# 2008 FIU Golden Panthers football team

The 2008 FIU Golden Panthers football team represented Florida International University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Mario Cristobal and played their homes games at the on-campus FIU Stadium.

## Regular season

The 2008 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 new FIU Stadium. Trailing 17–0 with 2:30 left in the game FIU attained a safety, and subsequently scored a touchdown. FIU 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.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 30 | 7:00 p.m. | at No. 14 Kansas* | Memorial StadiumLawrence, KS | | L 10–40 | 52,112 |
| September 6 | 12:00 p.m. | at Iowa* | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, IA | BTN | L 0–42 | 70,585 |
| September 20 | 5:00 p.m. | No. 12 South Florida* | FIU StadiumMiami, FL | ESPNU | L 9–17 | 16,717 |
| September 27 | 7:00 p.m. | at Toledo* | Glass BowlToledo, OH | BCSN | W 35–16 | 19,004 |
| October 4 | 7:00 p.m. | at North Texas | Fouts FieldDenton, TX | ESPN Plus | W 42–10 | 16,781 |
| October 11 | 7:00 p.m. | Middle Tennessee | FIU StadiumMiami, FL | | W 31–21 | 15,108 |
| October 18 | 7:00 p.m. | at Troy | Movie Gallery StadiumTroy, AL | ESPN Plus | L 23–33 | 19,316 |
| November 1 | 5:00 p.m. | at Louisiana-Lafayette | Cajun FieldLafayette, LA | | L 20–49 | 29,031 |
| November 8 | 7:00 p.m. | Arkansas State | FIU StadiumMiami, FL | | W 22–21 | 15,106 |
| November 22 | 7:00 p.m. | Louisiana-Monroe | FIU StadiumMiami, FL | | L 27–31 | 12,925 |
| November 29 | 4:00 p.m. | at FAU | Dolphin StadiumMiami Gardens, FL (Shula Bowl) | | L 50–57 $^{OT}$ | 16,781 |
| December 6 | 7:00 p.m. | Western Kentucky* | FIU StadiumMiami, FL | | W 27–3 | 9,405 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from Associated PressAll times are in Eastern time |||||||

## 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 |