MIAMI (Nov. 15, 2018) – It feels good to be back in the win column, does it not? That winning feeling is 1000x better than that other feeling. With the Panthers heading to Charlotte this weekend, we thought we'd get back to the basics. No fancy poems, just some down home facts to get you everything you need before watching the Panthers this Saturday at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN3 and the WatchEspn app.
The Magic Eight (Win) Ball
Ladies and Gentleman of the jury, this week's magic number is eight. Eight is the number of planets in our solar system, eight is considered the luckiest number in the Chinese culture, eighth street is the road that FIU is located on, eight is the number of bowl games that
Butch Davis has coached in as a head coach and eight is the highest number of wins by the Panthers in a single season. That mark can be equaled if the Panthers take care of business this weekend. We tried telling you guys for weeks that just because FIU is bowl-eligible, does not mean that this team is done rewriting the record books.
The Killer Instinct
Just like other big game cats, Panthers are born with a killer instinct that helps them in the harsh, and often times brutal, conditions of the Everglades. These cats can sense fear from other animals. So as a word to the wise, we here at Panther Tracks suggest staying far away from a real-life Panther if you like watching the FIU Panthers on Saturdays or anything else on other days of the week. Speaking of the Panthers that play sports, FIU is 6-0 this season when leading after three quarters and has outscored the opposition 83-55 in the fourth quarter. If you need any kind of deals closed, these are the cats that you want to call.
No Fly Zone
For weeks and weeks and weeks, we have talked about King James' Royal Panther Air Force and all the points and records they're breaking, but very secretly and very much under-the-radar is the FIU pass defense. The Panther Air Defense ranks 19th nationally and third in Conference USA, after only allowing 183 yards per game. FIU is also 6-1 when opposing offenses are held under 200 yards passing. Sources close to the situation are telling Panther Tracks that indeed these cats are pretty good when it comes to winning a dogfight.
King James' Royal Panther Air Force
Since the inception of this blog/column/weekly website story, the FIU passing offense has been a weekly staple of why you should watch every week. From the broken records to the acrobatic catches that make
SportsCenter, this group should be commended as the straw that stirs the Panther beverage that we drink week in and week out. With the passing touchdown record behind us, we set our sets on a new record. What record would that be you might ask? Well, let me tell you it's the record for most passing yards in a single season by someone to don the Blue & Gold.
Last Season,
Alex McGough (Insert GOAT emoji here) passed for a program record 2,798 yards through the air. With two regular season games left,
James Morgan sits at 2,319 yards. For those of you who are not good with math (like the writer of this piece) that is a 479-yard difference. Morgan needs to average just under 240 yards in the last two games to break McGough's record. Can he do it? The grad transfer is averaging 232 yards per game. Will he do it? We're not giving you a definitive answer. You'll just have to tune in the final two weeks to find out.
Mascot Analysis: Norm
*Shouting from the back row*
"Enough with the numbers already, you nerd! Get to the mascot already!"
Impatient crowd today, huh? The holidays must be coming up. The people are getting antsy. If you have not heard yet, the FIU Panthers are traveling to North Carolina to play the Charlotte *checks notes twice* 49ers (???). Charlotte's, or as the kids call it these days "CharLITte", mascot is named Norm. From the pictures our investigative team were able to dig up, Norm the Niner looks exactly like what you would think a guy named Norm the Niner would look like. He's a mountain of a man with abundant facial hair and a big hat. Our investigative team has gone even further to theorize that he likes things straight forward and honest. The man probably likes straight black coffee and picking his banjo in the Carolina hills when Charlotte is having sporting events. All in all, he seems like a pretty swell guy, but when there are division titles and bragging rights on the line, our main man Roary ain't got no time for all that Jazz. We're sorry Norm, it's nothing personal. It's all business. Roary will catch you at the Conference USA mascot get together in summer 2019.
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