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Florida International 2009 Football Predictions

Written July 29, 2009 by InfoPlays

2009 Florida International Football Predictions The Florida International Golden Panthers made solid progress last season after finishing with just one win in 2007 and going winless in 2006. They won 5 games a year ago and heading into 2009 they have potential on offense to continue making strides forward. But if they don’t find the answers on defense, they are going to be hard-pressed to duplicate their five-win season from a year ago. Check out college football odds from one of our top books in Sportsbook.com. They offer 10% sign-up bonuses and reduced Friday juice to get you started.

Offense: FIU scored a ton of points once they got through the first three games of the season last year. They put up just 19 points in their first three games, but scored 20 or more in their final 9 games to become a competitive ball club. Now they just need to become more of a consistent scoring threat after finishing last in the Sun Belt Conference and 96th in the country in total offense. Their anemic running game from a year ago should get a boost from sophomore running back Darriet Perry. All five starters return on the offensive line anchored by junior center Brad Serini, a second-team All-Sun Belt pick last year. Perry only played in two games, but both were late in the season where he compiled 173 rushing yards on just 31 carries with two touchdowns.

This team should have an effective passing game once again after averaging 218.3 passing yards/game last season. Senior QB Paul McCall led FIU to its only win in his lone start of 2007, and he carried that success over into the ‘08 season by passing for 2,332 yards and 15 touchdowns while starting all 12 games. His top five targets return in wide receivers T.Y. Hilton, Greg Ellingson, Junior Mertile and Jeremy Dickens, plus tight end Eric Kirchenberg. Hilton earned Freshman of the Year honors in the Sun Belt after catching seven touchdowns on 1,013 receiving yards. He also ran for two scores. Serini has started every game for the past two seasons, and senior tackle Joe Alajajian has 29 starts over the past three years. Junior college transfer Ulu Matavao started all 12 games at left tackle last year, and Andy Leavine and Mario Caraballo both recovered from early injuries to start more than half of the season at the two guard spots.

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Defense: The Panthers only graduate five starters from last year’s defense which ranked fourth in the league, giving up just 394 yards/game. The problem is that three of them came from the front four. The only returning starter on the line is senior end Armond Willis, who recorded 31 tackles with one sack. End Reggie Jones returns after playing two games last season before suffering a foot injury. He had a sack and an interception in his brief 2008 appearance.

The Panthers want to bulk up their run defense and create a pass rush. They only had 18 sacks last season, seven of which came from two players who aren’t returning. The Panthers do welcome back corner Anthony Gaitor, an all-conference selection as a sophomore last year. Also returning is Scott Bryant, the team’s leading tackler with 89 stops to earn honorable mention all-conference at linebacker. Gaitor was a playmaker with five interceptions last year, returning two for scores. There are seven projected senior starters on this defense so experience won’t be a factor.

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