2018 FIU Panthers football team

The 2018 FIU Panthers football team represented Florida International University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Panthers played their home games at the Riccardo Silva Stadium in University Park, Florida as members of the East Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by second-year head coach Butch Davis. They finished the season 9–4, 6–2 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for second place in the East Division. They were invited to the Bahamas Bowl where they defeated Toledo.

2018 FIU Panthers football
Bahamas Bowl champion
Bahamas Bowl, W 35–32 vs. Toledo
Conference	Conference USA
Division	East Division
2018 record	9–4 (6–2 C-USA)
Head coach	Butch Davis (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Rich Skrosky (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Brent Guy (2nd season)
Home stadium	Riccardo Silva Stadium (Capacity: 20,000)

2018 Conference USA football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Middle Tennessee x		7	–	1					8	–	6
Marshall		6	–	2					9	–	4
FIU		6	–	2					9	–	4
Charlotte		4	–	4					5	–	7
Florida Atlantic		3	–	5					5	–	7
Old Dominion		2	–	6					4	–	8
Western Kentucky		2	–	6					3	–	9
West Division
UAB x$		7	–	1					11	–	3
North Texas		5	–	3					9	–	4
Louisiana Tech		5	–	3					8	–	5
Southern Miss		5	–	3					6	–	5
UTSA		2	–	6					3	–	9
UTEP		1	–	7					1	–	11
Rice		1	–	7					2	–	11
Championship: UAB 27, Middle Tennessee 25
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions

Spring Game

The 2018 Spring Game took place in University Park, on April 6, at 7 p.m.[1]

Date	Time	Spring Game	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
April 6	7:00 p.m.	Offense vs. Defense	Riccardo Silva Stadium • University Park, Florida	CUSA.tv	Offense 14–13[2]	-

Previous season

Main article: 2017 FIU Panthers football team

The Panthers finished the 2017 season 8–5, 5–3 in C-USA play to finish in second place in the East Division. They received an invitation to the Gasparilla Bowl where they lost to Temple.

Offseason

Following the conclusion of the 2017 season, several Panthers were invited to participate in the Tropical Bowl, a postseason all star game held on January 14, 2018. Invitations include: Brad Muhammad (DB), Pharoah Mckever (TE) and Anthony Wint (LB).[3]

Departures

Notable departures from the 2017 squad included:

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Alex McGough	#12	QB	6'3"	218	Senior	Tampa, FL	Graduated
Anthony Wint	#53	LB	6'0"	224	Senior	Homestead, FL	Graduated

2018 NFL Draft

See also: 2018 NFL Draft

Panthers who were picked in the 2018 NFL Draft:

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Team
7	220	Alex McGough	QB	Seattle Seahawks
UFA		Anthony Wint	LB	New York Jets

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Award	Player	Position	Year
Lou Groza Award[4]	Jose Borregales	K	SO
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award[5]	James Morgan	QB	JR

Preseason All-CUSA team

Conference USA released their preseason all-CUSA team on July 16, 2018 with the Panthers having two players selected.[6]

Offense Jordan Budwig – OL Defense Fermin Silva – DL

Preseason media poll

Conference USA released their preseason media poll on July 17, 2018, with the Panthers predicted to finish in fourth place in the East Division.[7]

East Division
Predicted finish	Team
1	Florida Atlantic
2	Marshall
3	Middle Tennessee
4	FIU
5	Western Kentucky
6	Old Dominion
7	Charlotte

