The 2010 FIU Panthers football team represented

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...

during the

2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on September 2, 2010, and ended on ...

. The team was coached by

Mario Cristobal Mario Manuel Cristobal (born September 24, 1970) is an American college football coach who is the head football coach for the University of Miami. He previously served as the head football coach at Florida International University (FIU) from 200 ...

and played their homes games at the on-campus

FIU Stadium Pitbull Stadium is a college football and soccer stadium on the campus of Florida International University (FIU) in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida with a Miami mailing address. It is the home stadium of the FIU Panthers football tea ...

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. On November 27, 2010, the FIU Panthers won a share of their first ever

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...

championship and became eligible to compete in a post-season

bowl game In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...

for the first time in school history. The Panthers had the opportunity to win the Sun Belt Conference outright but faltered against the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders in the final game of regular season, 27–28. At the end of the regular season, FIU accepted an invitation to play in the

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl (known as the Motor City Bowl until 2009) was a post-season college football bowl game that was played annually from 1997 to 2013. The first five games (1997–2001) were played at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, M ...

on December 26, 2010, where they faced

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

of the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

. FIU defeated Toledo 34–32, and clinched the school's first ever bowl game victory on the final play of the game with a 34-yard field goal by kicker Jack Griffin. FIU finished the 2010 season with a record of 7–6 (6–2 Sun Belt) and first winning season in school history. The

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

home opener game on September 11, 2010 broke attendance records at

for the season, with a record crowd of 19,872.

Schedule

Awards and honors

Post-season awards and honors

*Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year: T. Y. Hilton (WR, Jr.) *Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year: Mario Cristobal

All-Sun Belt honors

*First Team All-Sun Belt Conference: **

T. Y. Hilton Eugene Marquis "T. Y." Hilton (born November 14, 1989) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the FIU Panthers and was selected by the Indi ...

(WR & Return Specialist, Jr.) **Brad Serini (OL, Sr.) **Jarvis Wilson (DL, Sr.) **Toronto Smith (LB, Sr.) **Anthony Gaitor (DB, Sr.) *Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference: **Darriet Perry (RB, Jr.) **Tourek Williams (DL, So.) **

Johnathan Cyprien Johnathan Ken Cyprien (born July 29, 1990) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a Safety (gridiron football position), safety in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the FIU ...

(DB, So.) **T. Y. Hilton (All-Purpose, Jr.) *Honorable Mention All-Sun Belt Conference: ** Greg Ellingson (WR, Sr.) **Winston Fraser (LB, R-So.)

NFL Draft

7th Round, 222nd Overall Pick by the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

—Sr. CB

Anthony Gaitor Anthony Gaitor (born October 9, 1988) is an American former professional football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the seventh round of ...

References

FIU Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest uni ...

FIU Panthers football seasons Sun Belt Conference football champion seasons Little Caesars Pizza Bowl champion seasons

FIU Golden Panthers football FIU Panthers football program represents Florida International University (FIU) in the sport of American football. The Panthers compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the East Div ...

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