2006 Florida International Golden Panthers

2006 Florida International Golden Panthers Season, Game Recaps, Scores and Reviews

Dec. 2
Troy 26 ... FIU 13
It took a little while, but Troy put away FIU going into the fourth quarter helped by a 48-yard punt return for a score from Leodis McKelvin and a eight-yard Andrew Davis scoring grab. FIU's offense struggled, but got on the board early with a 22-yard Cory Fleming blocked punt for a touchdown and wasn't able to get back on the board until late in the fourth on a five-yard Chandler Williams scoring grab. FIU was held to just 20 rushing yards hurt by six Troy sacks.
Player of the game ... Troy DB Leodis McKelvin made five tackles and returned three punts for 66 yards and a touchdown
Stat Leaders: Troy - Passing: Omar Haugabook, 9-23, 53 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Omar Haugabook, 14-111  Receiving: Mykeal Terry, 4-9
FIU - Passing: Josh Padrick, 30-51, 225 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: A'mod Ned, 8-28  Receiving: Chandler Williams, 11-90, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... It's a shame FIU never got the offense to help out the defense. The FIU D was solid all season long and did its job against Troy, especially against the pass, but the Golden Panther offensive line was eaten up. Josh Padrick never had time to throw, and A'mod Ned and the runners never had room to move. The new head coach will first have to address the lines and go out from there.

2006 Schedule 2006 Record: 0-12
8/31	at MTSU L 7-6
9/9	at South Florida L 21-20
9/16	Bowling Green L 33-28
9/23	at Maryland L 14-10
9/30	Arkansas State L 31-6
10/7	at No Texas 25-22 7OT
10/14	at Miami L 35-0
10/28	at Alabama L 38-3
11/4	UL Monroe L 35-0
11/18	UL Lafayette L 17-7
11/25	at Florida Atlantic L 31-0
12/2	Troy L 26-13

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

Nov. 25
Florida Atlantic 31 ... FIU 0
The Florida Atlantic defense held FIU to 203 yards while the offense got two first half Rusty Smith touchdown passes and short scoring runs from Charles Pierre and B.J. Manley. Aaron Sanchez caught a one-yard pass and Frantz Simeon caught a 13-yard pass to start the scoring. FIU got into the red zone just once but failed to score. FAU held on to the ball for 34:08.
Player of the game ... Florida Atlantic QB Rusty Smith completed 13 of 20 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Florida Atlantic - Passing: Rusty Smith, 13-20, 178 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: B.J. Manley, 10-53, 1 TD  Receiving: Casey McGahee, 6-64
FIU - Passing: Josh Padrick, 11-23, 92 yds
Rushing: A'mod Ned, 10-39  Receiving: Chandler Williams, 6-60
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... FIU hasn't even shown up since the brawl and loss to Miami, and it wasn't even close to coming up with any semblance of an offense in an embarrassing performance against Florida Atlantic. The Owls held on to the ball throughout most of the first half as the Golden Panther offense sputtered and coughed to move the chains. As bad as things have been, and as much as it might hurt to gut whacked in a rivalry game, the season can end on a major high note if FIU can ruin Troy's Sun Belt title dream next week. To do that, QB Josh Padrick has to be far more productive.

Nov. 18
UL Lafayette 17 ... FIU 7
UL Lafayette got down 7-0 on a one-yard John Ellis catch, and then scored 17 unanswered points on two Tyrell Fenroy touchdown runs and a 47-yard Drew Edmiston field goal. FIU only managed 190 yards and eight first downs and was outgained 270 yards to 53 on the ground, but got a huge game from LB Keyonvis Bouie, who made 18 tackles and recovered a fumble.
Player of the game ... UL Lafayette RB Tyrell Fenroy ran 34 times for 172 yards and two touchdown
Stat Leaders: UL Lafayette - Passing: Jerry Babb, 7-16, 76 yds
Rushing: Tyrell Fenroy, 34-172, 2 TD  Receiving: Derrick Smith, 4-50
FIU - Passing: Josh Padrick, 17-31, 137 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Julian Reams, 7-28  Receiving: Chandler Williams, 7-77
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... The offense was non-existent for the fourth straight game, but things might be better now that most of the players suspended from the Miami fight will be reinstated. The biggest issue continues to be the running game that's getting nothing from Julian Reams and Amod Ned. The linebackers made a ton of plays against UL Lafayette, but they had to clean up too many messes with the defensive line not doing anything up front. The fire, and more importantly, the production, should be back for Florida Atlantic.

