TROY, Ala. — Florida International is not there yet.For the first time in their six-year history, the Golden Panthers were playing for first place in the Sun Belt Conference.

FIU was poised to knock off Troy, which was tied with the Golden Panthers for the conference lead.

During the first 30 minutes Saturday night, FIU looked like it belonged with the Trojans, trailing by three points at halftime. But a sloppy third quarter did the Golden Panthers in, as Troy coasted to a 33-23 victory.

“This was a reality check for us,” said running back Daunte Owens, who led FIU with 69 yards rushing. “It was a gut check. It let us know how far we are from where we need to be.”

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A phrase heard around the FIU football program for several years has been “Times are tough on Southwest 8th Street.”

Not lately.

The good times kept rolling at FIU on Saturday night as the Golden Panthers won their third consecutive game and equaled the best start in the program’s six-year history.

Backed by a suddenly explosive offense and another stout defensive performance, FIU cruised past Middle Tennessee 31-21 in front of 15,108 fans at FIU Stadium.

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DENTON, Texas — Seven overtimes were not necessary this time around for FIU.

After losing in an NCAA record seven overtimes two years ago at North Texas, the Golden Panthers needed just two quarters to rout the Mean Green en route to a 42-10 victory Saturday night at Fouts Field.

FIU got a breakout performance from its offense, a third consecutive solid game from its defense and a record-setting night from freshman receiver T.Y. Hilton, who scored two touchdowns and had 145 receiving yards.

”We made big plays,” FIU coach Mario Cristobal said. “It makes life easier and it really sparks an entire team. A great team effort.”

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Plenty of people in the FIU community didn’t get much sleep Saturday night and into early Sunday.

After the Golden Panthers’ historic first nonconference Football Bowl Subdivision victory — a 35-16 triumph against Toledo on Saturday night in Ohio — their plane touched down at Miami International Airport at 4 a.m. Sunday.

When the team arrived at FIU Arena a little before 5 a.m., it was greeted by a group of nearly 200 fans.

”Big-time win, big-time win,” coach Mario Cristobal said. “What a great freaking deal to have almost 200 fans waiting for us when we pulled up to FIU.”

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No. 12 South Florida waltzed into the inaugural game at FIU Stadium as a heavy favorite against an FIU team that had not scored an offensive touchdown this season and had lost 25 of its past 26 games.

Mismatch?

Not exactly.

The Bulls encountered a suffocating defense, and only after recovering an onside kick with 53 seconds left in the game did they escape FIU with a 17-9 victory.

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Photo Gallery

MIAMI - From the top of FIU’s new football stadium, Miami’s big, bold downtown skyline is visible.

FIU Athletic Director Pete Garcia can see beyond even that from up there.

He can see a big, bold future for Golden Panthers football as the team prepares to show off its dazzling new home Saturday against No. 12 South Florida (5 p.m., ESPNU). It’s FIU’s first nationally televised home game since it announced nearly five years ago that it was moving up to the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) level.

“The upside of this program is phenomenal,” Garcia said.

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FIU played the highest-ranked opponent in the six-year history of its football program Saturday night, and it showed.No. 14 Kansas handled FIU in all facets of the game and coasted to a 40-10 victory at Memorial Stadium in front of a crowd of 52,112 — the largest in the 119-year history of Jayhawks football.

‘We played tough, and that’s the thing we’re never going to compromise,” FIU coach Mario Cristobal said. “We’re getting more athletic. We’re getting better, but against a good football team you have to be consistently good. There were too many opportunities given to them, stuff that we could have prevented. . . . That’s stuff that hurts, and it’s gotta hurt and it better hurt a lot because we’ve got some work to do.”  (more)

James Coley will coach tight ends at FSU, while also handling the important recruiting coordinator duties. FIU coach Mario Cristobal wants to find a replacement before spring practice begins March 8.