MIAMI (Nov. 1, 2018) – There is one question often asked here at Panther Tracks. That question is something along the lines of "Why should I watch/come see the Panthers?" The short answer is FIU, by default, is the best football team in the state Florida that played last weekend. If this reason is not enough, we'll go the corroborating evidence and see what happens.
 
Home Is Where The Trophy Stays
Since Shula Bowl XII (or 2013), every homestanding team has seized the Don Shula Trophy by the end of the night. This bodes well for the Panthers as Shula Bowl XVII is being played at *adjusts glasses and checks notes* Riccardo Silva Stadium here on the campus of Florida International University.
 
Since Butch Davis' coronation as King of the Panthers and Panther-in-chief of Riccardo Silva Stadium aka The Cage, FIU is an outstanding 9-2 at home. In that same time frame the Party Panthers have lit up the scoreboard by averaging 37 points per game and mauling opponents by an average of two touchdowns. Sources close to the situation have confirmed that is pretty good.
 
Bowling With Butch
Saturday night's win up on the hill at WKU made FIU bowl-eligible for just the fourth time in program history and for the second-straight year under Coach Davis. A win under the bright lights on Saturday would not only boast FIU's standing in the pantheon of college football in the state of Florida, but it would also help the Panthers' placement in the strangely beautiful universe that is Bowl Season.      
 
May The Force Be With You and With Your Kickers
The most important question that came out of last weekend was not "Where will the Panthers go bowling?" or "Bowling Green looked cold, have the Panthers warmed up yet?" it was if kicker swag was real or not. To answer our friends over on the late night SportsCenter, Yes, SVP and Stanford Steve, kicker swag is real and it is alive and well here in South Florida. 

Redshirt sophomore kicker Jose Borregales not only wears some sleeves on a chilly night in Kentucky, but he also has Star Wars symbols tattooed on his kicking leg. Did he use to the force on his school record 53-yard field goal against Middle Tennessee? The Jedi Council will not let us answer that, but they did say he is a Jedi Master of Swag.
 
King James' Royal Panther Air Force Strikes Again
Last week, we chronicled the successes of the Royal Panther Air Force, or RPAF for the millennials that are reading. Panther Tracks received a telegram late Saturday night that Operation Scariest Environment Imaginable (working title) was a rousing success for King James and the rest of the Panther offense. FIU is now 4-0 on the season when the offense scores 30 points or more. James Morgan led the aerial barrage with three passing touchdowns and will take flight on Saturday night just two touchdowns behind Alex McGough's 2015 record-setting campaign of 21 passing touchdowns. Just because the Panthers are bowl-eligible does not mean the rewriting of the record books is over quite yet.
 
Mascot Analysis: Owlsley
Not only is it rivalry week on the gridiron, but it is also rivalry week over on 8th street. For those of you who do not know, Owlsley the Owl has been taking shots at our main man Roary all week on the various social media platforms. While Owlsley was questioning Roary's looks and overall demeanor, Roary went Panther Dark Thirty and has been held up deep inside Riccardo Silva Stadium helping Butch and squad with game planning for Saturday.

Roary has been so focused on this weekend that he has only come out to practice his dance moves with the Dazzlers. Yesterday, he made his way over to Ocean Bank Convocation Center to give Panther Tracks a very special message. All it said was "No feather is a match for the claw. I'll see you on Saturday, bird."
 
Here at Panther Tracks, we do not know a lot about animals. We leave that to the FIU Department of Biological Sciences, but we do know when the gauntlet has been thrown down. If the Shula Bowl was not enough, let the simmering tension between the mascots be enough to bring you out to Riccardo Silva Stadium on Saturday Night.

We'll save you a seat on Saturday night at 7:30 ET when the Panthers and Owls kickoff. Go ahead and get your tickets now for Shula Bowl XVII here.

SOCIAL MEDIA
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