Nov. 11
UL Monroe 35 ... FIU 0
UL Monroe held FIU to 210 yards of total offense and nine first downs while Calvin Dawson ran wild cranking out 129 yards with touchdown runs from 31 and two yards out. The D got in the scoring column with a 26-yard interception return for a score from Chaz Williams, while the passing game got quirky with Chance Payne, in for an injured Kinsmon Lancaster, throwing a three-yard pass to Mitch Doyle and Darrell McNeal taking a reverse and hitting LaGregory Sapp for a 51-yard score. Three turnovers killed potential FIU scoring drives.
Player of the game ... UL Monroe RB Calvin Dawson ran 23 times for 129 yards and two touchdowns
Stat Leaders: UL Monroe - Passing: Chance Payne, 10-11, 110 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Calvin Dawson, 23-129, 2 TD. Receiving: LaGregory Sapp, 5-98, 1 TD
FIU - Passing: Josh Padrick, 18-30, 179 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Amod Ned, 8-26  Receiving: Jeremy Dickens, 5-75
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... The depleted FIU squad isn't just missing manpower, it's missing its fire. The suspensions have done that. There was no offensive pop against a bad UL Monroe team, while the defense played like a team looking to just get the season over with. Josh Padrick isn't able to get the offense moving with no running game to help him out. It could be an ugly final few games unless the offense can start converting on third downs and go on longer marches.

Oct. 28
Alabama 38 ... FIU 3
Alabama went through the motions offensively against a FIU team depleted from suspension from the Miami fight. The Golden Panthers gained just 175 yards of total offense, but scored first on a 37-yard Dustin Rivest field goal for a 3-0 lead after the first quarter. Bama scored the final 38 points getting help from all areas. Le'Ron McClain caught a nine-yard touchdown pass, Javier Arenas returned a punt 65 yards for a score, and Ramzee Robinson picked off a Josh Padrick pass for a touchdown. The Tied emptied the bench in the fourth quarter and got a six-yard Jimmy Barnes touchdown pass to Matt Caddell.
Player of the game ... In a losing cause, FIU LB Keyonvis Bouie made 20 tackles and broke up a pass
Stat Leaders: FIU - Passing: Josh Padrick, 8-24, 134 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Chance Attaway, 13-23  Receiving: Jeremy Dickens, 4-100
Alabama - Passing: John Parker Wilson, 8-13, 72 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Ken Darby, 10-70  Receiving: Matt Caddell, 3-29, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... FIU at least came out battling taking a 3-0 lead into the second quarter against Alabama. The team simply didn't have enough players to hold up against the Tide. To be fair, a full FIU team wouldn't have won this game, but it would've been far more competitive and wouldn't have been simply about survival. The defense did a good job holding up against the Tide offense only allowing 224 total yards.

Oct. 14
Miami 35 ... FIU 0
Miami got three Kyle Wright touchdown passes and Lance Leggett scored from 11 and seven yards out, but the game itself was marred by an ugly fight that started after the extra point on a five-yard touchdown pass to James Bryant early in the third quarter. Both benches cleared with 13 players getting kicked out including eight players from FIU. The Golden Panthers were held to 114 yards of total offense.
Player of the game ... Miami QB Kyle Wright completed 14 of 22 passes for 117 yards and three touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Miami - Passing: Kyle Wright, 14-22, 117 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Javarris James, 11-36. Receiving: Lance Leggett, 7-77, 2 TD
FIU - Passing: Josh Padrick, 12-25, 86 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Julian Reams, 21-45. Receiving: Andy Anderson, 4-33
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... The program could've started a reputation for being hard nosed on defense holding the floundering Miami offense in check for most of the night while shutting down the running game, but instead, FIU will be known as thuggish after the ugly incident in the Orange Bowl. On the field, the defense was great considering the offense provided no help whatsoever. There weren't any meaningful drives and Josh Padrick couldn't get the passing game going at all. Now things should really get ugly with the inevitable suspensions coming before the Alabama game.

