The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

OUR FINAL 12

With a (35-17) victory over TCU in the Big 12 title game, Kansas State finished the season as the #1 ranked team and earned the #1 seed in the playoffs. With loss TCU drops to #9 in the rankings secure the #9 seed in the playoffs

Penn State beat Stanford (48-14) in the Big Ten Championship and with it earned the #2 seed.

Cincinnati defeated Western Kentucky (42-36) to win the American for a 2nd straight year and with it another 1st Round Bye as they secure the #3 seed

Georgia beat Texas A&M (49-21) for the 2nd straight year to win the SEC title and secure the #4 seed and the 1st Round Bye. Despite their loss TAMU doesn't drop in the standings at all staying at #7 and securing the #7 seed.

Notre Dame dropped to #3 in the rankings and secures the #5 seed in the playoffs

With their win over Liberty in the CUSA title game, FIU moves up 3 spots to #6 securing the #6 seed..

Tulsa won the the Mountain West Championship (38-24) over New Mexico but doesn't move up in the rankings as they stay at #10 getting the #10 seed.

That basically left 3 spots for the playoffs.

#8 LSU stayed where they were in the rankings and with it secured the #8 seed leaving the final 2 spots coming down to #12 Ohio State, Liberty and the winner of the ACC Championship game.

#15 Rutgers beat #13 West Virginia (21-15) and surprisingly jump 4 spots in the rankings to finish at #11 as the Scarlet Knights secure the #11 seed in the playoffs.

Liberty sadly drops from #11 to #13 with the loss to FIU leaving #12 Ohio State to claim the last spot in the playoffs.

Here is a look at the 1st Round matchups and 2nd round pairings.

#12 Ohio State vs #5 Notre Dame.. Winner will play #4 Georgia
#9 TCU vs #8 LSU.. Winner will play #1 K-State
#11 Rutgers vs #6 FIU.. Winner will play #3 Cincinnati
#10 Tulsa vs #7 TAMU.. Winner will play #2 Penn State


OTHER CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK WINNERS

San Diego State beat Colorado State (49-24) to win the Pac-12

Buffalo beat Toledo (59-24) to win the MAC

UAB beat Louisiana (38-17) to win the Sun Belt

BOWL MATCHUPS

Birmingham Bowl #20 (12-1) UAB vs #15 (10-3)West Virginia
Camellia Bowl #25(10-3) Buffalo vs (9-4) Louisiana
First Responder Bowl #23 (9-4) Western Kentucky vs (7-5) Georgia State
Guarenteed Rate Bowl (7-5) Iowa State vs (8-4) North Texas
Reliaquest Bowl #16 (9-3) Wisconsin vs #21 (8-4) Auburn
Citrus Bowl (7-6) Stanford vs #18 (8-4) Ole Miss
Military Bowl (7-5) Memphis vs #14 (9-3) NC State
Pop Tarts Bowl #22 (8-4) SMU vs (8-4) UNC
Liberty Bowl (8-4) Southern Miss vs (6-6) Oklahoma State
Holiday Bowl (7-5) Miami vs (7-5) Indiana
Texas Bowl #19 (7-5) Tennessee vs (7-5) Utah
Alamo Bowl (7-5) Michigan vs (8-4) Iowa
Fenway Bowl #17 (8-4) Clemson vs (7-5) Northwestern
Bahamas Bowl (6-6) Troy vs #13 (9-4) Liberty
New Mexico Bowl (7-5) James Madison vs (8-4) Nevada
68 Ventures Bowl (7-6) Toledo vs (10-3) San Diego State
Cure Bowl (8-4) Miami OH vs (8-5) Colorado State
LA Bowl (7-5) Illinois vs (7-6) New Mexico
Frisco Bowl (7-5) Washington State vs (6-6) Temple
Las Vegas Bowl (7-5) BYU vs (6-6) Cal
Myrtle Beach Bowl (7-5) Boise State vs (7-5) UMass
Boca Raton Bowl (7-5) Georgia State vs (6-6) Middle Tennessee
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (8-4) Fresno State vs (7-5) San Jose State
New Orleans Bowl (7-5) Marshall vs (8-4) FAU
Detroit Bowl (6-6) Oregon vs (8-4) Central Michigan
Independence Bowl (6-6) Tulane vs (6-6) Rice
Gasparilla Bowl (6-6) Houston vs (7-5) Virginia Tech
Armed Forces Bowl (7-5) Florida State vs (6-6) Texas State
Hawaii Bowl (5-7) Bowling Green vs (6-6) Kentucky
Gator Bowl (8-4) Texas vs (6-6) Duke
Duke's Mayo Bowl (5-7) Arizona vs (5-7) Wake Forest
Sun Bowl (5-7) UTEP vs (6-6) Western Michigan
Arizona Bowl (6-6) Eastern Michigan vs (5-7) Arkansas State
Music City Bowl (6-6) Oklahoma vs #24 (8-4) Nebraska

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

PANTHERS ADVANCE TO THE 2ND ROUND!!

Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Florida International Golden Panthers
Dec 16, 2028	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#11 Rutgers Scarlet Knights ((11-2)	3	0	0	0	3
#6 Florida International Golden Panthers ((12-1)	7	3	7	14	31

Team Stats Comparison
	RUTG	FIU
Total Offense	293	293
Rushing Yards	70	64
Passing Yards	197	212
First Downs	13	13
Punt Return Yards	17	58
Kick Return Yards	80	52
Total Yards	390	403
Turnovers	1	2
3rd Down Conversion	4/16	6/11
4th Down Conversion	2/5
2-Point Conversion
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	0-1-50%	3-0-60%
Penalties	3-15	1-3
Possession Time	33:33	26:27

For a 2nd straight year, FIU has opened up the playoffs with a home win as the Panthers advance to the 2nd round now for a 3rd straight season

Looking at the stats you would think this game would've been closer then it was but Rutgers after scoring just 17 points in their win in the ACC Championship struggled as they finished the day 2/5 on 4th down attempts.

GAME RECAP

The Scarlet Knights actually opened the game with a 31 yd FG to take the lead (3-0) but that was the only points of the day as the FIU Defense shutdown a JR QB Bill McCleaod (81) holding him to 20/38 (52%) for 197 yds well sacking him 4 times.

FIU retook the lead (7-3) as Clayton Dees throws the first of 4 TD's on the day hitting Tyler Cisco on a 29 yd score.

Rutgers would keep things close though as they pick off Dees twice in the 2nd Quarter limiting the Panthers to just 3 points making it (10-3) at the half.

Dees opened up the 2nd half with another touchdown as he finds Faitele Okwara on a 10 yd score after a nice 11 play drive.

Moving to the 4th with the Panthers up (17-3), Dees would connect on another score with Cisco early in the 4th and then with 3 minutes to play FIU put the game away with a 9 yd TD pass to TE Jose Malik.

KEY PANTHERS

QB C. Dees-19/30 (63%) 212 yds 4 TD 2 INT, sacked twice, 37 yds rushing on 9 carries.
RB T. Tompkins-9 carries 37 yds, 3 rec 42 yds
RB M. Benshaw-3 carries 7 yds, 1 rec 11 yds
WR B. Cheek-6 rec 64 yds 2 TD
WR T. Cisco-5 rec 59 yds
WR F. Okwara-1 rec 10 yds
WR E. Cortez-1 rec 9 yds
TE J. Malik-2 rec 17 yds

UP NEXT

#6 (13-1) FIU will advance to take on #3 seed (12-1) Cincinnati, in a "Battle of Champions", as the game features 2 "Group 5" schools facing each other for a shot at moving on in the Orange Bowl in Miami as FIU in away gets another home game.

OTHER 1ST ROUND RESULTS

#12 Ohio State hands #5 Notre Dame their first loss of the season (42-36) to advance for a shot at #4 Georgia in the Cotton Bowl.

#8 LSU defeated #9 TCU (27-17) to spoil the Big 12 Championship Game rematch, as the Tigers advance to play #1 (12-1) K-State in the Sugar Bowl

#10 Tulsa defeated #7 TAMU (28-23) as the Aggies season ends before the Semi Finals for the first time in 3 years. Tulsa now (13-1) on the year advances to take on #2 (12-1 Penn State in the Rose Bowl

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

PANTHERS WIN TURNOVER BATTLE TO ADVANCE

Florida International Golden Panthers at Cincinnati Bearcats
Jan 2, 2028	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#6 Florida International Golden Panthers ((13-1))	14	0	7	14	35
#3 Cincinnati Bearcats ((12-1))	7	7	7	7	28

Team Stats Comparison
	FIU	CIN
Total Offense	362	362
Rushing Yards	171	85
Passing Yards	174	254
First Downs	11	13
Punt Return Yards	12	113
Kick Return Yards	133	0
Total Yards	507	475
Turnovers	2	3
3rd Down Conversion	3/10	5/13
4th Down Conversion	1/1	0/2
2-Point Conversion
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	3-0-60%	1-0-25%
Penalties	5-50	4-25
Possession Time	28:33	31:27

Florida International is advancing to the Semi Finals for a 2nd straight year with their victory over #3 seed Cincinnati after a Defensive Battle that saw both teams with multiple turnovers as big plays prevailed on both sides of the ball.

GAME RECAP

Cincinnati won the toss and elected to kick, with FIU opening the game with a 11 play drive ending in a Enrique Cortez 4 yd pass from Clayton Dees to put the Panthers up (7-0).

