2008 FIU Golden Panthers football team
| 2008 FIU Golden Panthers football | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | Sun Belt Conference |
| 2008 record | 5–7 (3–4 SBC) |
| Head coach | Mario Cristobal (2nd season) |
| Offensive coordinator | Bill Legg |
| Offensive scheme | Spread |
| Defensive coordinator | Phil Galiano |
| Base defense | 4–3 |
| Home stadium | FIU Stadium |
| 2008 Sun Belt football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Troy $ | 6 | – | 1 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Louisiana–Lafayette | 5 | – | 2 | 6 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Florida Atlantic | 4 | – | 3 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas State | 4 | – | 3 | 6 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIU | 3 | – | 4 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Middle Tennessee | 3 | – | 4 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Louisiana–Monroe | 3 | – | 4 | 4 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Texas | 0 | – | 7 | 1 | – | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2008 FIU Golden Panthers football team represented Florida International University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Mario Cristobal and played their homes games at the on-campus FIU Stadium.
Regular season
The 2008 season started off with a loss at 13th-ranked Kansas, 40–10. Following that, Iowa routed FIU, 42–0. FIU then faced its highest-ranked opponent in school history, 12th-ranked South Florida, for the inaugural game of the new FIU Stadium. Trailing 17-0 with 2:30 left in the game FIU attained a safety, and subsequently scored a touchdown. FIU lost, 17–9, but played acted as a spoiler for South Florida, with the latter falling three spots in the rankings. The game against Toledo became their first-ever out-of-conference FBS win. Against, Toledo, FIU forced four turnovers and recorded its first road win since 2005.
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 30 | 7:00 p.m. | at No. 13 Kansas* | Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, KS | L 10-40 | 52,112 | ||||
| September 6 | 12:00 p.m. | at Iowa* | Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA | BTN | L 0-42 | 70,585 | |||
| September 20 | 5:00 p.m. | No. 12 South Florida* | FIU Stadium • Miami, FL | ESPNU | L 9-17 | 16,717 | |||
| September 27 | 7:00 p.m. | at Toledo* | Glass Bowl • Toledo, OH | BCSN | W 35-16 | 19,004 | |||
| October 4 | 7:00 p.m. | at North Texas | Fouts Field • Denton, TX | ESPN Plus | W 42-10 | 16,781 | |||
| October 11 | 7:00 p.m. | Middle Tennessee | FIU Stadium • Miami, FL | W 31-21 | 15,108 | ||||
| October 18 | 7:00 p.m. | at Troy | Movie Gallery Stadium • Troy, AL | ESPN Plus | L 23-33 | 19,316 | |||
| November 1 | 5:00 p.m. | at Louisiana-Lafayette | Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA | L 20-49 | 29,031 | ||||
| November 8 | 7:00 p.m. | Arkansas State |
FIU Stadium • Miami, FL | W 22-21 | 15,106 | ||||
| November 22 | 7:00 p.m. | Louisiana-Monroe | FIU Stadium • Miami, FL | L 27-31 | 12,925 | ||||
| November 29 | 4:00 p.m. | at FAU | Dolphin Stadium • Miami Gardens, FL (Shula Bowl) | L 50-57 | 16,781 | ||||
| December 6 | 7:00 p.m. | Western Kentucky* | FIU Stadium • Miami, FL | W 27-3 | 9,405 | ||||
| *Non-conference game. | |||||||||
Coaching staff
| Name | Current Title | Years at FIU | Alma mater |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Cristobal | Head Coach | 2006 – | Miami |
| Bill Legg | Offensive Coordinator Quarterbacks | 2008 – | West Virginia |
| Phil Galiano | Defensive Coordinator Linebackers | 2007 – | Shippensburg |
| Apollo Wright | Special teams Coordinator | 2001 – | Wagner College |
| Mike Cassano | Assistant Head Coach Running backs/Recruiting | 2006 – | New Hampshire |
| Bernard Clark | Assistant Head Coach Defensive line | 2004–2005, 2007 – | Miami |
| Greg Laffere | Assistant Head Coach Offensive line | 2005 – | Miami |
| Alex Mirabal | Assistant Head Coach Tight ends | 2006 – | FIU |
| Frank Ponce | Assistant Head Coach Wide receivers | 2005 – | FIU |
| Jeff Popovich | Assistant Head Coach Secondary | 2006 – | Miami |
| Roderick Moore | Strength & Conditioning Coach | – | - |
| Chris Siegle | Graduate Assistant Coach | 2005 – | - |
| Dennis Smith | Graduate Assistant Coach | 2006 – | Miami |
See also
Game summaries
Kansas
Overall: (0-1), Conference: (0-2)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIU | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Kansas | 7 | 23 | 10 | 0 | 40 |
Iowa
Overall: (0-2), Conference: (0-0)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Iowa | 21 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 42 |
South Florida
Overall: (0-3), Conference: (0-0)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Florida | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| FIU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 9 |
Toledo
Overall: (1-3), Conference: (0-0)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIU | 0 | 14 | 21 | 0 | 35 |
| Toledo | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
North Texas
Overall: (2-3), Conference: (1-0)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIU | 14 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
| North Texas | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
Middle Tennessee
Overall: (3-3), Conference: (2-0)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middle Tennessee | 3 | 0 | 10 | 8 | 21 |
| FIU | 0 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 31 |
Troy
Overall: (3-4), Conference: (2-1)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIU | 9 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 23 |
| Troy | 16 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 33 |
Louisiana-Lafayette
Overall: (3-5), Conference: (2-2)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIU | 14 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 20 |
| Louisiana-Lafayette | 7 | 28 | 14 | 0 | 49 |
Arkansas State
Overall: (4-5), Conference: (3-2)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas State | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| FIU | 0 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 22 |
Louisiana-Monroe
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana-Monroe | 0 | 21 | 10 | 0 | 31 |
| FIU | 3 | 0 | 14 | 10 | 27 |
Florida Atlantic
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIU | 7 | 9 | 6 | 28 | 0 | 50 |
| Florida Atlantic | 14 | 0 | 8 | 28 | 7 | 57 |
Western Kentucky
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Kentucky | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| FIU | 0 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 27 |