Butch Davis was the favorite to take the job, but that did not happen. According to sources, Davis actually helped Garcia hire Turner. (What the…?)

Turner was just recently the quarter back coach with the Tampa Bay Bucs. He has no experience recruiting in South Florida. Nada.

Turner was head coach at Illinois for eight seasons where his record was 35-57. He led Illinois to two bowl games. 10 of those wins with Illinois came in one season, which was in 2001. (Thank you, Krista, for the info!)

This should be interesting.

My thoughts exactly, Kurt.

Mario is not even sure why this happened after sticking with FIU after getting offers from Rutgers and Pitt last year.

It was almost a year ago that we were watching FIU football play against Marshall at the Beef O’ Brady Bowl. No one was completely sure if the rumors about Mario Cristobal leaving FIU was true or not. I remember fans chanting Mario’s name and begging athletic director, Pete Garcia, to convince Coach Cristobal to stay with the Panthers.

Now we are here talking about Cristobal’s sudden firing from FIU. Was the firing due to the disappointing 3-9 season this year? Possibly. But is firing Mario really the answer? I am not sure about that.

I do think this firing was pretty shocking and came suddenly out of nowhere. Fans were expecting to see the defensive coordinator, Todd Orlando, get the boot after the defense under performed this year. Some fans feel indifferent about the decision made today. However, many are just confused.

It is believed that Garcia may have been making room to hire former UNC and UM head coach, Butch Davis. Garcia likes to make big hires, so this is possible. Now, would Davis stay on for more than a year if hired? There is only one way to find out.

In the end, there is nothing we can do but thank Coach Cristobal. Without him, FIU wouldn’t be what it is today.

FIU tweeted this picture of the team posing with the Shula Bowl Trophy! Credit: @FIUFootball Twitter

After 11 years, FIU and FAU played the last Shula Bowl game (for now). Due to FIU moving to C-USA in 2013, FAU is no longer on their football schedule for the time being.

Celebrate, Panthers! After many years of suffering through losses against FAU, we got them twice in a row! FIU wins the 2012 Shula Bowl 34-24. Therefore, that trophy stays on 8th Street!

Dance the night away! Come on, you know you want to!

You may have spotted some awesome signs, but the best one goes to a dude in the Navy. His name is Josh.

Folks, this may have been our first sign at GameDay. Thank you, Josh. Thanks not only for being an awesome Panther, but for what you do for our country. I hope FIU tracks you down and gives you some awesome Panther gear or tickets for games when you come home.

Of course, silly mistakes like missing an extra point came back to bite us in the butt. Troy scores another touchdown and the score is now 37-35. Ok, now Panther fans are starting to get into panic mode. A little over a minute left in the game and Troy drives 69 yards. They had no timeouts left. They kick a field goal, making the score 38-37.

FIU had 11 seconds to do something and it was quite uneventful. Game over. The 38-37 score remained.

If only FIU made that field goal…

Here is what happened. 

This is how close FIU was to beating Middle Tennessee.

The Panthers were inches away from defeating MTSU. This one is a very  tough one to swallow.

However, I believe (or hope) this can be an eye opener for the team. No more silly mistakes to put them in this situation in the first place.

Sing me off, Kelly Clarkson.

Lots of people have been talking about jumping ship already. Honestly, this is a time when the team needs our support the most. You know what they say, stay with them through thick and thin.

Sure, it is more fun to watch your team win. Of course, it stinks when your team is losing games they should win. You tend to be in panic mode. Believe me, I am a Marlins fan. I know the feeling.

I received a lengthy, yet very important email from one of my fellow FIU diehards, Alberto Padron. I read it, smiled, and couldn’t wait to pass it on.

Excerpt from Padron’s email:

When the ESPN cameras roll onto our campus this Thursday night, they’ll be here to show the world a college football game between our Panthers and their opponent, Arkansas State University.  Simple enough.  But here’s the insight…when the national viewing audience looks and listens in, they will also hear a good deal about this alma mater of ours.  Of course, they’ll talk about our football team, but they’ll also spend approximately four hours telling the world about FIU the fine academic institution, its students and its alumni.  In addition to winningfootball, this is the reason this Thursday matters soo much.

So you tell me, when ESPN is informing their global audience about who we are and what we’re all about, what impact will an energetic stadium full to capacity make?  What will they say about us if when the cameras pan across FIU Stadium, they see us, the stakeholders of FIU, present and loud and pride, supporting our school?  And what about the carry-over-effect to Friday morning and beyond when your coworkers says, “Hey, caught some of that game last night on ESPN.  Nice win by FIU and way to support your school.  The stadium was packed.  Looks like a lot of fun.  How do I find out about tickets?”

Panthers, millions of football-crazed fans tune in to ESPN.  This Thursday, at 7:30 PM, there will only be one game…the game your FIU Panthers will be competing in.  The stage is ours and they’ll be talking about you and me and the university whose name appears on our degrees.

Football fan or not, I appeal to your most fundamental understanding of the link between college degrees, reputation and positive national TV exposure.  If you’re receiving this note, it’s because I know you get it, so I’m not solely asking that you come to Thursday night’s game.  I’m asking that you get no-less-than five new Panthers to come with you this Thursday night.  Your reward? A national positive shot in the arm to the value of your degree.

The thing is this, we know this team is better than it looks. The defense was nowhere to be seen. I swear I could hear Ben Stein in my head: “Bueller? Bueller?” But he was calling out for the defense instead.

I was also just as scared as this poor cat. Yea, that’s what I looked and sounded like as I watched this game.

All joking aside, this season has been quite frustrating. However, remember we have survived worse. (2006, anyone?) We are 0-1 in the Sun Belt so far. There is still lots of football to play!

We need to mentally and physically prepare ourselves for Thursday night’s game against Arkansas State.

Last night was one of those games. Here is why. Thankfully, we came out with a win, and that is what counts.

It was a great way to celebrate our 10th anniversary, with a win and fireworks!

This sweetie was the cutest FIU fan at the tailgate. This doggie was just hanging out and enjoying the Pantheriffic atmosphere.

Akron alum and former Miami Dolphin, Jason Taylor, was in attendance to watch his alma mater. He was signing autographs for young fans the whole time he was there. He seems like a really cool guy.

Then, I got this surprise. Twitter is amazing.

FIU is celebrating it’s 10th football season.The founding football players were honored during halftime.

Thank you, guys! If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t be here today.

I am loving this video about the history of FIU football.

Welp, FIU loses to Duke 46-26. We have a lot to think about before facing Akron next week. The FIU defense was pretty nonexistent.

Kedrick Rhodes, by the way, is the guy to watch. He scored two touchdowns for FIU. For more deets on the disappointing game, FIU student media has a recap up.

For now, I shall leave you with some random gifs. I have no other words. Sigh.

And now, here is Will Smith to save us. (Thank you, Arnie.)