The Bearcats would use their own 10 play drive to tie the game ending with a 18 yd TD run by JR RB Tyree Redmond (91) to tie the game (7-7). FIU would retake the lead with another long drive ending with a 2 yd TD run by Titus Tompkins.

Both QB's would throw a pair of INT's in the 2nd Quarter. Clayton Dees got things going early with the first but then JR QB Terrelle Jones (77) followed but neither offense could capitalize.. Cincinnati would force a Panther Punt, but Jones gave it right back as SS Jayden Williams come up with the Pick..

Dees would drive the Panthers down inside the 5 yd line but a Quick slant intended for Brian Cheek is picked off inside the endzone ending the Panthers quest to add points.

Cincinnati still armed with 3 timeouts and 2:31 in the half would drive 80 yds including a Jones to SR Elijah Jones (88) 39 yd TD to tie game (14-14) at the half.

The Bearcats opened up the 2nd half with the ball and would use just 5 plays before taking the lead as Jones hits SR Barry Jackson Jr (86) for a 30 yd score to make it (21-14), but the Panthers respond with another double digit drive ending with a 12 yd TD pass from Dees to Tyler Cisco to tie the game (21-21).

Still tied as we ender the 4th, Cincinnati is forced to punt down the ball out of bounds at the 28 yd line. Looking to try and get a spark with the offense, Coach Miller called a Jet Sweep to Brian Cheek who takes it 72 yds to the house to give the Panthers the lead (28-21). The Bearcats answer back though with another 9 play drive ending in a 1 yd TD run by backup RB Ty Clark III (74) to tie the game (28-28) with 5:41 to play.

FIU looking to follow past game plans took no chances as the Panther rushing attack minus Tavon Logan covers 60 yds over 10 plays including a 9 yd TD run the Titus Tompkins to give the Panthers the lead with 3:02 to play.

Cincinnati needing a score would start out their final drive completing 3/3 but the Panther D finally comes up with a big play sacking Jones on a 2nd and 10 play to bring up 3rd and 18. Jones is unable to recover as he throws 2 incomplete pass's as FIU takes over on downs.


Jones finished the game 17/28 (60%) 254 yds 2 TD 3 INT.

KEY PANTHERS

QB C. Dees- 15/28 (53%) 174 yds 2 Td 2 INT, sacked twice 20 yds rushing.
RB T. Tompkins-9 carries 28 yds 2 TD, 1 rec 16 yds
RB M. Benshaw-4 carries 65 yds , 1 rec 6 yds
WR B. Cheek-1 carry 72 yd 1 TD, 6 rec 85 yds
WR T. Cisco-3 rec 32 yds 1 TD
WR E. Cortez-1 rec 7 yds
TE J. Malik-1 rec 15 yds
TE D. Naanee-1 rec 6 yds
DE D. Nduwe-2 sacks
SS J. Williams-1 INT, CB R. Sexil 1 INT, MLB T. Stewart 1 INT


OTHER 2ND ROUND ACTION

#4 Georgia defeated #12 Ohio State (52-22)

#1 K-State defeated #8 LSU (31-24)

#2 Penn State defeated #10 Tulsa (28-10)

Georgia and K-State will square off in the Fiesta Bowl well Penn State and FIU will play in the Peach Bowl.

[redsox907]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

Cincy gave you a tough fight than I would have thought. Is Wolverine eligible to come back if you make the Natty?

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

Cincy gave you a tough fight than I would have thought. Is Wolverine eligible to come back if you make the Natty?

He would be eligible to come back yes, but still got Penn State to deal with first.

Yeah Cincy is/was good. Tompkins was struggling to break lose. They got one of the best D-Lines in the nation and a guy who leads the nation in sacks. I basically had 1 big run 31 yds with Benshaw and the 72 yd Sweep with Cheek other then that they held me 69 yds on 24 carries. It's going to be tough to beat the Lions unless Dees reverts back to the Dees that led us to the Natty last year. 174 yds with 2 TD and 2 INT isn't going to keep getting it done.

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

PANTHERS FALL SHORT IN REPEAT BID!!!

Florida International Golden Panthers at Penn State Nittany Lions
Jan 2, 2028	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#6 Florida International Golden Panthers ((14-1))	7	0	0	7	14
#2 Penn State Nittany Lions ((13-1))	7	0	14	14	35

Team Stats Comparison
	FIU	PSU
Total Offense	390	464
Rushing Yards	83	129
Passing Yards	288	318
First Downs	20	10
Punt Return Yards	31	26
Kick Return Yards	74	53
Total Yards	495	543
Turnovers	2	0
3rd Down Conversion	6/13	2/7
4th Down Conversion	1/2
2-Point Conversion
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	2-0-66%	1-0-50%
Penalties	5-32	5-26
Possession Time	36:41	23:19

Costly turnovers by the Panthers Offense and Big Plays by Penn State spelled doom for FIU's bid to repeat as potential National Champs.

