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St. Pete Bowl: FIU vs. Marshall
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FIU Panther Fan Offline
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St. Pete Bowl: FIU vs. Marshall


12-19-2011 10:14 AM
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RE: St. Pete Bowl: FIU vs. Marshall
Chuck Landon: Stage is set for FIU's audition for C-USA
December 10, 2011 @ 12:00 AM
The Herald-Dispatch

The 2011 Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl suddenly has become relevant.

I know, I know.

Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde and ESPN's Mark Schlabach beg to differ. But that's because they are national sportswriters perusing the big picture, instead of regional scribes taking a closer look at the small, yet meaningful, picture.

Bottom line?

The Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl matching Marshall against Florida International at 8 p.m., Dec. 20, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., now has become FIU's audition for Conference USA.

The illogical decisions by UCF, Houston and SMU to bolt C-USA after the 2012 season and join the zip code, area code and time zone challenged Big East has created that scenario.

And, yes, that does indeed make the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl relevant.

Otherwise? Not so much.

But since FIU is the logical choice to replace UCF in Conference USA, allowing the league to maintain its much-needed presence in the Sunshine State, this bowl game just has taken on added significance.

No offense intended toward Forde and Schlabach, but that premise changes their respective rankings which listed the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl as the least significant matchup of the post-season.

They rated it No. 35.

Since there are only 35 bowls, that means it's dead last in their viewpoint.

Forde plunked the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl into his "Not Worth The Drain On The Remote Batteries To Even Turn It On" category.

He wrote, "As a survivor of covering past Motor City, Humanitarian and GMAC bowls, I know bad bowl games when I see them. And these are bad bowl games:

"Beef O'Brady's Bowl, Dec. 20. When the No. 88 team in the Sagarin Ratings (Marshall) meets the No. 90 team in the Sagarin Ratings (FIU), what do you have? The equivalent of an FCS semifinal game."

Forde also added the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl pitting Western Michigan vs. Purdue, Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl between Illinois and UCLA, BBVA Compass Bowl featuring SMU vs. Pittsburgh and the GoDaddy.com Bowl with Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois to the same category.

Meanwhile, despite his No. 35 ranking, ESPN's Schlabach wrote, "This game is worth watching just to see Florida International's T.Y. Hilton return kickoffs. He had an 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in a 34-32 victory over Toledo in the Little Caesar's Bowl last season."

Rhetoric aside, conference reconfiguration is the issue du jour and that renders Forde and Schlabach's opinions null and void.

Since C-USA needs three new members and FIU appears to be No. 1 on the list. ... well, let's see what the Panthers have got.

Besides Hilton, I mean.

The Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl gains relevance because none of the other post-season games include potential candidates to join C-USA. That list includes UT-San Antonio, Charlotte, North Texas and Florida Atlantic.

But only FIU gets an actual audition.

And don't be surprised if head coach Mario Cristobal has his Panthers primed to make a good impression. After all, FIU already has been established as a 4.5-point favorite over Marshall.

That's because FIU is coming off a school-best 8-4 season, is tied with Florida State for the most wins by a Florida-based FBS program and has an under-rated defense that ranks No. 16 in the nation in points allowed at only 19.4.

Sound like the Beef 'O' Brady Bowl is a little more relevant than first thought?

That's because now it is.
12-19-2011 10:18 AM
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FIU Panther Fan Offline
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RE: St. Pete Bowl: FIU vs. Marshall
MU bowl opponent making progress
December 11, 2011 @ 12:00 AM

ANDREW RAMSPACHER

The Herald-Dispatch

HUNTINGTON -- On Oct. 10, 1998, 63,617 crazed Sunshine State football fans packed the Orange Bowl for what was set to be another chapter in the storied Florida State-University of Miami rivalry.

The Seminoles were led by a veteran gun-slinging quarterback by the name of Chris Weinke. His favorite target was a slashing, exciting receiver who went by Peter Warrick.

The Hurricanes, loaded as always, were going to try to match that explosive FSU attack with their hard-hitting, ball-seeking safety Ed Reed and tackle-gathering linebacker Dan Morgan.

The perennial national powers went at it for four quarters until Bobby Bowden's boys eventually trumped Butch Davis and crew, 26-14.

The significance of that result played a major role in the Noles' run to the national championship game and the Canes' near Big East title.

But those were short-term effects.

On that very same day, over the top of that very same stadium, something happened for the long-term.

In a way, Marshall University's Dec. 20 Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl opponent was born on Oct. 10, 1998.

