2008 FIU Golden Panthers football team

2008 FIU Golden Panthers football
ConferenceSun Belt Conference
Record5–7 (3–4 Sun Belt)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBill Legg (1st season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorPhil Galiano (2nd season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumFIU Stadium
2008 Sun Belt Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Troy $   6 – 1     8 – 5  
Louisiana–Lafayette   5 – 2     6 – 6  
Florida Atlantic   4 – 3     7 – 6  
Arkansas State   4 – 3     6 – 6  
  3 – 4     5 – 7  
Middle Tennessee   3 – 4     5 – 7  
Louisiana–Monroe   3 – 4     4 – 8  
North Texas   0 – 7     1 – 11  
  • $ – Conference champion

The 2008 FIU Golden Panthers football team represented Florida International University (FIU) as a member of the Sun Belt Conference during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by second-year head coach Mario Cristobal, the Panthers compiled an overall record of 5–7 with a mark of 3–4 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for fifth in the Sun Belt. The team played home game at FIU Stadium in Miami.

The season started off with a loss at 13th-ranked Kansas, 40–10. Following that, Iowa routed FIU, 42–0. FIU then faced its highest-ranked opponent in school history, 12th-ranked South Florida, for the inaugural game of the renovated FIU Stadium. Trailing 17–0 with 2:30 left in the game FIU scored a safety and a touchdown. The Golden Panthers lost, 17–9, but played acted as a spoiler for South Florida, with the latter falling three spots in the rankings. The game against Toledo became their first-ever out-of-conference FBS win. Against, Toledo, FIU forced four turnovers and recorded its first road win since 2005. It was also the program first non-conference win against an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 307:00 p.m.at No. 14 Kansas*
L 10–4052,112
September 612:00 p.m.at Iowa*
BTNL 0–4270,585
September 205:00 p.m.No. 12 South Florida*
ESPNUL 9–1716,717
September 277:00 p.m.at Toledo*
BCSNW 35–1619,004
October 47:00 p.m.at North Texas
ESPN PlusW 42–1016,781
October 117:00 p.m.Middle Tennessee
  • FIU Stadium
  • Miami, FL
W 31–2115,108
October 187:00 p.m.at Troy
ESPN PlusL 23–3319,316
November 15:00 p.m.at Louisiana–Lafayette
L 20–4929,031
November 87:00 p.m.Arkansas Statedagger
  • FIU Stadium
  • Miami, FL
W 22–2115,106
November 227:00 p.m.Louisiana–Monroe
  • FIU Stadium
  • Miami, FL
L 27–3112,925
November 294:00 p.m.at FAU
L 50–57 OT16,781
December 67:00 p.m.Western Kentucky*
  • FIU Stadium
  • Miami, FL
W 27–39,405
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

[1][2][3]

Game summaries

at Kansas

1 2 3 4 Total
FIU 0 10 0 0 10
Kansas 7 23 10 0 40

at Iowa

1 2 3 4 Total
FIU 0 0 0 0 0
Iowa 21 14 0 7 42

South Florida

1 2 3 4 Total
South Florida 7 3 0 7 17
FIU 0 0 0 9 9

Toledo

1 2 3 4 Total
FIU 0 14 21 0 35
Toledo 13 3 0 0 16

North Texas

1 2 3 4 Total
FIU 14 14 7 7 42
North Texas 0 0 3 7 10

Middle Tennessee

1 2 3 4 Total
Middle Tennessee 3 0 10 8 21
FIU 0 10 14 7 31

Troy

1 2 3 4 Total
FIU 9 7 0 7 23
Troy 16 3 7 7 33

Louisiana–Lafayette

1 2 3 4 Total
FIU 14 0 0 6 20
Louisiana–Lafayette 7 28 14 0 49

Arkansas State

1 2 3 4 Total
Arkansas State 0 7 7 7 21
FIU 0 6 6 10 22

Louisiana–Monroe

1 2 3 4 Total
Louisiana–Monroe 0 21 10 0 31
FIU 3 0 14 10 27

Florida Atlantic

Shula Bowl

1 2 3 4OT Total
FIU 7 9 6 280 50
Florida Atlantic 14 0 8 287 57

Western Kentucky

1 2 3 4 Total
Western Kentucky 3 0 0 0 3
FIU 0 7 6 14 27

Coaching staff

Name Current Title Years at
FIU		 Alma mater
Mario Cristobal Head Coach 2006 – Miami
Bill Legg Offensive Coordinator
Quarterbacks		 2008 – West Virginia
Phil Galiano Defensive Coordinator
Linebackers		 2007 – Shippensburg
Apollo Wright Special teams Coordinator 2001 – Wagner College
Mike Cassano Assistant Head Coach
Running backs/Recruiting		 2006 – New Hampshire
Bernard Clark Assistant Head Coach
Defensive line		 2004–2005, 2007 – Miami
Greg Laffere Assistant Head Coach
Offensive line		 2005 – Miami
Alex Mirabal Assistant Head Coach
Tight ends		 2006 – FIU
Frank Ponce Assistant Head Coach
Wide receivers		 2005 – FIU
Jeff Popovich Assistant Head Coach
Secondary		 2006 – Miami
Roderick Moore Strength &
Conditioning Coach		 – -
Chris Siegle Graduate Assistant Coach 2005 – -
Dennis Smith Graduate Assistant Coach 2006 – Miami

References

  1. ^ "Florida International Panthers Schedule 2008". ESPN. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  2. ^ "2008 Florida International Golden Panthers Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  3. ^ "2008 Football Schedule". Florida International University Athletics. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
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