2009 Florida International Golden Panthers College Football Predictions

2009 Florida International Golden Panthers Predictions
2008 Record: (5-7, 3-4)
Coach: Mario Cristobal, 3rd year (6-18 overall)
Off. Coordinator: Bill Legg (2nd year)
Def. Coordinator: Phill Galiano (3rd year)
Returning Starters: 16 (9 offense, 6 defense, kicker)
Ret. Starting Quarterback: Yes (Paul McCall)

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Offense: Florida International returns nine starters from a unit that averaged a pedestrian 24.7ppg and 316.9 yards per game (96th in the nation). They do return senior quarterback Paul McCall (6-1, 198), who threw for 2,332 yards last season with 15 TDs. He’ll have his top five targets back including sophomore T.Y. Hilton, who caught 41 passes, for 1,013 yards and seven TDs. The passing game should be fine; it’s the running game that needs to be rejuvenated. Sophomore RB Darriet Perry (5-9, 195), who rushed for 173 yards as a freshman, replaces Juilan Reams. It also helps that the offensive line returns five starters including junior center Brad Serini (6-3, 300), who has started every game for the past two seasons.

Defense: FIU returns six starters from a unit that allowed 28.3ppg and 369.1 yards per game. They lose five starters, but three of them are up front. The only returning starter is senior end Armond Willis (6-2, 225), who started eight games and had 31 tackles and a sack. They hoop to get a boost from juco end Thatcher Startling (6-4, 251), who should help a unit that registered only 18 sacks last year and couldn’t stop the run (156.2ypg). They also return senior end Reginald Jones (6-2, 264), who played just two games last season before suffering a foot injury. At linebacker, the leader is senior Scott Bryant (5-10, 220), who led the team in tackles with 89 and was named honorable mention All-Sun Belt. In the secondary, the Panthers return two starters including CB Anthony Gaitor (5-10, 178), who earned all-conference honors with five picks, including two for touchdowns.

Outlook: FIU faces Alabama and Rutgers on the road to start the season. They also face Toledo in their home opener and face Florida late in the season. In conference, they host Troy and head to Arkansas State and Middle Tennessee State. This should be a more explosive offense this year, but the defense has holes to fill. They face an incredibly tough schedule and while they are making progress, they still have a ways to go to get to Troy’s level.

This Sun Belt conference prediction is courtesy of the ATS Sports Blog. If you are looking for winning college football betting picks be sure to choose ATS Consultants this year, A featured sports handicapping service on Touthouse.com