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	7:00 p.m.	Indiana*	Riccardo Silva Stadium Miami, FL	CBSSN	L 28–38	17,082
September 8	7:30 p.m.	Old Dominion	Foreman Field Norfolk, VA	beIN	W 28–20	19,243
September 15	7:30 p.m.	UMass*	Riccardo Silva Stadium Miami, FL	beIN	W 63–24	14,695
September 22	3:30 p.m.	at No. 21 Miami (FL)*	Hard Rock Stadium Miami Gardens, FL	ESPN2	L 17–31	59,814
September 29	7:30 p.m.	Arkansas–Pine Bluff*	Riccardo Silva Stadium Miami, FL	ESPN+	W 55–9	14,937
October 13	7:30 p.m.	Middle Tennessee	Riccardo Silva Stadium Miami, FL	beIN	W 24–21	16,002
October 20	7:30 p.m.	Rice	Riccardo Silva Stadium Miami, FL	ESPN+	W 36–17	13,741
October 27	7:30 p.m.	at Western Kentucky	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	beIN	W 38–17	15,138
November 3	7:30 p.m.	Florida Atlantic	Riccardo Silva Stadium Miami, FL (Shula Bowl)	Stadium	L 14–49	18,478
November 10	7:00 p.m.	at UTSA	Alamodome San Antonio, TX	ESPN+	W 45–7	16,874
November 17	2:00 p.m.	at Charlotte	Jerry Richardson Stadium Charlotte, NC	ESPN3	W 42–35	13,371
November 24	12:00 p.m.	Marshall	Riccardo Silva Stadium Miami, FL	Stadium	L 25–28	14,862
December 21	12:30 p.m.	vs. Toledo*	Thomas Robinson Stadium Nassau, Bahamas (Bahamas Bowl)	ESPN	W 35–32	13,510
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Schedule Source:[8]

Game summaries

Indiana

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hoosiers	14	14	7	3	38
Panthers	7	7	7	7	28

See also: 2018 Indiana Hoosiers football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–2	2016	L, 13–34

at Old Dominion

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	14	14	0	28
Monarchs	7	13	0	0	20

See also: 2018 Old Dominion Monarchs football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–3	2017	L, 30–37

UMass

	1	2	3	4	Total
Minutemen	7	3	14	0	24
Panthers	14	28	14	7	63

See also: 2018 UMass Minutemen football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–2	2017	W, 63–45

at Miami (FL)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	0	0	17	17
No. 21 Hurricanes	7	17	7	0	31

See also: 2018 Miami Hurricanes football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–2	2007	L, 9–23

Arkansas–Pine Bluff

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Lions	3	0	3	3	9
Panthers	17	21	17	0	55

See also: 2018 Arkansas–Pine Bluff Golden Lions football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

Middle Tennessee

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Raiders	0	14	7	0	21
Panthers	3	10	0	11	24

See also: 2018 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
4–9	2017	L, 17–37

Rice

	1	2	3	4	Total
Owls	7	3	7	0	17
Panthers	0	16	10	10	36

See also: 2018 Rice Owls football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–1	2017	W, 13–9

at Western Kentucky

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	7	7	14	10	38
Hilltoppers	0	3	0	14	17

See also: 2018 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
5–6	2017	W, 41–17

Florida Atlantic

	1	2	3	4	Total
Owls	7	7	7	28	49
Panthers	0	7	7	0	14

See also: 2018 Florida Atlantic Owls football team and Shula Bowl

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
5–11	2017	L, 24–52

at UTSA

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	17	7	21	45
Roadrunners	0	0	0	7	7

See also: 2018 UTSA Roadrunners football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–1	2017	W, 14–7

at Charlotte

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	10	10	7	15	42
49ers	7	7	7	14	35

See also: 2018 Charlotte 49ers football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
3–0	2017	W, 30–29

Marshall

	1	2	3	4	Total
Thundering Herd	14	0	7	7	28
Panthers	3	7	0	15	25

See also: 2018 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
2–4	2017	W, 41–30

Toledo (Bahamas Bowl)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	14	7	14	35
Rockets	10	0	7	15	32

See also: 2018 Toledo Rockets football team and 2018 Bahamas Bowl

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
2–1	2010	W, 34-32

References

1. "2018 FIU Spring Game Set for Friday". FIUSports.com. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
2. "2017 FIU Spring Game - Results". FIUSports.com. 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
3. "2018 Tropical Bowl Roster". TropicalBowl.com. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
4. "Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Announces 2018 Preseason Watch List". July 25, 2018. Archived from the original on August 17, 2009. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
5. "Watch List for 2018 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award ® Presented by A. O. Smith Announced". August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
6. http://conferenceusa.com/news/2018/7/16/football-fb-2018-preseason-awards.aspx
7. http://conferenceusa.com/news/2018/7/17/football-fb-preseason-media-poll.aspx
8. "2018 FIU Panthers Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved April 4, 2018.