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Florida International Football Picks
Spring practices are in the books and
fall camps will be here before you know it so that means
getting an early jump on the 2006 NCAA football season.
Knowing the teams now will save you time in August and Matt
Fargo is here to help you get a grasp of what to expect this
upcoming year. We go from worst to first in this 2006
College Football Preview.
#115 – Florida International Golden Panthers 5-6 SU; 5-4
ATS
Fargo’s Take The Golden Panthers seemed to have a successful
season last year but the five victories to their credit were
nothing to brag about. Two of those wins came against 1-AA
teams Florida A&M and Western Kentucky while two other Sun
Belt wins were by a combined six points. The five wins can
certainly give the team some confidence but the schedule is
much more difficult and matching those five wins just isn’t
going to happen. The offense should be slightly better in
2006 as it caught fire near the end of the season and
Florida International returns 2nd Team SBC quarterback Josh
Padrick, who led the conference in passing yards per game.
The big question mark is the defense, where six players are
returning but it could not make a difference. Reason being
is that the secondary will likely not be improved and it was
a horrible unit last year. With any other Sun Belt team,
there is a reason for optimism because any improvement could
mean a conference title and a bowl game but this team is
only in its fifth year of 1-A so there are still plenty of
depth issues.
Returning Starters on Offense – 5 Padrick is the
heart and soul of this offense and the team will only go as
far as he can take them. His numbers were excellent last
season and they improved as the season went along meaning he
will be coming into 2006 with a ton of confidence. He gets
his leading catchman back along with tight end Samuel Smith,
another 2nd team SBC player. The running game is adequate
meaning that the offense has the chance to be a real solid
unit and put up plenty of points. They will likely need to
win a lot of games via shootout since the defense is not
going to be holding many teams to a few number of points
remember that when going with totals for your
football picks.
Returning Starters on Defense – 6 If somehow the
secondary does a 180 and turns into a good unit, the Golden
Panthers could very well win the conference. The problem is
that it isn’t going to happen. Two starters return in the
defensive backfield which based on last season’s 67 percent
completion rate allowed, that isn’t a good thing. The
defensive line and linebackers are stocked with returnees
and some decent depth but it isn’t good enough to make up
for the secondary. The defense allowed 29.4 ppg last season
and that was with two games against teams from a lower
class. With a much more difficult schedule, that average is
sure to rise this year.
Schedule The Golden Panthers went the route a lot of smaller
conference teams do and that is to play the big boys, get
crushed but collect a huge paycheck from it. Florida
International got rid of the patsies and signed on Miami
(Fla.), Alabama, South Florida, Maryland and Bowling Green.
The game against the Falcons is the only one not on the road
and it’s a likely guarantee that it walks away 0-5 from that
non-conference slate. Four of the Golden Panthers seven
conference games are at home including frontrunners
UL-Lafayette and Troy. A road win here or there could mean
possible contention late in the season.
You can bet on… As promising as some aspects look on this
team, this is still a young team that does not have the
overall talent to compete for a conference title. The
non-conference slate is extremely difficult and those losses
could do some serious damage because they will be so large.
The Golden Panthers did finish with a positive record
against the number last year but that will be tough to match
given the much more difficult schedule. They will be getting
a ton of points and while the offense can keep the back door
cover a possibility, the defense can just as easily keep the
front door open for the opposition as well.
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