Oct. 7
North Texas 25 ... FIU 22 7OT
It took an NCAA record tying seven overtimes for North Texas to finally put away FIU on a 34-yard field goal from Denis Hopovac. With the game tied at 16 after regulation, the two teams traded field goals until FIU's Dustin Rivest pushed a 35-yard shot wide right allowing North Texas to come up with the game-winning score. FIU thought it had the game won in the fifth OT, but an apparent touchdown pass to Jeremy Dickens was reviewed and reversed. The ball was put on the one, and the Golden Panthers ended up settling for a field goal.
Player of the game ... North Texas PK Dustin Rivest hit four field goals including three in overtime from 37, 39, and 34 yards out.
Stat Leaders: FIU - Passing: Josh Padrick, 29-43, 248 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Julian Reams, 27-96. Receiving: Ashlyn Parker, 8-71
North Texas - Passing: Daniel Meager, 8-18, 86 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Jamario Thomas, 38-124  Receiving: Johnny Quinn, 10-88, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... FIU has to be ready for the funny farm after yet another brutally close loss. As if things couldn't get worse, a seven-overtime loss to North Texas took things to a more painful level. However, FIU had its chances to come up with the big plays needed to get the win and didn't get the job done. On the plus side, Julian Reams ran the ball well in place of Amod Ned and the defense did a decent job of keeping the North Texas offense from doing much. Now things get even tougher with road trips to Miami and Alabama.

Sept. 30
Arkansas State 31 ... FIU 6
The Arkansas State defense forced four FIU turnovers and got out to a 21-0 lead before the Golden Panthers finally god into the end zone on a five-yard Amon Ned run. Travis Hewitt ran for two scores for the Indians and Corey Leonard added a seven-yard dash. FIU's Josh Padrick threw three interceptions while the running game was held to nine yards.
Player of the game ... Arkansas State RB Reggie Arnold ran 23 times for 142 yards
Stat Leaders: FIU - Passing: Josh Padrick, 18-35, 177 yds, 3 INT
Rushing: Amod Ned, 12-38, 1 TD. Receiving: Chandler Williams, 7-72
Arkansas State - Passing: Travis Hewitt, 6-17, 68 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Reggie Arnold, 23-142  Receiving: Chris Miller, 2-29
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... FIU's offense can't afford to make the mistakes it did against Arkansas State and expect to win. Yeah, the team played well against teams like Maryland and South Florida, but that doesn't mean anything if it's going to turn it over four times and commit 12 penalties for 121 yards. ASU got too much pressure on Josh Padrick and did way too good a job against Amod Ned and the running game. To survive over a brutal three game road trip to North Texas, Miami and Alabama, the front five has to play far better.

Sept. 23
Maryland 14 ... FIU 10
Maryland got two touchdown passes from Sam Hollenbach in the first half and then hung on for dear life as FIU's last gasp pass was picked off at the three by Christian Verner in the final moments. Hollenbach and Maryland took advantage of FIU mistakes to score on short drives with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Josh Allen in the first quarter and a five-yard pass to Isaiah Williams with ten seconds to play in the half. FIU's Samuel Smith took a pass 89 yards to tie it at seven, but the offense could only manage a 26-yard Dustin Rivest field goal the rest of the way. FIU outgained Maryland 310 yards to 275.
Player of the game ... Maryland RB Lance Ball ran 19 times for 82 yards.
Stat Leaders: FIU - Passing: Josh Padrick, 15-32, 221 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: A'Mod Ned, 15-88  Receiving: Chandler Williams, 5-76
Maryland - Passing: Sam Hollenbach, 17-30, 158 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Lance Ball, 19-82. Receiving: Darrius Heyward-Bey, 4-35
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... How much heartbreak can one team stand? FIU has not lost four games by 11 points after playing Maryland strong for a full sixty minutes. Josh Padrick has to be more consistent and has to complete more key throws to keep drives alive.  Early mistakes proved costly and there weren't any sustained drives in the second half, but the defense kept the team in the game. That D should lead the way to Sun Belt wins, but now there's no margin for error if the team has any hope of six wins with road trips to Miami and Alabama down the line.

