CJ heard your call! Great job! Called after you, however after 45 minutes was disconnected. If we want to hear more on FIU football, well we need to take the discussion to the host. Call and make it a point to talk FIU football.

Easier now that we've actually won two straight and we have TY GoobBye to promote. Let’s make that our mission. Promote all in S. Florida to come and see "Lightning In A Bottle" in Hilton!

GO FIU!!!

[Miri]

While we're at it, some of us should write to CBS 4 News & My33 News (same people, but whatever). I love watching them in the morning, but I am really annoyed that they fail to even mention FIU. It's all Canes, Gators, and Seminoles.

[nycfiufan]

Pete said that their could be less fans then versus USF. That is not acceptable. If we want people to pay attention then we need to fill the house!!!

[Pete Pelegrin]

CJ: in your opinion who covers FIU football better 560 or 790?
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CJ, no contest it's 790 by a million country miles.

[Quijote]

Pete,

It would be great if you can give us feedback on what FIU Athletics is going to hype up our upcoming game. We MUST fill OUR HOUSE!!! These are uncharted waters, so perhaps FIU needs some help with ideas on how to bring the Cage to capacity. I would be more than glad to help, as I'm sure everyone on this blog would as well...especially Crazy Cane.

So what is FIU doing, and what do they need US to do? How can we all help both on and off campus?

Thanks for the blog as always awesome job.

[Pete Pelegrin]

Quijote: Pete,

It would be great if you can give us feedback on what FIU Athletics is going to hype up our upcoming game.

So what is FIU doing, and what do they need US to do? How can we all help both on and off campus?
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FIU has that 2 for 1 ticket deal for students and alumni. As far as what else, I'll look into it and let you know.

[FIU Fanatic]

They are "matching" season ticket holders their amount of season tickets if you call the ticket office....

Also, they are selling for $1.00 only in cash to FIU staff members, and to faculty.

They are actually setting up some tables to sell those very cheap tickets out to Graham Center this week, as well as one day of the week for 3 hours at BBC campus....

From what I've seen today in The Miami Herald, their online ads are all over still offering season tickets...

They are giving students, for the rest of the season, one extra "companion" ticket with their id's...

I've received e-mails from Alumni Association....BTW FIU alumni association is providing free tickets to members of the alumni association if you call their office until Friday...4 tickets...and if you are a lifetime member it's 6 tickets...

A good part of the rest has to be done by us...get your friends, relatives, and neighbors into it...if you are one of the above, offer them to go with you with your ticket for free...call the radio stations....write on boards....hopefully, the major media outlets will (like the Miami Herald, of course) send personnel to cover us....