Ninety minutes before Florida International defeated Florida Atlantic 33-31 on Saturday night, the game's most coveted figure made its entrance quietly and modestly. Escorted about 105 yards from its origin by an FAU staff member, the Don Shula Award found its perch on the Owls sideline.
It sat there — one side facing the field as the other faced an adjacent tunnel — as the Panthers successfully signed its lease in Miami for the next year, as FIU tugged hardest in a back-and-forth affair. The loss extended FAU's losing streak to four games as they opened Conference USA play with a loss.