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Florida International receiver T.Y. Hilton is one of the hottest players in the country and has landed firmly on the national map.
That makes the FIU-Central Florida game Saturday appealing, even with the marquee Oklahoma-Florida State and Ohio State-Miami matchups this weekend in this football-laden state.
Four years after choosing FIU over West Virginia and a chance to play in the Big East, Hilton is garnering attention as a potential Heisman Trophy candidate after one of the top early season performances in an upset over Louisville last week.
Both UCF and FIU are unbeaten, making it a pivotal contest for programs looking to stay relevant.
FIU coach Mario Cristobal is quick to admit that the face of his program's emerging brand is Hilton.
Cristobal has described the 5-foot-10, 183-pound Hilton is one of the most unselfish players he has coached and said last month anyone would be fortunate to ''coach a guy like that in your lifetime.''
FIU has a program record of 33-74, but 17 of its 33 wins have come with Hilton wearing a Panthers' uniform.
''It feels good knowing that the program is rising and everybody now is paying attention to us,'' Hilton told reporters in Miami. ''I now know that I've to step it up to another level.''
Crisotbal said it was ''always the plan'' for the Panthers to generate some national buzz.
''The problem was upon our arrival, we were notified a month later we were going to lose 30 scholarships, we were going to have 17 ineligible players and we were going to go on probation,'' the coach said. ''So we got the death penalty before everybody else did without even knowing about it.
''So, to see this all come about four years later through the tremendous hard work ... the brand is starting to become more recognizable.''
Hilton's performances haven't hurt the emergence. He leads the nation with 333 receiving yards and is second with 551 all-purpose yards.
Kemal Ishmael, one of UCF's two All-Conference USA defensive backs that will try to slow down Hilton Saturday, said facing other big name receivers gives them a good reference point.
''The secondary now, we're experienced,'' Ishmael said. ''We know what to do and what not to do. Sometimes you have to press and sometimes you have to lay off a little bit...We went up against (former Georgia receiver) A.J. Green and (former Southern Methodist receiver Emmanuel Sanders) is just like T.Y. - quick, fast and everything. So that helps us out a lot.
''We have to match our skill with their skill and our speed with their speed.''
