This year marks the 150th anniversary of college football, dating to the Nov. 6, 1869, game between Princeton and Rutgers.
It also marks the 25th anniversary of Conference USA, a league that FIU hopes to win for the first time. Eight of the teams on FIU’s 2019 schedule were also on its 2018 calendar, and the Panthers finished 5-3 against those schools (losing to Miami, FAU and Marshall).
After setting a school record with nine wins last year, the Panthers return 16 starters — including league Newcomer of the Year James Morgan at quarterback — and should be ultracompetitive against everyone on its schedule with the likely exception of Miami.