GAME RECAP

Tied (7-7) at the end of the 1st Quarter, both teams would combine for 6 punts (3 each) in the 2nd Quarter.. FIU had a chance to kick a FG late in the 2nd but instead went for it on 4th and 2 turning the ball over before heading into the locker room.

Penn State opened up the 2nd half with the ball and JR QB Lester Paxon (85) would quickly lead a 8 play drive down field for the score as he finds SR WR Peter Gonzales for his 2nd TD of the day to make it (14-7). Clayton Dees would then throw a INT to SR CB Jon Mitchell (89) on the following drive setting up Paxon's 3rd TD of the day as he finds SO WR Chester Bagget (91) on a 27 yd strike to make it (21-7) as we head into the 4th.

FIU opened the 4th Quarter scoring on a 26 yd TD run by Titus Tompkins to cut the lead to (21-14), but Penn State answers back with the first of 2 90+ yd scores. First a bad decision by the Nittany Lions to try and run the ball out of the endzone left them starting on the 15 yd line, DE Daniel Ndukwe comes up with a huge sack on Paxton at the 6 yd line. FIU would bring the house blitzing 7 and Paxton made them pay as he hits SR WR Tyseer Denmark (90) on a 94 yd TD bomb to make it a 2 score game (28-14).

FIU would drive the ball down inside the 10 yd line looking to score but Dee's 2nd INT into the endzone finds SR MLB Anthony Speca (93). Speca not sure if he was in the endzone or not decides to run the ball out and is tackled at the 7 yd line. FIU trailing by 2 scores again needed another big play from their Defense but instead it's Penn State with back to back 90+ yd plays as Gonzales takes a Jet Sweep 93 yds for the score.. Ball Game Over....

KEY PLAYERS

QB C. Dees-21/38 (55%) 288 yds 2 INT, sacked 5 times, 13 yds rushing
RB T. Tompkins-19 carries 82 yds 1 TD, 3 rec 17 yds
RB M. Benshaw-3 carries 7 yds, 1 rec 6 yds
WR F. Okwara-6 rec 132 yds
WR E. Cortez-4 re 46 yds
WR B. Cheek-3 rec 27 yds
WR T. Cisco-1 rec 19 yds
TE D. Naanee-2 rec 26 yds
TE J. Malik-1 rec 15 yds

QB L. Paxon-15/22 (68%) 318 yds 4 TD, sacked 3 times, 10 carries22 yds rushing
RB N. Bloom-6 carries 31 yds, 2 rec 10 yds
WR P Gonzales-1 carry 93 yds 1 TD, 4 rec 64 yds 2 TD
WR T. Demark-4 rec 162 yds 1 TD
WR C. Bagget-4 rec 74 yds 1 TD
MLB A. Speca-1 INT, CB J. Mitchell-1 INT


OTHER SEMI FINALS RESULT

K-State led (14-0) at the half and (21-7) going into the 4th. Georgia tried to make a comeback cutting the lead to (24-18) late in the 4th but K-State held on for the win.

The National Championship will be played by the #1 and #2 seed which I believe could be the first time this has happened in almost all of my Dynasty seasons.

[studbucket]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

Tough loss, but good work getting to back-to-back.s

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

Tough loss, but good work getting to back-to-back.s

Thanks..

I knew as soon as I lost Logan it was going to be pretty tough to repeat. Dees has been a roller coaster all year after playing lights out last year. Dees was a huge reason why we won last year when we probably shouldn't have. Tompkins is good, in fact some of in some ways he is better then Logan, but for some reason I just play better with Logan..

Always appreciate the follow/comments.

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

K-STATE IS YOUR 2028 NATIONAL CHAMPS!!!

Tied (7-7) at the end of the 1st Quarter, K-State took a (17-10) lead into the half. Both teams scored a touchdown in the 3rd Quarter to make it (24-17) Penn State tied the game up (24-24) but the Wildcats retook the lead with a FG to make it (27-24) and then after a Paxton INT, K-State tacked on another giving them the 6 point victory.. FINAL SCORE K-STATE-30 PENN STATE-24

K-State SR QB Blake Barnett (80) was POG/MVP.. He finished 17/23 (73%) for 317 yds with 2 TD and added 54 yds on the ground, beating out teammate SR WR J. Spradley-Demps (85) who caught both TD's finishing with 6 rec for 211 yds .

