Florida International Golden Panthers 2007 Preview Capsule

Coach: Mario Cristobal (0-0) First Year
Last Year: 0-12, 0-7 Sun Belt Conference, Eighth of eight 
Returning Starters : Offense 7, Line 5 | Defense 6, Line 3

Three Things You Should Know
1) You'd like to let it just stay in the past, but yes, it's that Florida International (see photo on the right). Eighteen FIU players were suspended after the Miami brawl (including nine starters). Coach Don Strock resigned with three games left in the 2006 campaign.
2) FIU's best player is probably cornerback Lionell Singleton (5-10, 174, #22). He's projected to be one of the best corners in the Sun Belt and he also handles both kick and punt returns. He averaged 28.7 yards per kick return in 2006 and scored one TD. He also had five interceptions in the first four games last year.
3) It appears as though three players are battling it out for the QB spot -- sophomore Paul McCall (6-0, 198, #12), redshirt freshman Wayne Younger (6-3, 178, #14) and true freshman Colt Anderson (6-4, 195, #15).

Trends
FIU is 1-4 against conference rival Florida Atlantic ... KU is 4-1 before bye weeks.

How KU Wins
Focus. This game should come after a satisfying revenge match versus Toledo. However, the Jayhawks can't take the Golden Panthers for granted. Any school with "Florida" in its name tends to have a few talented players around. Prior to the Miami fiasco last year, FIU battled some decent teams well. They lost at South Florida by one point in week two. That was followed by a five-point home loss to Bowling Green, then a 10-14 loss Maryland (9-4 with a bowl win). This year they'll come into Lawrence after playing Penn State, Maryland and Miami, so they may feel a little more comfortable with the 'Hawks. Still, the Golden Panthers project to be weak at all of the skill units on offense, so KU should bury the visitors from Florida.

2007 Florida International Schedule
Sat, Sep 1 at (17) Penn State
Sat, Sep 8 Maryland
Sat, Sep 15 at Miami (FL)
Sat, Sep 22 at Kansas
Sat, Sep 29 at Middle Tennessee
Sat, Oct 6 Troy 7:00 pm
Sat, Oct 20 at Louisiana-Monroe
Sat, Oct 27 at (21) Arkansas
Sat, Nov 3 at Arkansas State
Sat, Nov 17 Louisiana-Lafayette
Sat, Nov 24 Florida Atlantic
Sat, Dec 1 North Texas