Paul McCall News

In an old fashioned shootout last December, the Golden Panthers could not hold on to a lead in a late season loss to FAU.

BOB SELF/The Times-UnionFlorida's Jaye Howard sacks Florida International quarterback Paul McCall for a 6-yard loss late in the third quarter of Saturday's game in Gainesville.

Florida International didn't put up much of a fight Saturday, but Florida made sure there was reason to stick around.

Tim Tebow ran for a touchdown and threw for a pair of scores, as top-ranked Florida extended the nation's longest winning streak to 21 straight games with a 62-3 rout of Florida International at the Swamp.

Beat North Texas 35-28 on Nov. 14 in Miami. On offense: The Panthers only average 322.6 yards per game, which includes 100.8 rushing.

FIU 24-26-0 17-9-0 5-1-0 2-1-0 FLA 81-14-0 59-8-0 42-0-0 21-0-0 FIU 0-40-0 7-57-0 19-65-0 22-65-0 FLA 6-12-0 28-18-0 45-26-0 66-26-0 ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer The victories might not have been as spectacular as last season's national title run, but Florida survived a rugged SEC campaign with a rare perfect record.

The Florida International Panthers began their 2009 campaign at SEC power Alabama.

North Texas at FIU Time: 7 p.m. TV: None. Records: North Texas 2-7 , FIU 2-7 Buzz: The Panthers struggled in a 48-21 loss to Middle Tennessee State without QB Paul McCall , who sat out with a hyperextended right throwing elbow.

Quarterback-turned-re- ceiver-turned-running back Kendall Berry got his chance last week and made the most of it, rushing for 103 yards, three touchdowns.

The Golden Panthers will have starting quarterback Paul McCall and linebacker Toronto Smith back in action Saturday when they take on North Texas.

Line: Florida International by 2. Series Record: Series tied 2-2. Last meeting: 2008, Florida International 42-10. North Texas looks to get its offense back on track after not scoring a touchdown in a loss to Louisiana-Monroe, the first time that's happened in a Sun Belt game since Todd Dodge became coach in 2007.

The Blue Raiders begin their push for possible bowl eligibility with a three-game home stand starting Saturday.

MTSU senior linebacker Danny Carmichael took sole possession of two school records in a 48-21 win over Florida International Saturday.

Shake hands with FIU freshman defensive lineman Tourek Williams, and you notice how big his hands are.

Who knows what made the big difference on Saturday? Maybe it was because they were missing a few of their key leaders and their replacements felt they had to step up their game.

With a plethora of injuries this season, especially where nearly one-third of its starters are out for the season, FIU has adopted the title of a Baltimore Ravens book Next Man Up as its motto for the rest of the season.

Dustin Rivest kicked a 24-yard field goal in overtime to lift Florida International to a 20-17 win over Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday.

Rise and shine Golden Panthers in more ways than one. It's an early kickoff against Louisiana-Lafayette, and the Ragin' Cajuns bring a pretty stout running game with the type of mobile quarterbacks that tend to feast on FIU's defense.

FIU quarterback Paul McCall wanted to make an adjustment. So before the Golden Panthers' fourth game in conference play at Arkansas State on Oct.

Arkansas State held its weekly football press conference with head coach Steve Roberts Wednesday at the ASU Football Facility.