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

END OF THE YEAR RECAP

FIU Panthers Stats - 2028
Passing	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	YDS/G	LONG	TD	INT	RAT
C. Dees **SR**	224/394	3171				21	20	131.8
V. Ojukwu JR	43/64	617				5	0	173.9
Z Wire (T) FR	13/40	342				4	4	117.3
E. Verrett (T) FR	6/18	115				1	0	105.3
Rushing	ATT	YDS	AVG	LONG	20+	TD	YDS/G	FUM
T. Logan RS FR	260	1522	5.9	72		17	126.8
T. Tompkins RS SO	113	539	4.8	53		11	33.7
C. Dees **SR**	90	179	2.0	43		3
M. Benshaw RS JR	18	126	7.0	31
B. Cheek RS SO	5	73	14.6	72		2
A. Ferguson **SR**	8	68	8.5	52		2
S Boyce (T) FR	7	26	3.7	13		1
Receiving	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	DROPS	YDS/G	YAC
T. Cisco RS SO	54	853	15.8	5
B. Cheek RS SO	57	820	14.4	4
E. Cortez RS JR	43	730	17.0	8
F Okwara RS JR	26	485	18.7	4
T. Logan RS FR	32	394	12.3	3
D. Naanee JR	19	277	14.6	3
J. Malik JR	18	189	10.5	2
R. Kunaszyk RS FR	9	188	20.9	2
T. Tompkins RS SO	13	160	12.3
W. Gutierrez **SR**	4	68
	Tackles			Sacks		Interceptions
Defense	SOLO	AST	TOT	SACK	TLOSS	PD	INT	TD
MLB T. Stewart RS SO	57	26	83	5.0	4	7	2
CB R. Sexil **SR**	59	16	75	1.5	4	14	4
SS O Beal RSO SO	53	21	74	1.5	5	10	5
CB J. Chenault **SR**	46	15	61			8	3	1
SS J. Williams **SR**	44	16	60	1.0	3	6	3	1
ROLB R. McRae **SR**	41	22	63	2.0	8	3
FS T. Everett RS SO	40	16	56		2	7	1
MLB J. Bail **SR**	31	11	42
OLB S. Truong RS SO	27	21	48	1.0	5		1
DT BJ Faust RS SO	27	13	40	6.5	9
DE D. Ndukwe **SR**	26	15	41	13.5	9
DE C. Darby RS FR	16	12	28	6.0	3
DE J. DiNaoli RS FR	17	8	25	6.0	5
	Field Goals				Extra Points
Kicking	FGM	FGA	PCT	LONG	XPM	XPA	PCT	PTS
I. Glennon **SR**	23	25	92	55	67	69	97
Punting	PUNTS	YDS	LONG	AVG	NET	BP	IN20	TB
L. Myers **SR**	60	2461	63	41.0	34.6		9	6

SAYING GOODBYE

FIU say's goodbye to 13 Seniors who have been apart of some pretty amazing history the past 4 seasons, helping FIU to 3 straight CUSA titles and 3 straight College Football Playoffs including the 2027 National Championship.

DE David Ndukwe who transferred from Indiana 2 years ago followed up a 52 Tackle 11 TFL 11.5 sack season a year ago with a School record 13.5 Sacks this season beating out Eddie Wall's 13 sack season of 2025.

After a historic season last year leading the Panthers to the National Championship win guiding 6 straight victories to end the season, this season didn't end the way Clayton Dees had hoped. But he leaves FIU having passed for 5527 yds with 42 TD and 27 INT..

STAYING PUT

Well the Panthers didn't finish the season like they had hoped, they did get some good news, as Coach Matt Miller announces his decision to turn down by USC and Washington and return to FIU for a 5th season.

Coach Miller "There is some pretty big things on the horizon for Panther Football and well I know they would be in good hands with Coach T.Y. I knew that deep down in my heart I still want to be here. Bigger schools, Bigger Paydays will always be there.. I am not saying I will be at FIU forever but I am saying I will be here right now"

CHEEKS AND STEWART TURN DOWN NFL DRAFT

Miller got some good news as both his Defense and Offensive Stars announce they too will return for the 2029 season. Redshirt SO WR Brian Cheek (89 Ovr) was projected as a 3rd-4th round pick well RS SO MLB Trevaughn Stewart (89 Ovr) was projected as a 5th round pick. Instead both will return for their Junior seasons.

With Cheek and Stewart returning to FIU, the Panthers go a 2nd straight year without anyone drafted. In fact in 4 seasons so far, Coach Miller has had one 1 player go on to play in the NFL and that was 4 year starting QB Keyone Jenkins.

RECRUITING

Coach Miller will head into the Off-Season Recruiting with just 9 players signed (8-4* and 1-3*) giving FIU a current ranking of #38 in the Nation and the #1 CUSA Class (Marshall is #52, Liberty is #53, Charlotte is #63, FIU is #65).

Miller currently has just 5 players left on his Original Big Board of 35 players. With the 13 Seniors plus 5 open scholarships, Miller still has room to add some players via the Portal without going over his scholarship limit.

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

PANTHERS LAND ANOTHER TOP-25 CLASS

Coach Miller made a couple big moves in the off-season landing another pair of 4* out of the Transfer Portal to bring his class to a Total of 16 players (10-4* and 6-3*) giving FIU the #23 Overall Class in the Nation and the #1 Class in CUSA.

