By Pete Pelegrin
Twitter: @Petepelegrin

A bowl game has been within grasp for the FIU senior class during each of their first three years. In the last three seasons the Panthers went 4-8 in 2014 and 2016 and 5-7 in 2015.

Yet, it was the end of the 2015 season when FIU let its best shot at a postseason berth slip away.

In the latter part of the 2015 season, the Panthers were 4-4 with four games to play. Two games against then-C-USA doormats Florida Atlantic and Charlotte, who had a total of three wins between them. The final two games of that season were against then-C-USA powerhouses Marshall and Western Kentucky.

As is the case when it comes to rivalries the team records don't mean much. FAU, which was 1-6 entering its game with FIU in 2015, defeated the Panthers 31-17 to just about knock FIU out of bowl contention.

FIU took care of Charlotte the following week for its fifth win of the season, but were outscored a combined 115-7 by Marshall and WKU to end the season with two straight losses.

"That hurt hard because it was right there," said FIU senior linebacker Fred Russ, recalling the end of the 2015 season. "You could taste it but you just couldn't get that last win needed to be bowl-eligible. It hurt deeply. When we got it this year all the pain we felt was released. It was amazing but we're not done yet."

Yes, the FIU senior class and the rest of the Panthers recorded the necessary six wins to become bowl-eligible this season. However, the Panthers are not satisfied with six wins and are not guaranteed a bowl game either.

Conference USA has six guaranteed bowl games and two at-large spots (if other conferences can't fill those two other bowls). C-USA already has eight bowl-eligible teams and could have as many as 10 bowl-eligible teams by the end of the weekend. Middle Tennessee and Old Dominion, who each have five wins, play each other Saturday. Louisiana Tech has five wins and becomes bowl-eligible if it beats UTSA.

FIU knows it has to add to its victory total this season with games left against WKU and UMass. Six wins may not be enough to reach the postseason in 2017.

"Our goal has always been to do as much as we can," senior safety Niko Gonzalez said. "We didn't stop at a bowl game. Our goal was to get to that conference championship but unfortunately we couldn't complete that. But getting to a bowl game and getting more wins is what we're striving for."

FIU will honor 20 seniors on Senior Day before Friday's game against WKU. The majority of the senior class was recruited by former FIU coach Ron Turner. The class went through the typical highs and lows of a college football program, including a change in head coaches. FIU coach Butch Davis, in his first season at the helm of the Panthers, is proud of the seniors' resiliency.

"This senior class has been outstanding," Davis said. "Not only are they players that actually contribute to the success of this program, they have done a fabulous job as far as leading the rest of the team. They've never made ego about it. They have done everything you have asked them to do. I am unbelievably blessed to be able to coach them."

The FIU seniors are happy about becoming bowl-eligible in their final season but the Panthers would like to play a 13^th game this season and wins in the next two games will go a long way to assuring the postseason.

"We didn't want to leave and be the guys who couldn't accomplish the goal of getting to a bowl game," Russ said. "We've worked as hard as we can this year to get everything out of it as we possibly could and we are bowl-eligible. But we are looking for the next win to keep pushing it and actually make and win a bowl game."