By: Joel Delgado / Sports Direcetor
Before the season began, the biggest question facing this fledging Golden Panther program, looking to take major steps forward after last season, was whether they could handle the pressure.
I had doubts as to whether or not this team would be able to handle the added weight, the harsher spotlight or the higher expectations.
Those doubts were washed away when the time expired in the fourth quarter and Knights’ fans were filing out of the stadium, dejected and in complete shock.
FIU had done the improbable: beating a strong UCF team that was knocking on the door of the top 25. That is, until the Golden Panthers burst that bubble in their biggest home win in program history.
Even after the impressive win at Louisville, doubts remained. Can they win without the stellar play of T.Y. Hilton? Can they beat a defense that had not allowed an offensive touchdown in 12 quarters coming into the game? Can they beat a Knights’ team that outscored their first two opponents by a 92-3 margin?
They answered all those questions with a resounding “yes.”
STATEMENT WIN
With Hilton going down with an injury near the end of the first half with FIU still trailing, it became apparent that someone needed to take a stand and fill the gap left behind by their Heisman candidate.
And while the offense still struggled against a stingy Knights’ defense, FIU’s own defense rose to the occasion and helped unlock that grind.
They made the Knights pay for their few miscues and proved to be all they needed.
This game was a big test for defensive coordinator Todd Orlando and this Golden Panther defense, and they aced it. For most of the game, especially in the second half, dual-threat quarterback Jeffrey Godfrey was rendered useless and was unable to make the big play for the Knights.
After three games, the Golden Panthers have handily defeated a conference opponent, beaten a BCS team on the road and shocked a rising state power at home. And for the first time ever, the program is receiving votes in the AP poll and the USA Today poll.
This team’s stock has never been higher. And there is no indication that this team is anywhere close to reaching the ceiling.
HERE ON OUT
Just how far can this team go? It’s easy to get carried away.
With the hardest part of their schedule now in the rearview mirror, the Golden Panthers remain unscathed. Undefeated.
There is no one left in this schedule that the Golden Panthers cannot beat. Let that statement sink in.
With two creampuff out-of-conference opponents left in Duke and Akron, teams that this FIU team should defeat, the most daunting games left are Sun Belt opponents Troy and Arkansas State.
The Trojans, previously the Sun Belt’s dominating power before the meteoric rise of FIU in the past 12 months, would love nothing more than to come to the Sunshine State and regain their status as a top tier team in the Sun Belt.
As for Arkansas State, they have been a team that has never lived up to its expectations season-after-season, stuck in a perpetual state of mediocrity. But with arguably the best quarterback in the conference in Ryan Aplin and home field advantage, the Red Wolves definitely have several things going for them in their meeting with the Golden Panthers later on this season.
But even these two teams have shown considerable weakness in their first few games so far this season, especially the Trojans on defense, where they have allowed 922 yards of total offense against their first two opponents.
STILL EARLY
Let’s get some things straight: It is too early to talk about an undefeated season. And it is definitely way too early to talk about this team somehow, maybe, possibly finding its way into a BCS bowl game.
But the win has many people excited about the team’s prospects and rightfully so.
After three games, the picture of this team’s identity is beginning to become clear. Led by Wesley Carroll and T.Y. Hilton, this mature and explosive offense that can serve up highlights like IHOP serves pancakes.
The defense is aggressive and filled with playmakers that swarm the football from the backfield to the defensive line.
It’s a unit that has done what no FIU defense before it was able to do: hold its first three opponents to less than 20 points. They are the reason why this team is off to its best start in history.
And they are the reason why picking against FIU is no longer the smart thing to do.
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