That's when Florida International University officially entered itself into this crazy world that is college football.

Baby steps

"They hadn't played a game, but someone from that FIU committee rented a plane to fly over the Orange Bowl during the second quarter," said Pete Pelegrin, a former FIU beat writer for the Miami Herald newspaper and current member of the Golden Panthers' media relations staff.

Trailing that plane was a banner reading, "FIU Football Still Undefeated."

The message was strong and it was true.

Florida International, a school that began operation in 1969 in Miami, had never fielded a football team.

Some 30 years later, it was decided to begin discussions.

"Back in the late 90s, the university, itself, explored having football," Pelegrin said. "They wanted to keep growing and one way to keep growing is to make a Division I athletic program. And back then, the only major sports they had were baseball and basketball.

"So they got a committee together -- the university and local leaders. And they asked the students."

At the time, this meant surveying about 30,000 college kids.

"They asked the students, 'Would you guys want to play football?,'" Pelegrin said. "And everybody, resoundingly said, 'Yes.'"

Cue the Orange Bowl banner. Cue the serious interest.

"FIU started getting flooded with calls," Pelegrin said. "Like, 'What is this thing about this banner saying, 'FIU Football Still Undefeated?'"

On Sept. 1, 1999, Don Strock, a former Miami Dolphins quarterback, was hired as FIU's director of football operations. On Sept. 13, 2000, he was named head coach.

On Aug. 29, 2002, the Panthers, garbed in blue and gold, made the dream a reality. They defeated St. Peter's College of New Jersey, 27-3, at FIU Community Stadium in their first game as a program.

"Back then, the end zone bleachers were rented for football season as well as the press box and the president's suite," Pelegrin recalled. "If you wanted to call it that. It was just a big room on stilts."

And the players. ...

"They just took anybody who had any semblance of being a football player because they were just brand new," Pelegrin said. "They were looking for anybody that could play."

Brawl leads to change

From 2002 until 2005, FIU competed as a member of the NCAA's Division I-AA. Under Strock, there were some strides -- a pair of 5-6 seasons and a win over rival Florida Atlantic in '05.

But on Oct. 14, 2006, the program hit its first major setback.

Playing Miami -- in the Orange Bowl no less -- things got a little heated under the South Florida sun.

In the first-ever matchup between schools separated by a mere nine miles, emotions were running high. With nine minutes to go in the third quarter of a 7-0 game, the Hurricanes' James Bryant hauled in a 5-yard touchdown catch and proceeded to let the Panthers know about it.

He reportedly pointed to the FIU sideline and then bowed to Miami fans in the end zone.

On the ensuing extra-point, a melee broke out that didn't ended until punches were thrown, kicks were made, helmets were used as weapons and a combined 13 players were ejected, including eight from FIU.

When the dust settled, two Panthers were asked to leave the team and 16 others were suspended.

On Nov. 15, 2006, Strock resigned. Less than one month later, FIU finished a forgetful season with a 26-13 loss to Troy. In their second year at the Division I-A level, the Panthers went 0-12.

This was the hand Pete Garcia was dealt barely into his first year as FIU's athletic director.

A change was needed in the worst way, so Garcia reached out to a figure well-versed in the Miami culture.

On Dec. 19, 2006, he hired former Hurricanes offensive tackle Mario Cristobal to be the Panthers' next head coach.

"(The brawl) was obviously an embarrassment to the program," said Marshall offensive coordinator Bill Legg, an FIU assistant from 2008-09. "And that's when they brought in Pete and that's when they brought in Mario. And that's when Mario brought in that staff.

"They've done a marvelous job of changing the image of the university, changing the image of the football program."

A tradition in the making

It didn't take long for Pelegrin to notice the Cristobal way of doing things.

It was almost an 180 degree difference from the previous regime.

"The first thing that stood out to me was discipline," he said. "Under Strock, there wasn't much discipline. ... Cristobal changed the culture. The first year was a big adjustment for the players because they had never been faced with that discipline he brought. The accountability. The attention to detail.

"And when that happened, there was a good handfull of players that couldn't survive. They're like, 'This is too tough for me,' and they quit. Or they weren't good enough and they quit. That type of stuff."

Cristobal's new ways didn't get off to the best start -- 9-27 from 2007-09 -- but have since kicked in.

Pelegrin said the breakthrough moment came in November 2010 when the 3-5 Panthers traveled to take on Sun Belt Conference powerhouse Troy.

