Three years ago, one victory was cause for celebration at Florida International.
Now, the Golden Panthers are enjoying something much more impressive — a trip to a bowl game. It’s a big step forward for a team that’s endured embarrassing scenes on the field and tragedy off it.
“It’s really one of the best stories in college football,” FIU coach Mario Cristobal said. “And I’d be saying it if it wasn’t our team.”
Three seasons after ending a 23-game losing streak, FIU will play in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl tonight against Toledo. It’s the first bowl appearance for the program, which is in its sixth season in the FBS.
When Cristobal took over as coach, the Golden Panthers were coming off a winless 2006 season — and that was hardly their only problem. That year was marred by an ugly brawl against Miami, where Cristobal had been an assistant.
“A month after we took the job we found out they were losing 25 scholarships from the previous regime’s infractions,” Cristobal said. “We knew we’d fall off the face of the earth for a couple of years.”
The Golden Panthers finally snapped their losing streak in their final game of 2007, and they appeared to be on the rise when they went 5-7 the following season. Instead, they won only three games in 2009.
All those on-field woes were put into perspective this past March, when running back Kendall Berry was stabbed to death on campus.
For a program in need of some happy news, this season has been refreshing. After starting with four straight losses against a difficult schedule that included trips to Texas A&M and Pittsburgh, FIU went 6-2 in Sun Belt Conference play, finishing tied atop the league with Troy.
The reward for FIU (6-6) is a matchup with Toledo (8-4) at Ford Field — not exactly a long trip for the Rockets, whose campus is just over an hour from the Detroit stadium. Toledo is returning to a bowl for the first time since 2005.
“This is huge for our program,” Toledo coach Tim Beckman said. “It means we are getting better as a team, and we only have to travel 65 miles.”
Toledo quarterback Austin Dantin hurt his shoulder in late October, but Terrance Owens has done a good job filling in. The Rockets are dangerous as long as Eric Page is in the lineup. The 5-foot-10 sophomore has caught 94 passes this season and returned three kickoffs for touchdowns.