# 2002 FIU Golden Panthers football team

The 2002 FIU Golden Panthers football team represented Florida International University in the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season as an NCAA Division I-AA independent school. The Panthers were led by head coach Don Strock in his first season and finished with a record of five wins and six losses (5–6).
FIU played its first-ever game on August 29, 2002 against St. Peter's at FIU Stadium; the Panthers won 27–3.

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| August 29 | Saint Peter's | FIU StadiumMiami, FL | W 27–3 | 17,314 |
| September 7 | at Elon | Rhodes StadiumElon, NC | L 22–23 | 5,580 |
| September 14 | Butler | FIU StadiumMiami, FL | W 42–0 | 9,110 |
| September 21 | vs. No. 24 Bethune–Cookman | Lockhart StadiumFort Lauderdale, FL | L 0–31 | 16,386 |
| September 28 | Georgetown | FIU StadiumMiami, FL | W 27–2 | 6,084 |
| October 12 | at Western Kentucky | L. T. Smith StadiumBowling Green, KY | L 7–56 | 6,000 |
| October 19 | No. 8 Maine | FIU StadiumMiami, FL | L 7–33 | 5,303 |
| October 26 | Gardner–Webb | FIU StadiumMiami, FL | L 14–17 | 6,733 |
| October 31 | Jacksonville | FIU StadiumMiami, FL | W 39–6 | 5,221 |
| November 9 | Albany | FIU StadiumMiami, FL | W 35–26 | 4,588 |
| November 23 | at Florida Atlantic | Pro Player StadiumMiami Gardens, FL (Shula Bowl) | L 21–31 | 10,224 |
| HomecomingRankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game |||||

## Game summaries
### Saint Peter's

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Peacocks | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Golden Panthers | 13 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 27 |
at FIU Stadium, Miami, Florida
* Date: August 29
* Game time: 7:30 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Partly cloudy, 83 °F (28 °C)
* Game attendance: 17,314
* Box score
| Statistics | SPC | FIU |
| First downs | 14 | 10 |
| Total yards | 197 | 236 |
| Rushing yards | 121 | 69 |
| Passing yards | 76 | 167 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 32:31 | 27:10 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Saint Peter's | Passing | Mike Seber | 4/10, 48 yards |
| Saint Peter's | Rushing | Derek Clayton | 18 rushes, 61 yards |
| Saint Peter's | Receiving | Chris Eckhart | 1 reception, 20 yards |
| FIU | Passing | Jamie Burke | 10/13, 115 yards, 2 TD |
| FIU | Rushing | Rashod Smith | 11 rushes, 45 yards, TD |
| FIU | Receiving | Cory McKinney | 3 receptions, 104 yards, TD |

### At Elon

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Panthers | 7 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 22 |
| Phoenix | 7 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 23 |
at Rhodes Stadium, Elon, North Carolina
* Date: September 7
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Clear, 79 °F (26 °C)
* Game attendance: 5,580
* Referee: Flemon Williams
* Box score
| Statistics | FIU | ELON |
| First downs | 14 | 23 |
| Total yards | 335 | 405 |
| Rushing yards | 46 | 377 |
| Passing yards | 289 | 28 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 5 |
| Time of possession | 25:23 | 34:37 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| FIU | Passing | Jamie Burke | 13/26, 257 yards, TD, INT |
| FIU | Rushing | Rashod Smith | 17 rushes, 81 yards, TD |
| FIU | Receiving | Harold Leath | 4 receptions, 141 yards, 2 TD |
| Elon | Passing | C. W. Singletary | 4/9, 28 yards, TD, INT |
| Elon | Rushing | Rashaud Palmer | 20 rushes, 94 yards, 2 TD |
| Elon | Receiving | Arketa Banks | 2 receptions, 10 yards, TD |

### Butler

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Panthers | 21 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 42 |
at FIU Stadium, Miami, Florida
* Date: September 14
* Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Humid and sunny, 87 °F (31 °C)
* Game attendance: 9,110
* Referee: J. Rider
* Box score
| Statistics | BUT | FIU |
| First downs | 13 | 20 |
| Total yards | 212 | 455 |
| Rushing yards | 94 | 197 |
| Passing yards | 118 | 258 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 32:35 | 27:25 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Butler | Passing | Travis Delph | 9/21, 101 yards |
| Butler | Rushing | Justin Campbell | 10 rushes, 65 yards |
| Butler | Receiving | Adam Lafferty | 4 receptions, 56 yards |
| FIU | Passing | Jamie Burke | 13/19, 258 yards, 3 TD, INT |
| FIU | Rushing | Rashod Smith | 14 rushes, 116 yards, 3 TD |
| FIU | Receiving | Cory McKinney | 4 receptions, 107 yards, TD |

### Vs. No. 24 Bethune–Cookman

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Panthers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 24 Wildcats | 10 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 31 |
at Lockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
* Date: September 21
* Game time: 5:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Hot, 86 °F (30 °C)
* Game attendance: 16,386
* Referee: Preston Harding
* Box score
| Statistics | FIU | BCC |
| First downs | 10 | 24 |
| Total yards | 68 | 496 |
| Rushing yards | -16 | 317 |
| Passing yards | 84 | 179 |
| Turnovers | 4 | 4 |
| Time of possession | 24:38 | 35:22 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| FIU | Passing | Jamie Burke | 9/18, 84 yards, INT |
| FIU | Rushing | Rashod Smith | 14 rushes, 58 yards |
| FIU | Receiving | Julius Eppinger | 2 receptions, 25 yards |
| Bethune–Cookman | Passing | Allen Suber | 10/15, 179 yards, 2 INT |
| Bethune–Cookman | Rushing | Rodney Johnson | 7 rushes, 80 yards, TD |
| Bethune–Cookman | Receiving | Unri Thomas | 1 reception, 74 yards |