"Troy had been the perennial Sun Belt champion forever," he said. "And FIU had never won at Troy. But they went in there and spanked them. They rolled up 660 yards of total offense, 440 of them were rushing yards. I mean they ran all over Troy and ended up winning, 52-35.

"And that was the spark that just, I believe, turned the season around. That these guys started believing in themselves."

From there, FIU ended up taking the Sun Belt title and the 2010 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in dramatic fashion over Toldeo, 34-32 (YouTube "FIU Hook and Ladder" for the highlight).

This season, the Panthers are 8-4, their best year ever. Among Sunshine State teams, only Florida State has as many wins.

FIU is a tradition in the making.

"The fan base, off the momentum of last year, just took off," Pelegrin said. "We had two straight games where it was standing room only. The stadium holds 19,000 right now. They're going to keep building it this offseason. By next year, it could be 27,000 or close to 30,000 maybe. ... It happens when you win. When you win, people like you.

"Especially in Miami."
12-19-2011 10:20 AM
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ManzanoWolf Offline
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RE: St. Pete Bowl: FIU vs. Marshall
AWESOME clip !!

Go FIU . . Go SBC !! 02-13-banana
12-19-2011 10:40 AM
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FIU Panther Fan Offline
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RE: St. Pete Bowl: FIU vs. Marshall
Faith and conviction motivate FIU Golden Panthers’ T.Y. Hilton

Quote:FIU’s wide receiver goes by that name, but his given name is Eugene Marquis Hilton. He’s actually Eugene Marquis Hilton Sr., father of Eugene Marquis Hilton Jr. It’s already a well-documented FIU legend that Daddy picked the Panthers when Junior, still an infant, repeatedly pointed to an FIU hat instead of a West Virginia hat.

In youth football, Eugene Jr. wears No. 4 just like his father, who chose the number because he’s one of Cora and Tyrone’s four children.
“He reminds me so much of his dad,” Cora said of her grandson. “Like I’m seeing him all over again.”

What Cora’s son sees is motivation.

“I wake up every morning with my son knowing I have someone who’s looking up to me,” said T.Y. Hilton, who will earn his degree in liberal studies this spring. “I know I’ve got to bring it every day. Be at my best, every game. If I slip off, then he’s going to feel like he can slip off and I don’t’ want that. I want the very best for him.

“Going into classes, I know I’ve got to strive to be the very best I can,” T.Y. continued. “When I get on the field, I try to do what I can do because I know I’m going to want him to have whatever he wants as he’s growing up. When I take him shopping and he says, ‘Daddy, can I have this?’ I want to be able to get it for him instead of saying, ‘We can’t get that right now.’ So I try my very best to do what I’m able to do with the talents God’s blessed me with.”
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/19/25...rylink=cpy
12-19-2011 11:17 AM
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geaux Offline
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RE: St. Pete Bowl: FIU vs. Marshall
Good luck FIU, we are all pulling for you guys! Beat the little Herd! Geaux Panthers!!!04-cheers
12-19-2011 12:20 PM
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RE: St. Pete Bowl: FIU vs. Marshall
Florida International a program on the rise
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Most new college football head coaches face a rebuilding job. At Florida International University, Mario Cristobal faced something more profound.
By Doug Smock
The Charleston Gazette

Courtesy photo
The FIU Stadium, which just finished its second season, seats a modest 18,000 now, but is still being built in phases. The capacity eventually will reach 45,000.Advertiser
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Most new college football head coaches face a rebuilding job. At Florida International University, Mario Cristobal faced something more profound.

A Miami native and assistant at the University of Miami under Larry Coker, Cristobal knew what he was getting into when he took the job in December 2006 - to a large extent, he thought.

"When we got here, we were 0-12 and just got in a fight with the University of Miami, a bad reputation," Cristobal said.

Oh, yeah, the fight. When FIU, a program then in its fifth season in any level, tangled with the cross-town Hurricanes on Oct. 14, 2006, the brawl that ensued made the recent Xavier-Cincinnati fight look like a croquet match. When the dust settled, 18 FIU players were suspended indefinitely or dismissed.

Then coached by former Miami Dolphins quarterback Don Strock, FIU shouldered more blame than Miami, and that didn't much help recruiting. When Cristobal replaced Strock, he was sort of ready for that.

He wasn't ready for some really rude surprises.

"What we didn't know, we were pulled into a closed-door meeting and informed we were going to lose 30 scholarships," he said. "We're going to have the worst [Academic Progress Rate] in the country, and we were going to inherit five years' probation from the former staff, and we were going to have 17 ineligible players come to us from the former staff. The list went on and on."

