Wikipedia

2008 FIU Golden Panthers football team

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.

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
Seasons
← 2007
2009 →
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 
FIU 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 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.[citation needed]

Schedule

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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

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at Kansas

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

at Iowa

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

South Florida

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

Toledo

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

North Texas

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

Middle Tennessee

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

Troy

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

Louisiana–Lafayette

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

Arkansas State

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

Louisiana–Monroe

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

Florida Atlantic

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Shula Bowl

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

Western Kentucky

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

Coaching staff

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NameCurrent TitleYears at
FIU		Alma mater
Mario CristobalHead Coach2006 –Miami
Bill LeggOffensive Coordinator
Quarterbacks		2008 –West Virginia
Phil GalianoDefensive Coordinator
Linebackers		2007 –Shippensburg
Apollo WrightSpecial teams Coordinator2001 –Wagner College
Mike CassanoAssistant Head Coach
Running backs/Recruiting		2006 –New Hampshire
Bernard ClarkAssistant Head Coach
Defensive line		2004–2005, 2007 –Miami
Greg LaffereAssistant Head Coach
Offensive line		2005 –Miami
Alex MirabalAssistant Head Coach
Tight ends		2006 –FIU
Frank PonceAssistant Head Coach
Wide receivers		2005 –FIU
Jeff PopovichAssistant Head Coach
Secondary		2006 –Miami
Roderick MooreStrength &
Conditioning Coach		–-
Chris SiegleGraduate Assistant Coach2005 –-
Dennis SmithGraduate Assistant Coach2006 –Miami

References

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  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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