Sept. 16
Bowling Green 33 ... FIU 28
Jerett Sanderson picked off two passes, including a last-gasp attempt by FIU into the end zone, and scored on a nine-yard fumble recovery, while Freddie Barnes scored twice as Bowling Green rolled up 403 yards in the tough win. The Falcons got ahead for good early in the fourth on a seven-yard run from Barnes, but FIU's Julian Reams kept the game alive with his second touchdown run. The Golden Panthers got a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Lionel Singleton along with a 80-yard A'Mod Ned touchdown run.
Player of the game ... Bowling Green QB Anthony Turner completed 16 of 23 passes fro 204 yards and three touchdowns with an interception and ran 23 times for 127 yards and a score.
Stat Leaders: FIU- Passing: Josh Padrick, 14-23, 145 yds, 3 INT
Rushing: Amod Ned, 16-169, 1 TD. Receiving: Samuel Smith, 4-43
Bowling Green - Passing: Anthony Turner, 12-22, 185 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Freddie Turner, 16-70, 1 TD. Receiving: C. Partridge, 5-79
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... FIU can't buy a close win. The team has to start making more of its own breaks. It can't commit 11 penalties, and it can't turn it over four times, like it did against Bowling Green. Even with all the problems, the offense had the ball with an outside shot at pulling off the win in the end before the final Hail Mary into the end zone got picked off. Eventually, the Golden Panthers will figure out how to win.

Sept. 9
South Florida 21 ... FIU 20 
South Florida survived a scare thanks to WR Taurus Johnson's 14-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and a 29-yard scoring catch with 2:33 to play. FIU had its chances, but couldn't break through against the USF defense with only 262 yards of total offense with a three-yard touchdown from Josh Padrick to Samuel Smith coming :20 left in the first half. Chandler Williams took a punt 82 yards for a score, but the extra point was missed. USF's Ean Randolph had a punt return for a score called back, but he returned another punt 76 yards for a score for an early 7-6 Bull lead.
Player of the game ... South Florida WR Taurus Johnson caught six passes for 106 yards and a touchdown and ran one time for 14 yards and a score
Stat Leaders: FIU - Passing: Josh Padrick, 20-33, 238 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Julian Reams, 11-19. Receiving: Chandler Williams, 10-129
South Florida - Passing: Matt Groethe, 15-28, 174 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Matt Groethe, 16-82. Receiving: Taurus Johnson, 6-106, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... FIU has to be slightly disheartened after losing its second straight game by one point, but it battled South Florida hard. The special teams have to improve after giving up a punt return for a score and missing on an early extra point that proved to be the difference. It would be nice if there could be more of a running game against a team like USF, and there needs to be more from the passing game over the next few weeks against Bowling Green and Maryland.

Aug. 31
MTSU 7 ... FIU 6 
FIU took the opening drive 80 yards capping off with a 12-yard Julian Reams touchdown run, but Chris Patullo missed the extra point which turned out to be the difference. MT's offense only managed 175 yards, but it came up with one great drive going 82 yards in ten plays finishing up with a 33-yard Eugene Gross touchdown run with a minute left in the first half. Neither team was able to do much offensively in the second half with field position proving to be critical.
Player of the game ... FIU LB Keyonvis Bouie made 13 tackles and one tackle for loss and DE Antwan Barnes made four sacks in a losing cause.
Stat Leaders: FIU - Passing: Josh Padrick, 21-38, 132 yds
Rushing: Julian Reams, 13-80, 1 TD. Receiving: Samuel Smith, 11-66
MT - Passing: Clint Marks, 10-17, 79 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Eugene Gross, 18-76, 1 TD. Receiving: Taron Henry, 4-39
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... To try to find a silver lining in the tough loss to Middle Tennessee, the defense did a great job with Keyonvis Bouie and Antwan Barnes dominating, but the offense couldn't find anything to hang its hat on after a strong first drive. If the D can keep getting into the backfield and can keep the mediocre defenses from converting on third downs, FIU will win several Sun Belt games. QB Josh Padrick is too strong to not start pushing the ball deeper and making more big plays.

FIU 2006 Preview

FIU Preview | Offense | Defense | Depth Chart | Further Analysis

FIU's first season as a D-I team has to be considered a rousing success considering it was hit with a three-year probation for illegal practices and with all the adjustments needed to play at the next level. 

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.

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