Photo by: Jasen Delgado
Luis D. Gutierrez/ Staff Writer
It’s easy to call this Panther football team a disappointment.
A squad picked to finish first in its own conference is currently ranked dead last, sporting a dismal 1-5 record. Its lone win came in a squeeze-out effort against Akron in overtime, a game where FIU was favored by 23 points. A defense thought of as “relentless”, “aggressive”, and “one of the Sun Belt’s best”, has surrendered roughly 418 yards and 38 points per contest.
Injuries have also taken their toll upon the team, as quarterback Jake Medlock and running backs Kendrick Rhodes and Darian Mallary have all missed substantial time, nursing a left leg fracture, a high ankle sprain, and a concussion respectively.
A season filled with expectations as high as the cranes surrounding FIU’s campus is starting to become a destructive compilation of shortcomings.
It isn’t so easy, however, to have the patience to keep up with the 2012 batch of Panthers. FIU is headed towards its first rebuilding project in program history (the 0-23 years don’t count, since they involved a lot of building in the first place). A slate that includes six more conference games won’t get any easier for the Panthers, with trips to Troy and South Alabama still waiting. To add, FIU faces much-improved Sun Belt foes Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky and Louisiana-Monroe at Alfonso Field. And judging by attendance, the Cage has hardly been rattled.
Results have not bid well for the Panthers this year, and there is little reason to believe that they should be favored in most, if any of their upcoming contests. Still looking for their first conference win of the year, it’s time for the Panthers to throw in the towel, which doesn’t signify to lose the will to win, but, to gain the will to improve and learn from collective miscues. A lucrative recruiting class that saw Darrian Dyson, Deandre Jasper, and Patrick Jean among others sign with FIU, should see its fair and even bigger share of playing time within the coming weeks.
Considered the best recruiting class in program history, there wouldn’t be a more suitable time for these young bucks to find their way onto the field than right now. As surprising as it may be in some circles, there is no shame in these Panthers calling it a year. Disappointments are bound to happen, especially in this young program, only ten years into existence.
Patience is essential. It would have been foolish to assume that T.Y. Hilton, one of the pioneers of FIU football, would have been replaced with a couple of slabs of stick’em. It would have also been foolish to assume that Head Coach Mario Cristobal, another one of those pioneers, would not have had his eyes on other head coaching vacancies. However, after reportedly rejecting a job offer to become the 25th head coach of the 143-year old Rutgers Scarlet Knights over the offseason, Cristobal opted to continue building the tracks to the train he once called “unstoppable” and in turn, made a firm commitment to FIU, a commitment that has brought upon two bowl appearances in just the span of a decade. Whether he decides to leave or stay over the coming years, Cristobal has built a foundation for his program early on, much to be proud of.
It would be unfair to slam the door on the Panthers after a tumultuous start to an expectation-laden 2012, without waiting to see what Cristobal and staff does to rebuild. But, the time has come to call it a season and move on. It’s time to find the next pioneer of this program. He could already be walking the campus halls of Southwest 8th Street and 107th avenue. But, it’s going to take patience to find him.
That patience has to start now.
luis.gutierrez@fiusm.com
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