There may not have been a team that fell victim to as many unfortunate losses as FIU did last season.
Of its eight losses, five of them came by one possession. Four of those losses came by three points or less. Another was a nine-point loss to UTEP.
What’s even worse is that in those five one-possession losses, FIU had an opportunity to tie or win the game on its final possession.
The least amount of time the Panthers had to try and tie or take the lead late in the game was when they got the ball with 51 seconds remaining in a 27-26 defeat to Kennesaw State. Two plays into the drive, KSU picked off a pass from FIU quarterback Keyone Jenkins to seal the victory. That was one of three turnovers the Panthers committed with a chance to win a game throughout the season.
The first of those came in Week 4 against Monmouth when FIU wide receiver Eric Rivers fumbled the ball near the goal line with 32 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, right before it looked like he was going to give the Panthers the lead. Monmouth hung on for the 45-42 victory.
Two games later, it was another fumble that kept the Panthers away from a win. This one came against Liberty in a 31-24 overtime loss when Jenkins was sacked on a third-and-3.
If two or three of those plays went differently, perhaps FIU could have reached a bowl game and maybe former head coach Mike MacIntyre would still be on the sidelines. He was fired following the season, however, and now Willie Simmons is leading the program after five successful seasons as head coach at Florida A&M from 2018-23 (there was no season during 2020). He left there with a combined 45-13 record.
In those five seasons under Simmons, the Rattlers had a 13-4 record in one-possession games. Maybe he can provide that extra spark needed to win those close contests.
We won’t see the same Panthers team this fall that we saw last year. From the coaching staff to the roster, it’ll be a new-look program, and there are only a few starters returning on both sides of the ball.
But even in the beginning stages of rebuilding a program, I think Simmons brings a winning culture that will immediately bolster the program. In their 24-year history, the Panthers have only had four winning seasons.
Expectations aren’t too high in Simmons’ first season. College football betting odds have the Panthers’ win total at Over/Under 5.5 games ahead of Week 1. Still, that’s higher expectations than last year when FIU’s win total was set at 4.5 entering the season. And last year’s slate was more manageable.
I don’t anticipate FIU to win six games this season, which would make them bowl eligible for the first time since 2019, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened either. We’ve seen programs do a 180 when a new coach steps in, and I think Simmons has the potential to do just that. That 180 doesn’t necessarily have to translate to wins right away, but I think it will in the coming seasons.
Maybe the first step is defeating Florida Atlantic and winning the Shula Bowl, a rivalry game the Panthers haven’t won since 2016.
