Offense |
Defense |
Depth Chart |
Further Analysis
There's reason to get excited about the future with a fertile
recruiting base to work with, a big school with the potential for a
fan base, and an exciting young coaching staff that should get
better as the program improves.
2005 wasn't all happy, happy, joy, joy with five losses in the first
six games hurt most by a crushing 66-24 loss to Arkansas State, but
the team quickly found its stride winning four of its final five
games including a Sun Belt title ruining 31-29 win over UL Monroe.
It's the Sun Belt, so there are immediate dreams of winning a title
and going to a bowl game with a little bit of improvement. The team should be even better this year with a good nucleus of top players
and several young playmakers to build for the future.
Head coach: Don Strock
5th year: 15-29
Returning Lettermen:
Off. 15, Def. 24, ST 1
Lettermen Lost: 28 |
Ten
Best FIU Players
1. LB Keyonvis Bouie, Sr.
2. QB Josh Padrick, Sr.
3. DE Antwan Barnes, Sr.
4. TE Samuel Smith, Sr.
5. WR Chandler Williams, Sr.
6. DT Jonas Murrell, Soph.
7. TE Moses Hinton, Soph.
8. SS Chris Smith, Sr.
9. RB A'mod Ned, Soph.
10.
RB Julian Reams, Soph. |
|
2006
Schedule
CFN
Prediction: coming |
|
8/31 |
at MTSU |
| 9/9 |
at South Florida |
| 9/16 |
Bowling Green |
| 9/23 |
at Maryland |
|
9/30 |
Arkansas State |
| 10/7 |
at North Texas |
| 10/14 |
at Miami |
| 10/28 |
at Alabama |
| 11/4 |
UL Monroe |
| 11/18 |
UL Lafayette |
| 11/25 |
at Florida Atlantic |
| 12/2 |
Troy |
|
|
2005
Schedule
CFN
Prediction:
3-8
2005 Record:
5-6
Preview
2005 predicted wins
|
| 9/3 |
at
Kansas St L 35-21 |
| 9/10 |
at Texas Tech L 56-3 |
| 9/24 |
at Arkansas St L 66-24 |
|
10/1 |
Florida A&M
W 23-6 |
| 10/15 |
North Texas L 13-10 |
| 10/22 |
at Troy L 18-13 |
| 11/5 |
at UL Monroe W 31-29 |
| 11/12 |
at UL Lafayette L 28-7 |
| 11/19 |
West. Kentucky
W 38-35 |
| 11/26 |
Florida Atlantic
W 52-6 |
| 12/3 |
MTSU W 35-31 |
|
It all begins with the
stars. Quarterback Josh Padrick should grow into the role as the
league's best quarterback and needs to carry the offense on his back
using his experience and live arm to make the attack more productive. He
has the league's best tight end combination of Samuel Smith and Moses
Hinton to throw to, and he has a dependable number one target in
Chandler Williams returning. The backfield has plenty of promise working
behind a big, but rebuilt offensive line.
The defense will be a work in progress, but it has two sure-thing
All-Sun Belt stars to work with in linebacker Keyonvis Bouie and
defensive end Antwan Barnes. The secondary will be the rough spot early
on with the corners needing more work, and the smallish defensive front
should have a few problems with power running teams.
There will be more than enough chances to see time against some of the
biggest national names getting rid of D-IAAers Florida A&M and Western
Kentucky for some big paydays and big spotlights, but for FIU, the
season will be about improving in Sun Belt play. If the non-conference
schedule doesn't beat the team into a pulp, it'll be a player in the race
for the New Orleans Bowl.
The Schedule:
It starts out with must-win game in the
Sun Belt opener at MTSU and is followed up by an interesting battle
for in-state bragging rights against South Florida. There are brutal
bloodlettings to be had at Maryland, Miami and Alabama, but the Sun
Belt schedule has several huge breaks getting Arkansas State, UL
Monroe and Troy at home. Three of the final four games are at home
with the one road game a trip to Florida Atlantic.
Best
Offensive Player: Senior QB Josh Padrick. Can he do for FIU what
Steven Jyles did for UL Monroe last year and be the type of player
to keep the team in the Sun Belt title hunt? He needs to cut down on
his interceptions and has to be even sharper spreading the ball
around with an inexperienced receiving corps to work with.
Best
Defensive Player: Senior LB Keyonvis Bouie. One of the nation's
best kept secrets will be unearthed this season. He's a top tackler
with phenomenal range and a nose for the ball. 150 tackles isn't out
of the question if he stays healthy and plays a full 12 games.
Key
player to a successful season: Senior CB Zach Davis and junior CB
Lionell Singleton. The run defense will produce against the average
running teams, but the team won't improve unless it's better against
the pass. Davis and Singleton have to be better at anticipating the
shorter routes and can't allow quarterbacks to complete 68% of their
passes again.
The
season will be a success if ... FIU finishes second in the Sun
Belt race. It'll go into the season dreaming of winning the title,
but there's not enough depth and there's still a D-IAA level of
overall talent that'll keep the promising team from falling just
short of its goal.
Key
game: August 31 at MTSU. FIU beat MTSU 35-31 to close out last
year with three straight wins and needs a repeat performance in the
opener to get a confidence boost for the rest of the conference
season. An 0-4 start, which will likely happen if there's a loss to
the Blue Raiders, will hurt going into the Arkansas State game
2005
Fun Stats:
- Fourth quarter scoring: Opponents 107 - FIU 41
- Average yards per pass: Opponents 8.2 - FIU 6.8
- Fumbles; FIU 24 (lost 18) - Opponents 20 (lost 12)
The Last Time FIU…
…played in a bowl game…never
…missed a bowl game…2005
…pitched a shutout…2002 (Butler)
…was shutout…2002 (Bethune-Cookman)
…scored 50 points…2005 (Florida Atlantic)
…went undefeated…never
…won a conference title…never
…had a 3,000-yard passer…never
…had a 1,000-yard rusher…2004 (Rashod Smith)
…had a 1,000-yard receiver…never
…had a first-round draft choice…never