2017 FIU Panthers football team

2017 FIU Panthers football
Gasparilla Bowl, L 3–28 vs. Temple
Conference	Conference USA
Division	East Division
2017 record	8–5 (5–3 C-USA)
Head coach	Butch Davis (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Rich Skrosky (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Brent Guy (1st season)
Home stadium	Riccardo Silva Stadium (Capacity: 20,000)
Seasons ← 2016 2018 →

2017 Conference USA football standings
v t	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Florida Atlantic x$		8	–	0					11	–	3
FIU		5	–	3					8	–	5
Marshall		4	–	4					8	–	5
Western Kentucky		4	–	4					6	–	7
Middle Tennessee		4	–	4					7	–	6
Old Dominion		3	–	5					5	–	7
Charlotte		1	–	7					1	–	11
West Division
North Texas x		7	–	1					9	–	5
UAB		6	–	2					8	–	5
Southern Miss		6	–	2					8	–	5
Louisiana Tech		4	–	4					7	–	6
UTSA		3	–	5					6	–	5
Rice		1	–	7					1	–	11
UTEP		0	–	8					0	–	12
Championship: Florida Atlantic 41, North Texas 17
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2017 FIU Panthers football team represented Florida International University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Panthers played their home games at the Riccardo Silva Stadium in Miami, Florida as members of the East Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by first-year head coach Butch Davis. The Panthers finished the season 8–5, 5–3 in C-USA play to finish in second place in the East Division. They received an invitation to the Gasparilla Bowl where they lost to Temple.

Previous season[]

The Panther finished the 2016 season 4–8, 4–4 in C-USA play to finish in fourth place in the East Division. The highlight of the season was beating rival Florida Atlantic in the Shula Bowl on October 1.^[1]

Following the season, the school fired Ron Turner after four years at FIU.^[2][3] On November 15, the school hired Butch Davis as head coach.^[4][5]

Spring Game[]

The 2017 Spring Game took place in University Park on April 7, at 7:00 PM.^[6]

Date	Time	Spring Game	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
April 7	7:00 p.m.	Offense vs. Defense	Riccardo Silva Stadium • University Park, FL	CUSA.tv	Offense 17–14[7]	-

Offseason[]

Following the conclusion of the 2016 season, several Panthers were invited to participate in postseason all-star games. Invitations include: Trey Hendrickson (DE) participating in the East–West Shrine Game on January 21, 2017, Imarjaye Albury (DT) participating in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl on January 21, 2017 and Michael Montero (OL) participating in the Tropical Bowl on January 15, 2017.^[8]

Departures[]

Notable departures from the 2016 squad included:

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Dieugot Joseph	#78	OT	6'6"	297	Senior	Orlando, FL	Declared for the 2017 NFL Draft
Jonnu Smith	#87	TE	6'3"	232	Senior	Ocala, FL	Declared for the 2017 NFL Draft

2017 NFL Draft[]

Panthers who were picked in the 2017 NFL Draft:

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Team
3	100	Jonnu Smith	TE	Tennessee Titans
UFA		Dieugot Joseph	OT	Chicago Bears

Schedule[]

FIU announced its 2017 football schedule on January 26, 2017. The 2017 schedule consisted of six home and away games in the regular season.^[9]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	6:00 p.m.	at UCF*	Spectrum Stadium Orlando, FL	CBSSN	L 17–61	38,063
September 8[a]	7:00 p.m.	vs. Alcorn State*	Legion Field[a] Birmingham, AL		W 17–10	5,017
September 16	Canceled[10]	at Indiana*	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN
September 23	7:30 p.m.	at Rice	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	Stadium	W 13–7	18,932
September 30	7:00 p.m.	Charlotte	Riccardo Silva Stadium Miami, FL	beIN	W 30–29	15,348
October 7	3:00 p.m.	at Middle Tennessee	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, TN	ESPN3	L 17–37	15,527
October 14	7:00 p.m.	Tulane*	Riccardo Silva Stadium Miami, FL	CUSA.TV	W 23–10	16,433
October 28	2:30 p.m.	at Marshall	Joan C. Edwards Stadium Huntington, WV	Stadium	W 41–30	19,966
November 4	7:00 p.m.	UTSA	Riccardo Silva Stadium Miami, FL	Stadium	W 14–7	18,874
November 11	7:00 p.m.	Old Dominion	Riccardo Silva Stadium Miami, FL		L 30–37	17,127
November 18	7:00 p.m.	at Florida Atlantic	FAU Stadium Boca Raton, FL (Shula Bowl)	Stadium	L 24–52	24,116
November 24	7:00 p.m.	WKU	Riccardo Silva Stadium Miami, FL	beIN	W 41–17	16,199
December 2	12:00 p.m.	UMass*	Riccardo Silva Stadium Miami, FL		W 63–45	14,004
December 21	8:00 p.m.	vs. Temple*	Tropicana Field St. Petersburg, FL (Gasparilla Bowl)	ESPN	L 3–28	16,363
*Non-conference game Homecoming All times are in Eastern time

^{^[a]} The game between Alcorn State and FIU was relocated to Legion Field at Birmingham, Alabama due to Hurricane Irma.^[11]

^{^[b]} A game with UMass was scheduled after the game between UMass and South Florida was postponed due to Hurricane Irma, and FIU's game with Indiana was canceled.^[12]

Schedule Source:^[13]

Game summaries[]

at UCF[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	7	3	7	0	17
Knights	14	26	14	7	61

Alcorn State[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Braves	0	7	0	3	10
Panthers	0	7	3	7	17

at Rice[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	10	3	0	13
Owls	0	7	0	0	7

Charlotte[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
49ers	12	14	3	0	29
Panthers	7	7	7	9	30

at Middle Tennessee[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	3	0	7	7	17
Blue Raiders	3	14	10	10	37

Tulane[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Green Wave	0	3	7	0	10
Panthers	7	3	3	10	23

at Marshall[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	14	14	7	6	41
Thundering Herd	0	7	7	16	30

UTSA[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Roadrunners	0	0	0	7	7
Panthers	0	0	7	7	14

Old Dominion[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Monarchs	7	17	7	6	37
Panthers	7	7	9	7	30

at Florida Atlantic[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	10	7	7	24
Owls	14	7	16	15	52

WKU[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	3	7	7	0	17
Panthers	3	10	21	7	41

UMass[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Minutemen	14	7	10	14	45
Panthers	14	21	7	21	63

Temple–Gasparilla Bowl[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Owls	0	7	7	14	28
Panthers	0	0	3	0	3

References[]