2012 FIU Panthers football team

The 2012 FIU Panthers football team represented Florida International University during the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by sixth year head coach Mario Cristobal and played their home games at FIU Stadium. They were a member of the Sun Belt Conference. This was the Panthers final season as members of the Sun Belt as they have accepted an invitation to join Conference USA on July 1, 2013.^[1] They were a member of the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 3–9, 2–6 in Sun Belt play to finish in a tie for eighth place. Head coach Mario Cristobal was fired at the end of the season after posting a 27–47 record in six seasons.

2012 FIU Panthers football
Conference	Sun Belt Conference
Record	3–9 (2–6 Sun Belt)
Head coach	Mario Cristobal (6th season)
Offensive coordinator	Tim Cramsey (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Todd Orlando (2nd season)
Base defense	3–3–5
Home stadium	FIU Stadium
Seasons ← 2011 2013 →

2012 Sun Belt Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Arkansas State $		7	–	1					10	–	3
Louisiana–Monroe		6	–	2					8	–	5
Middle Tennessee		6	–	2					8	–	4
Louisiana–Lafayette *		4	–	2					5	–	4
Western Kentucky		4	–	4					7	–	6
Troy		3	–	5					5	–	7
North Texas		3	–	5					4	–	8
Florida Atlantic		2	–	6					3	–	9
FIU		2	–	6					3	–	9
South Alabama **		1	–	7					2	–	11
$ – Conference champion * – Louisiana–Lafayette vacated 4 wins due to NCAA violations. ** – South Alabama was ineligible for the conference title or a bowl game as part of their transition to the FBS.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	7:00 p.m.	at Duke*	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	ESPN3	L 26–46	31,117
September 8	6:00 p.m.	Akron*	FIU Stadium Miami, FL	ESPN3	W 41–38 OT	15,685
September 15	4:00 p.m.	at UCF*	Bright House Networks Stadium Orlando, FL	CSS	L 20–33	40,478
September 22	7:00 p.m.	No. 20 Louisville*	FIU Stadium Miami, FL	ESPN3	L 21–28	12,318
September 29	7:00 p.m.	at Louisiana–Lafayette	Cajun Field Lafayette, LA	ESPN3	L 20–48	21,109
October 4	7:30 p.m.	Arkansas State	FIU Stadium Miami, FL	ESPNU	L 20–34	13,612
October 13	6:00 p.m.	Middle Tennessee	FIU Stadium Miami, FL		L 30–34	15,234
October 20	1:00 p.m.	at Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium Troy, AL	SBN/ESPN3	L 37–38	17,354
October 27	6:00 p.m.	Western Kentucky	FIU Stadium Miami, FL	ESPN3	L 6–14	12,842
November 3	3:30 p.m.	at South Alabama	Ladd-Peebles Stadium Mobile, AL		W 28–20	11,936
November 16	8:00 p.m.	at Florida Atlantic	FAU Stadium Boca Raton, FL (Shula Bowl)	ESPNU	W 34–24	15,405
November 24	6:00 p.m.	Louisiana–Monroe	FIU Stadium Miami, FL		L 17–23 OT	12,115
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

• Source: Schedule

Game summaries

@ Duke

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	7	7	0	12	26
Blue Devils	7	30	7	2	46

See also: 2012 Duke Blue Devils football team

Akron

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Zips	7	13	0	18	0	38
Panthers	7	7	7	17	3	41

See also: 2012 Akron Zips football team

@ UCF

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	0	14	6	20
Knights	9	14	7	3	33

See also: 2012 UCF Knights football team

Louisville

	1	2	3	4	Total
#18 Cardinals	7	7	7	7	28
Panthers	7	7	0	7	21

See also: 2012 Louisville Cardinals football team

@ Louisiana–Lafayette

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	14	6	0	20
Ragin' Cajuns	17	14	10	7	48

See also: 2012 Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns football team

Arkansas State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Red Wolves	0	14	13	7	34
Panthers	3	7	3	7	20

See also: 2012 Arkansas State Red Wolves football team

Middle Tennessee

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Raiders	3	7	7	17	34
Panthers	6	14	3	7	30

See also: 2012 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team

@ Troy

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	21	3	13	0	37
Trojans	7	7	14	10	38

See also: 2012 Troy Trojans football team

WKU

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	7	0	0	7	14
Pantheres	3	0	0	3	6

See also: 2012 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

@ South Alabama

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	14	14	0	0	28
Jaguars	7	0	10	3	20

See also: 2012 South Alabama Jaguars football team

@ Florida Atlantic

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	7	7	13	7	34
Owls	0	10	7	7	24

See also: 2012 Florida Atlantic Owls football team and Shula Bowl

Louisiana–Monroe

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Warhawks	7	3	7	0	6	23
Panthers	0	7	3	7	0	17

See also: 2012 Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football team

References

1. "Conference USA expands adding five members". Oklahoma's Own News on 6. Retrieved May 4, 2012.