### Georgetown

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hoyas | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Golden Panthers | 6 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 27 |
at FIU Stadium, Miami, Florida
* Date: September 28
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Partly cloudy, 90 °F (32 °C)
* Game attendance: 6,084
* Referee: A. Riveron
* Box score
| Statistics | GU | FIU |
| First downs | 12 | 19 |
| Total yards | 196 | 433 |
| Rushing yards | 76 | 210 |
| Passing yards | 120 | 223 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 27:07 | 32:53 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Georgetown | Passing | Andre Crawford | 9/21, 120 yards |
| Georgetown | Rushing | William Huisking | 7 rushes, 33 yards |
| Georgetown | Receiving | Walter Bowser | 4 receptions, 61 yards |
| FIU | Passing | Jamie Burke | 8/11, 126 yards, 2 TD |
| FIU | Rushing | Rashod Smith | 8 rushes, 76 yards, TD |
| FIU | Receiving | Cory McKinney | 3 receptions, 76 yards, TD |

### At Western Kentucky

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Panthers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Hilltoppers | 21 | 21 | 0 | 14 | 56 |
at L. T. Smith Stadium, Bowling Green, Kentucky
* Date: October 12
* Game time: 5:30 p.m. EDT/4:30 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: 77 °F (25 °C)
* Game attendance: 6,000
* Referee: Bill Etzler
* Box score
| Statistics | FIU | WKU |
| First downs | 7 | 28 |
| Total yards | 65 | 498 |
| Rushing yards | -7 | 401 |
| Passing yards | 72 | 97 |
| Turnovers | 5 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 23:13 | 36:47 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| FIU | Passing | Jamie Burke | 5/14, 75 yards, 4 INT |
| FIU | Rushing | Rashod Smith | 6 rushes, 21 yards |
| FIU | Receiving | Harold Leath | 2 receptions, 38 yards |
| Western Kentucky | Passing | Jason Michael | 6/10, 97 yards, TD, INT |
| Western Kentucky | Rushing | Jon Frazier | 15 rushes, 126 yards, TD |
| Western Kentucky | Receiving | Jeremi Johnson | 2 receptions, 45 yards |

### No. 8 Maine

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 8 Black Bears | 3 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 33 |
| Golden Panthers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
at FIU Stadium, Miami, Florida
* Date: October 19
* Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 83 °F (28 °C)
* Game attendance: 5,303
* Referee: Perry Havener
* Box score
| Statistics | ME | FIU |
| First downs | 24 | 10 |
| Total yards | 412 | 209 |
| Rushing yards | 218 | 28 |
| Passing yards | 194 | 181 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 5 |
| Time of possession | 32:06 | 27:54 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Maine | Passing | Jake Eaton | 18/28, 187 yards, 2 TD |
| Maine | Rushing | Marcus Williams | 22 rushes, 156 yards, TD |
| Maine | Receiving | Ryan Waller | 6 receptions, 66 yards, 2 TD |
| FIU | Passing | Jamie Burke | 9/18, 106 yards, 2 INT |
| FIU | Rushing | Tori Robinson | 5 rushes, 54 yards, TD |
| FIU | Receiving | Cory McKinney | 5 receptions, 111 yards |

### Gardber–Webb

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Runnin' Bulldogs | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Golden Panthers | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
at FIU Stadium, Miami, Florida
* Date: October 26
* Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Humid, 88 °F (31 °C)
* Game attendance: 6,733
* Referee: M. Lewis
* Box score
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Gardner–Webb | Passing |
| Gardner–Webb | Rushing |
| Gardner–Webb | Receiving |
| FIU | Passing |
| FIU | Rushing |
| FIU | Receiving |

### Jacksonville

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Dolphins | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Golden Panthers | 3 | 10 | 26 | 0 | 39 |
at FIU Stadium, Miami, Florida
* Date: October 31
* Game time: 8:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Partly cloudy, 82 °F (28 °C)
* Game attendance: 5,221
* Referee: A. Riveron
* Box score
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Jacksonville | Passing |
| Jacksonville | Rushing |
| Jacksonville | Receiving |
| FIU | Passing |
| FIU | Rushing |
| FIU | Receiving |

### Albany

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Great Danes | 7 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 26 |
| Golden Panthers | 0 | 0 | 28 | 7 | 35 |
at FIU Stadium, Miami, Florida
* Date: November 9
* Game time: 3:30 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Partly cloudy, 85 °F (29 °C)
* Game attendance: 4,588
* Referee: S. Frederickson
* Box score
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Albany | Passing |
| Albany | Rushing |
| Albany | Receiving |
| FIU | Passing |
| FIU | Rushing |
| FIU | Receiving |

### At Florida Atlantic

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Panthers | 0 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 21 |
| Owls | 7 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 31 |
at Pro Player Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
* Date: November 23
* Game time: 3:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Sunny and mild, 73 °F (23 °C)
* Game attendance: 10,224
* Referee: A. Riveron
* Box score
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| FIU | Passing |
| FIU | Rushing |
| FIU | Receiving |
| Florida Atlantic | Passing |
| Florida Atlantic | Rushing |
| Florida Atlantic | Receiving |