By: Brandon Wise / Staff Writer
Following two losses, the FIU Golden Panthers faced a must-win situation on Oct. 8. Although they got away with a victory, they did so in the least impressive way. As sad as it is, there is now an expectation on this team to not only win, but also win decisively.
This past weekend against Akron, all of the stats were there. Wesley Carroll threw for over 300 yards, Kedrick Rhodes ran for 126 yards, and T.Y. Hilton caught a record 12 passes for 144 receiving yards.
Any other game, one would assume that a team that totals 500 yards of offense would score at least 40 points. Too bad for the Golden Panthers, they could only manage 27 points and won by 10.
The defense played fairly well after having two letdown weeks in a row. But the players are left with a bitter taste because this was a week that should have been a blowout.
This is a game where players will look at the tape and be quick to point the finger at someone else because each person got their stats.
Akron is a team that ranks 109th in the nation for total offense and 113th in scoring per game, averaging only 15 points a game. That is not a team that should have even been on the field with FIU, much less have a lead at one point.
I understand that there has to be bad teams in college football every season, but this should have been one of these games where the Golden Panthers just took the Zips out to the wood shed and left them for dead.
The problem this weekend was the penalties, where the team committed 10 infractions for 80 yards.
The lack of discipline forced the team out of scoring range on multiple occasions. These are the kinds of mistakes that cannot happen if there is any hope of repeating as Sun Belt champions.
This was the Golden Panthers’ final chance to prepare for the upcoming conference schedule, where they play four of their last six on the road. If the way that they played this weekend is any indication of how Sun Belt play will go, it could be a very long end to this season.
Now this team has to prepare for one of the best teams in the Sun Belt this season: Arkansas State. The Red Wolves were the dark horse pick to win the conference entering the season and have proved just why.
Keep in mind that if this team wins two more games, they are bowl eligible. However, the Golden Panthers want to get out of the Sun Belt and if they are not competing year in and year out, there is no chance that a bigger conference comes in and grabs them.
The expectations that have been placed on the Golden Panthers this year of being great were warranted after winning the Sun Belt and then the Little Cesar’s Bowl. Halfway through the season, they are right where they have been expected to be. The Golden Panthers just went an alternate route, beating Louisville and UCF and losing to Duke and Louisiana.
As said before the season started, the end of their schedule will tell the story of the season.
The Sun Belt schedule for the next three weeks is going to be the most difficult stretch of the year, as the team goes to Arkansas State, comes home for Troy and then hits the road again to face Western Kentucky.
Already down a loss in conference play to Louisiana, the Golden Panthers cannot afford another letdown defeat the rest of the way.
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