And Cristobal went on and on.

"We didn't have a practice facility and we were going to build one, [but] we had grass without a drainage system. The locker room had old lockers, fit for 55, 60 people. Then the weight room was going [woefully underequipped, in so many words], all for the first four years here at FIU.

"So to say we overcame a lot would be the understatement of the year."

READ THE FULL ARTICLE
12-19-2011 03:56 PM
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FIU Panther Fan Offline
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RE: St. Pete Bowl: FIU vs. Marshall


12-19-2011 04:29 PM
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panama Offline
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RE: St. Pete Bowl: FIU vs. Marshall
Yeah, going to a low level bowl is just HORRIBLE. I hope I get some horrible soon.
12-19-2011 06:54 PM
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Vobserver Offline
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RE: St. Pete Bowl: FIU vs. Marshall
The Cajun Nation is here to pull the rope with our SBC teams. Geaux Panthers! Beat the Herd. Ya'll kill'em, we'll cook'em. Buffalo Jambalaya anyone?.
12-19-2011 08:39 PM
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Trulyb Offline
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RE: St. Pete Bowl: FIU vs. Marshall
Warhawk fans want some of that BBQ Go FIU.
12-19-2011 09:00 PM
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RE: St. Pete Bowl: FIU vs. Marshall


12-20-2011 09:43 AM
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FIU Panther Fan Offline
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RE: St. Pete Bowl: FIU vs. Marshall
Quote:ST. PETERSBURG -- You probably don’t know much about this year’s model of Marshall. Not being a Conference USA favorite coming into the season, the Thundering Herd didn’t get a lot of high-profile exposure.
But FIU knows Marshall. And knew a pretty fair amount about Marshall before the practices and film sessions for Tuesday night’s Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersburg.
The average Marshall student or fan probably knows little about FIU. Up in West Virginia, around Marshall’s area, the Panthers they are most likely to talk about come from the University of Pittsburgh, which has been in South Florida news lately for interest its in FIU coach Mario Cristobal (more on that later).
But if you want FIU experts up there, go to the Marshall football locker room.
Several somebodies in there can tell you about FIU.
Because the Sunshine State folks trucking into St. Petersburg from Miami-Dade, Broward and other parts of this state aren’t necessarily wearing FIU blue and gold. Green is their color, for a school that mines Florida football talent as well as some communities up there used to mine coal.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/20/25...rylink=cpy
12-20-2011 09:43 AM
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RE: St. Pete Bowl: FIU vs. Marshall


12-20-2011 09:47 AM
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RE: St. Pete Bowl: FIU vs. Marshall
For tonight only.

GO PANTHERS!!!!
12-20-2011 10:09 AM
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trojanbrutha Offline
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RE: St. Pete Bowl: FIU vs. Marshall
Ok...this is a game that the tone needs to be set early. FIU should take these guys seriously and beat the brakes off of 'em, with no reservation!

Go SBC! 3-0 this bowl season!
12-20-2011 10:23 AM
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zeebart21 Offline
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RE: St. Pete Bowl: FIU vs. Marshall
Nothing in life is a "gimme", but in reality this game should be NO contest. FIU kicks the crap out of the "blundering" Herd!

Best of Luck Panthers!!

Z
12-20-2011 10:57 AM
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Side Show Joe Offline
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RE: St. Pete Bowl: FIU vs. Marshall
I really hope FIU can dominate Marshall tonight.

Go FIU!
12-20-2011 11:08 AM
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dahbeed Offline
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RE: St. Pete Bowl: FIU vs. Marshall
i have no idea what marshall has.

but i was very impressed with fiu's defense early in the year when i saw them on national tv against louieville.

i feared their dee against my toppers and my fears were proven out. we kicked a field goal as time expired for a 10-9 win or something like that. marshall better score early.

i think their dee gets stronger as the game goes on. at least it did against us. great speed on that dee.

go panthers.

p.s. i like their dee. i am a believer that defense wins everything from major college foolsball all the way down to pee wee baseball games. you need some offense but i'd rather have the dee in my back pocket. any day.
12-20-2011 12:13 PM
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Buccaneerlover Offline
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RE: St. Pete Bowl: FIU vs. Marshall
The Panther dancers should be on the media guide cover for football every year. The cheerleaders however, would more than likely physically dominate most anyone the messageboard. The brunette that looked like an annorexic Snooki looked mean.
Dance team however, most excellent. Definitely hotter than Marshall girls. That counts. Good luck tonight.
12-20-2011 05:00 PM
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