Program-building win for FIU sparks new rivalry

The chants of "overrated" rained down from the FIU student section.

Then a chant of, "Look who we beat!"

After last week's victory over Louisville and now the Panthers' ugly 17-10 win over the Knights Saturday night, FIU Athletics would do well to adopt the chant as a season motto.

As the reality of the dejecting loss set in and the UCF players, 27 of whom thought the game was going to be a glorious homecoming to their native South Florida area, walked off the field and something happened: A rivalry was born.

Earlier this season, most fans would have scoffed at the idea of a rivalry with FIU.

Now, though, why not?

FIU's stock is rising meteorically. The Panthers won their conference and their first bowl game last season. They beat a Big East opponent last week and thanks to some fumbles and questionable play-calling, they beat a team on the cusp of the top-25 when they took down the Knights Saturday night.

Now, the Panthers are 3-0 for the first time in school history, and guess what? Barring a collapse in conference play, they likely will win 10 games this season.

What's more is UCF and FIU go head-to-head for more recruits than most fans care to realize. Wide receivers coach David Kelly recruits in South Florida brilliantly. Well, so does FIU's aggressive, young coach Mario Cristobal.

You want to talk about the importance of Saturday night's game? How about recruiting? Don't fool yourself – high school players around the talent-rich stomping grounds of Miami were watching this game. All the talk before the game was about Jeff Godfrey and T.Y. Hilton, each team's star from the Miami area.

Want elements of a rivalry? How about familiarity? Not of the programs, which met for the first time on Saturday, but of the players. As mentioned, 27 UCF players are from the area. Many of them played against or with current FIU players when they were in high school.

These guys know one another, and that was obvious in the chippy nature of the game. There was some pushing and some shoving, and maybe that's what rattled the usually well-mannered Knights.

The familiarity extends beyond the players, too. Raise your hand if you're a UCF student from the South Florida area. Much like the UCF-USF rivalry was great because half of the students had went to high school together, many UCF students who went to high school in South Florida have friends at FIU.

Yes, FIU has a small fan base, but don't be surprised if that base doubles by season's end. The fan base that was present on Saturday, though, was a rowdy bunch anchored by a lively student section. They were excited for this game.

Saturday night was the first in a four-game series the two schools signed on to play. Next season, FIU will travel to Orlando.

Had UCF won Saturday night, next year's game might be overlooked by fans. Now, though, UCF fans should do two things in regard to FIU. First, they should root for the Panthers the rest of the way. Second, they should recognize next year's game as an opportunity for revenge.

The kind of revenge you seek in a rivalry.

UCF traveled well Saturday. Thousands of fans made the trip, and while there were things to cheer about, they made their presence known. Still, I'm sure many Knights fans viewed it more as an excuse to go to Miami than as a trip for a big game.

When the Knights return to Miami two years from now, I doubt that will be the case. There's a good chance that this budding rivalry will, in the future, be a matchup of two top-25 programs.

Now all it needs is a name.