Miller has build the FIU roster with homegrown talent despite losing several key players to the likes of Miami, Florida, Florida State and even UCF and USF.

Today he got 1 back on the Hurricanes as 4* DE Klay Moehrig packs his bags and moves 17 minutes down the road to FIU. Moehrig was the #7 Overall Prospect in the Portal and Best DE available as Coach Miller looked to replace 13.5 sacks by D. Ndwuke last season.


Miller then made some major noise as he signs 4* RS JR Nick Fair from Duke. Listed at 6' 1 225lbs, Fair was the #25 Overall Recruit in the Transfer Portal and the #4 RB.

Coach Miller

"Even though we feel like we have a very solid RB room that includes Doak Walker Award winner Tavon "Wolverine" Logan, Titus Tompkins as well as former 4* Shawn Boyce, we felt like adding another player with Fair's talent could be the difference maker in winning a playoff game next season"

FIU Panthers Recruiting - 2028
NAME	POS	CLASS	HOMETOWN	HT	WT	CALIBER
Klay Moehrig (T Miami)	DE	JUCO Jr	Miami FL	6'5	267
Nick Flair (T Duke)	RB	JUCO Jr	Carmel IN	6'1	225
Quincy Stokes #38 Ovr	C	HS	Fort Lauderdale FL	6'3	308
Carlos Badet #103 Ovr	WR	HS	Lakeland FL	6'1	213
Earl Goodwin #131 Ovr	TE	HS	Bradenton FL	6'5	261
Ify Owusu #167 Ovr	DE	HS	Albuqueruque NM	6'3	263
Steve Trapasso #262 Ovr	WR	HS	Miami FL	6'4	199
Greg McRae #284 Ovr	QB	HS	Ponte Vedra Beach FL	6'5	227
Cade Faulk #153 Ovr	MLB	HS	Honolulu HI	6'2	239
Clifton Coxie #362 Ovr	RT	HS	Janesville WI	6'5	331
Richard Demar #591 Ovr	FS	HS	Pompano Beach FL	6'0	210
Silas Holiday #664	MLB	HS	Theodore AL	5'11	240
Raymond Nava #1606	P	HS	Fort Lauderdale FL	6'4	215
Cordale Ryder #1217	CB	HS	Jacksonsville FL	5'11	194
Dillion Shakir #1412	RG	HS	Rockledge FL	6'4	319
Marques Post #1694	LG	HS	Miami FL	6'3	329

Besides Moehrig and Flair, it should also be noted that well Coach Miller has done a pretty amazing job of building up FIU with local hometown kids and instate kids in general, Miller showed he can add top talent from around the country as he also signed 4* DE Ify Owusa the New Mexico Gatorade POY (#1 in the State) as well as 4* MLB Cade Faulk the Gatorade POY from the Big Island of Hawaii.


TEXAS A&M LANDS #1 CLASS


It was a tight race but TAMU (31-6/18/7) edges out Georgia (29-5/21/3) and Notre Dame (30-4/21/5) for the #1 Class, with the Bulldogs and Irish as #2/#3.

Miami for a 4th straight year lands in the Top-5 at #4 (33-2/24/7) well Natty Runner Up Penn State (26-4/12/10) lands at #5.

Reports were that Coach Miller had job offers from both USC and Washington but turned down both programs who decided to part ways with their former coaches despite both schools land Top-Recruiting Class's.

USC finished #9 (32-0/13/19) well Washington was #11 (32-0/11/21).

Here is a look at other Top 25 class's.

#6 LSU (33-0/26/7)
#7 TCU (29-0/16/13)
#8 Oregon (31-0/21/10)
#10 Florida (34-2/12/20)
#12 Texas (28-1/11/16)
#13 Virginia Tech (30-0/17/11/2)
#14 Oklahoma (21-2/6/13)
#15 Tennessee (30-0/15/15)
#16 Nebraska (24-0/10/14)
#17 Clemson (22-1/10/11)
#18 South Carolina (32-1/10/12/9)
#19 Ole Miss (31-0/10/21)
#20 Michigan (23-0/9/14)
#21 Pitt (28-1/9/15/3)
#22 Alabama (20-1/6/13)
#24 Baylor (26-0/8/7/11)
#25 Michigan State (29-0/7/21/1)

#28 K-State (29-1/3/16/9)
#33 Ohio State (14-1/7/6)
#39 Cincinnati (27-0/2/24/1)
#42 Boise State (20-0/4/14/2)


#72 Liberty (22-0/0/11/11)
#80 FAU (23-0/0/10/13)
#82 App State (24-0/0/10/10/4)
#87 C. Carolina (22-0/0/9/8/5)
#92 Charlotte (35-0/0/7/19/9)
#95 James Madison (17-0/0/10/3/4)
#98 Marshall (26-0/0/8/17/1)
#127 Old Dominion (18-0/0/0/9/9)
#134 ECU (3-0/1/1/1/0)


This year's Class had 2-5* QB. Casey Vaughn signed with Clemson well Kofi Stumph signed with Penn State.

