By Pete Pelegrin
Twitter: @Petepelegrin

One goal of every college football team is to practice in December because it usually means the team is playing in the postseason.

Five days after its thumping of UMass, FIU returned to the gridiron Friday morning for a light practice. In the five days without football, the Panthers lifted in the weight room, did some conditioning and participated in a yoga class.

Friday morning the Panthers focused more on getting back in the flow of football than on their next opponent.

"It was fun to get back out here after a couple of days off, just to get back in the swing of things coming from a really exhausting game at 12 o' clock," quarterback Alex McGough said. "It was hot, we were tired but we scored 63 points. Coming back out here and getting in the swing of things was good for us. The confidence is high. The love of the team, the brotherhood, I'm so glad to be a part of it."

Last Saturday the Panthers concluded the regular season with a 63-45 win over the Minutemen. The next day FIU learned its bowl destination and in McGough's case he said he found out when his brother, FIU center Shane McGough yelled "St. Pete!" in a Facetime call to him.

FIU will be in St. Petersburg for the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl against Temple on Dec. 21. It will be FIU's first bowl game since 2011 when the Panthers also played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg in the then-Beef O' Brady's St. Petersburg Bowl against Marshall.

For the past five days FIU coaches have been recruiting, with the early national signing day 12 days away on Dec. 20. FIU coach Butch Davis said the Panthers coaches and himself visited plenty of high schools and living rooms.

"The last five days we got into maybe 45-50 high schools and in the homes of 45-50 kids," Davis said. "This weekend is a big weekend we probably have 10 to 11 kids and their families coming in, same thing next weekend."

Matching the program record for wins in a season not only helped FIU secure a bowl game this season but Davis says has been an asset on the recruiting trail.

"There is no doubt it winning and going to a bowl game has been unbelievably important," Davis said. "Kids can see the rise of the program, the direction of the program. The love, the excitement and the way our kids play and compete so a lot of that stuff is infectious. Winning makes a lot of difference."

FIU won't start prepping for its first-ever meeting with Temple until next week. The Panthers and the Owls' bowl game will be the only football game played in the country on Dec. 21 since the NFL has no games that Thursday.

Despite the glaring spotlight of national television and being the only football game that day, the Panthers expect to be ready.

"I don't think the stage can ever be too big," linebacker Anthony Wint said. "This is what you live for. This is what you come to college for. This is what you sign to come to FIU for. This is something guys have been waiting for their whole career."

Said McGough: "I'll preach blinders. In the horserace they put the blinders on the horse so they can't see their surroundings. You just have to focus and lock in on the details, the game itself and try not to worry about the big picture like ESPN, all the attention that this game will get. I think that this team will be able to do that. Coach Davis will get us right for it."