The Top-4* QB Alex Cutrera who happened to be from Florida signed with Minnesota.

This year's Class only had 1-5* RB. Joel Shembo and he is joining Stumph at Penn State.

This year Class had 5-5* WR's including the #1 Overall Player in the Class 6'5 Jeremiah Emmons who signed with Georgia.

The Nittany Lions were not done as they land the Trifecta adding #9 Overall/#2 WR Chester Davis.

#11 Overall Manny Pilares from Desoto TX is staying close to home as he was the TAMU's #1 Recruit.

#13 Overall Dillon Yancey signed with Miami and #15 Overall Terrell Ficken from Franklin TN is joining Pilares at TAMU.

There was 1-5* TE in the class. 6'5 Dennis ****s (#31 Overall) he signed with Notre Dame.

There was 3-5* OT's. #14 Overall/#1 T Eric Turpin is headed to TAMU, well #25 Overall J. Hurley is going to Notre Dame and #28 Overall Z. Monk is K-State's Top recruit.

There were 6-5* On the D-Line.

#3 Overall/#1 DE Keenan Lokombo from Bixby OK is staying close to home to play for the Sooners, well #5 Overall/#2 DE Evan Anders from Angelton TX is doing the same signing with TAMU, #32 Overall/#3 DE Greg Edds is head to Pitt.

#21 Overall/#1 DT Ezekiel Hennessy is teaming up with Anders at TAMU, well #24 Overall/#2 DT JT Daniels is head to Notre Dame and #27 Overall/#3 George Rechsteiner signed with Florida (FIU was #2)

There was 5-5* OLB's including 2 from Florida.

#8 Overall/#2 OLB James Hack signed with the Gators well #12 Overall Philip Enemkpali signed with Texas (FIU finished #2).

#4 Overall/#1 P. Stai signed with Notre Dame, #26 Overall/#4 signed with Alabama and #29 Overall/#5 J. Amato signed with TAMU

There was 3-5* CB's in the class and the Top-2 both signed with Georgia (#20 Overall R. Havner and #22 Overall A. Miranda.) #23 Overall Nate Loudermilk signed with Penn State.

Georgia also landed 5* FS #18 Overall Philip Obada and the #2 SS 4* S. Witt (#70 Overall) giving them a very solid secondary for the next 4 seasons.

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

LAWSUIT BRINGS MAJOR CHANGES FOR 2029 SEASON!!!

When the NCAA re-arranged conferences back in 2025, both Clemson and FSU filed a lawsuit demanding the ability to leave the ACC in hopes of landing in a more high profile conference like the SEC or Big Ten. Despite Reports the the NCAA had originally planned to look at Conference Re-Alignment again in 2030, we are being told that that Court has ruled in the 2 schools favor and the timeline for Re-Alignment is being moved up to the start of the 2029 season.

Well Clemson and FSU are getting their way and are indeed moving to the SEC where they will join instate rivals South Carolina and Florida, reports are the the SEC and NCAA both agree the conference should remain at 16 teams. Which meant 2 programs were being kicked to the curb.
Vanderbilt who finished (2-10) Overall and just 1-9 In SEC play was the first to go, with Kentucky (6-7) Overall/4-6 SEC joining them.

With the ACC losing 2 of their most high profile teams, the Conference moved quickly offering FIU, Liberty and ECU all a chance to leave CUSA to join the ACC.

ACC Commish

"We we are very disappointed to lose a program like Clemson we are excited to be able to replace them with FIU. The Panthers in the past 4 years have build themselves not just into a CUSA powerhouse (3 titles) but a National Power with 3 straight playoff appearances and the 2027 Natty. We are also excited to pair Liberty who has been a Top-25 program pretty much the last 4 years with schools like West Virginia, Virginia Tech and Virginia well also add ECU to our Carolina schools.

With 3 teams joining the ACC, it only made sense that a 3rd school would be departing, but it was actually 2 as the ACC drops to 15 teams for the 2029 season. Louisville departed and will join Kentucky in the CUSA where they are also joined by Western Kentucky who left the American.

The American wasn't done just losing WKU, they also lost 2 time Champion Cincinnati who is joining the Big Ten along with Notre Dame who is leaving Independent Status. The American reloaded replacing their 2 loss's wit Boston College from the ACC, Umass and Buffalo from the MAC bringing them back to 12 teams.

With the Big Ten adding Cincy and Notre Dame they were at 18 teams and needed to lose 2, as UCLA and Cal Depart their instate rivals USC and Stanford to return to the Pac-12.

The Pac-12 wasn't done just adding the 2 former schools they also landed Vanderbilt from the SEC and Memphis from the American as the are now at 16 teams recreating the Power 5. Pac-12 officials also swapped out UTSA for Sun Belt Champion Louisiana as UTSA departs for the MWC replacing Hawaii who has decided to be a Independent and they swapped out Utah State for Colorado who leaves the Big 12 with MWC Champ Tulsa joining as the replacement

Here is a look at every Conference after the changes
Also effective in 2029, all 15/16 team Conferences will play 10 Conference opponents well all 10/12 team Conferences will play 9 Conference opponents.

*Teams that moved (These are also the new divisions inside the conferences as well)

ACC (15 teams)
Duke
ECU *
NC State
UNC
Rutgers
Syracuse
Wake Forest

FIU *
Miami FL
Georgia Tech
Maryland
Liberty *
W. Virginia
Virginia Tech
Virginia


Reports are that the ACC will evaluate teams from the American/CUSA/SunBelt over the next several seasons before potentiall inviting someone to take the #16 spot

Big Ten (16 teams)

Illinois
Ohio State
Michigan
Michigan State
Penn State
Pitt
Wisconsin
Minnesota

Indiana
Notre Dame*
Cincinnati *
Nebraska
Oregon
Stanford
USC
Washington

Big 12 (16 teams)

Arizona
Arizona State
Baylor
Houston
Rice
SMU
TCU
TTU

BYU
Utah
Iowa
Iowa State
Kansas State
Kansas
Oklahoma State
Tulsa *

SEC (16 teams)

Alabama
Auburn
Arkansas
LSU
Missouri
Texas
TAMU
Oklahoma

Clemson*
South Carolina
Florida
Florida State *
Ole Miss
Miss State
Tennessee
Georgia

Pac-12 (16 teams)
Colorado *
Colorado State
Louisiana *
Tulane
Memphis *
Vanderbilt *
USF
UCF

Boise State
Fresno State
San Diego State
Cal *
UCLA *
UNLV
Washington State
Oregon State

American (12 teams)

Army
Navy
BC *
UMass *
Temple
Buffalo *

Middle Tenn State
N. Illinois
Northwesten
Purdue
Southern Miss
UConn

Mountain West (12 teams)

Air Force
Nevada
New Mexico
New Mex State
San Jose State
Utah State *

Texas State
North Texas
UTSA *
UTEP
Sam Houston St
Wyoming

CUSA (10 teams)

App State
Coastal Carolina
Charlotte
James Madison
Marshall
FAU
Old Dominion
Kentucky *
Louisville *
Western Kentucky*

MAC (10 Teams)

Akron
Ball State
E. Michigan
Bowling Green
Central Michigan
Kent State
Miami OH
Ohio
Toledo
Western Michigan

Sun Belt (10 teams)

Arkansas State
Georgia Southern
Georgia State
Jacksonville State
Kennesaw State
Louisiana Tech
South Alabama
Troy
UAB
UL Monroe

[redsox907]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

Tough to lose that way, but without Logan's reliability the offense was shaky. I knew Dees' struggled with turnovers, but didn't realize he got up to 20. That's hard to win with consistently. Excited to see how you do with a new QB under center in what sounds like it could be Coach's final season with FIU.

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

Tough to lose that way, but without Logan's reliability the offense was shaky. I knew Dees' struggled with turnovers, but didn't realize he got up to 20. That's hard to win with consistently. Excited to see how you do with a new QB under center in what sounds like it could be Coach's final season with FIU.

Yeah it was tough, but at the same time I knew my team wasn't really worthy of back to back Championships. I am excited to come back and see what the future holds. I just posted a major change to my Dynasty as FIU after 3 CUSA titles, 3 playoff appearances and a Natty is ready for a bigger challenge. I am excited to go to the ACC where I can play Miami every year as my new main rival. THE CPU even has me playing them in the traditional Week 13 matchup next season. I am going to keep FAU on the schedule for a non-conference game, so that will limit me to only 1 other non-conference opponent but playing the likes of West Virginia and Virginia Tech instead of ODU and Marshall and playing UNC, Georgia Tech, Maryland vs Charlotte/ Coastal Carolina and James Madison will be a bigger in conference strength of schedule for sure, but also at the same time I get to keep my rivalry's going with Liberty and ECU..

I think at some point though I will want to go play in a bigger stadium cause well Pitbull Stadium is nice, it maxes out at like 20k.

[xboxxerx]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

Late to the party. Tough loss against Penn St. Great depth pick-ups in the portal for HB, and possible DE starter for you. Congrats on moving up to the ACC. Looks like you are ready with the way recruiting and the portal worked out for you. Can't wait to see what FIU brings to the ACC. Pitbull better have the checkbook opened and ready to go for the NIL deals.

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