MIAMI (AP) -As the clock was running out on a two-year losing streak, Mario Cristobal started jumping around the sideline with his Florida International players and assistant coaches.

Exuberant?

You bet, and with good reason. FIU finally had something to celebrate.

Paul McCall threw for 228 yards and three touchdowns in his first start, and the Golden Panthers beat North Texas 38-19 on Saturday night to end major college football's longest current losing streak at 23 games.

Lionell Singleton had an 84-yard kickoff return for a score, Julian Reams added a 22-yard rushing TD and Audric Adger tied a school record with four sacks for FIU (1-11, 1-6 Sun Belt), which last won on Dec. 3, 2005 against Middle Tennessee State.

``We're not 1-11,'' McCall said. ``We're on a one-game winning streak.''

And they'll take that winning feeling into the offseason - a huge boost toward Cristobal's rebuilding plan.

``These kids have been through a lot,'' said Cristobal, FIU's first-year head coach who got the requisite water-cooler bath with 1:21 left. ``It's been a long, long time.''

Giovanni Vizza completed 31 of 54 passes for 253 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown pass to Brock Stickler for North Texas. Jamario Thomas and Micah Mosely each had 1-yard TD runs for the Mean Green (2-10, 1-6).

North Texas coach Todd Dodge warned his team before the game to expect a desperate effort from FIU. Sure enough, he was right.

``How hard would you fight if you were looking not to go 0-12?'' Dodge said.

It was the final college game scheduled for the historic Orange Bowl, the Miami Hurricanes' longtime home which will likely be demolished next year. FIU played there this year because its home stadium is being rebuilt.

The Golden Panthers took care of that.

``I love this place,'' said Cristobal, who played at the Orange Bowl during his days at Miami and coached there with the Hurricanes as well. ``It's the Orange Bowl. What else can you say?''

FIU went three-and-out on its first possession, then snapped the ball over punter Chris Cook's head to give North Texas the ball at the FIU 1. Thomas plunged in for a 6-0 lead, and Mosley added a 1-yard score later in the half for a 12-7 Mean Green advantage.

Singleton's big play, though, seemed to turn FIU's fortunes around.

``I saw the hole opening up,'' Singleton said, ``and I hit it as hard as I could.''

Not long after the return TD, McCall hit Trenard Turner with a 58-yard scoring pass with 3:50 left in the half for a 21-12 cushion. After North Texas fumbled a punt away during a hard rain shortly after halftime, McCall found Marquis Rolle for a 31-yard score and a 16-point lead - FIU's biggest since Nov. 26, 2005.

``We had to get a win for the seniors,'' Rolle said. ``It's their last game here at the Orange Bowl. So let's have FIU start something off. Let's be the big dog for once.''

Vizza's scoring pass to Stickler cut the lead to nine midway through the third, but McCall quickly answered with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Dickens that sent FIU into the final period with a 35-19 edge, and the countdown to victory was on.

``We knew we could do this,'' McCall said.

Southern Methodist, Idaho and Minnesota will take 10-game losing streaks into next season - the not-so-proud owners of the longest current skeins in major college football.

FIU's losing streak tied Duke (1999-2002) and Northern Illinois (1996-98) for the seventh-longest in Football Bowl Subdivision - formerly known as Division I-A - history.

The major college record is 34 straight losses by Northwestern from 1979-82.

``It's a process, and we've come so far,'' Cristobal said. ``You have to endure. We did. And this is incredible.''

Postgame Notes
FIU Football vs. North Texas
Saturday, December 1, 2007 

• Tonight’s game is the final contest for FIU seniors; Audric Adger, Roland Clarke, Jeffrey Eugene, Cory Fleming, Anthony Guli, Kerry Guy, Zap Hawkins, Marcus Jones II and Lionelll Singleton.
  
  
• Senior Lionell Singleton’s 84-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the second quarter was his second of the season, setting a new FIU school record.  It was his third kickoff return for a touchdown in his career.  Three of FIU’s four all-time kickoff returns have been returned by Singleton.  It was the third-longest kickoff return in school history, and the longest since Singleton returned one for 98 yards against Bowling Green on Sept. 16, 2006.
  
  
• Lionell Singleton’s interception with 9:37 remaining in the third quarter was his first of the season.
  
  
• More on Lionell Singleton...
• He ends his career ranked first all-time at FIU in career kickoff returns (67) and yards (1,613).  First in total returns (102) and yards (2,162).  He is second in punt returns (27) and yards (324).
• Defensively he is second in interceptions (8), interception return yards (225) and pass breakups (21).
  
  
• Senior DE Audric Adger’s four sacks ties the school record set by Antwan Barnes against Middle Tennessee on Aug. 31, 2006. 
  
  
• Starting Debuts...
• Quarterback Paul McCall threw for 228 yards, the most-ever by an FIU quarterback in his first career start.  He also became the first Golden Panther QB to pass for three touchdowns since Josh Padrick had three at ULM on Nov. 15, 2005.
  
  
• FIU’s 38 points in tonight’s game is the most since the Golden Panthers beat FAU, 52-6, on Nov. 26, 2005.  This game also marks the first time since 2004 that FIU has scored 20-or-more points in four consecutive
  
  
• With 74 yards rushing in tonight’s game, junior running back A’mod Ned moved up to fourth on FIU’s single-season rushing list with 581 yards.

• The 58-yard touchdown connection between Paul McCall and Trenard Turner with 3:50 remaining in the second quarter set a few school marks.  With that reception, Turner set an FIU single-season record for receiving yards by a running back with 235, breaking Adam Gorman’s record of 234 yards in 2003.  He now has 261 receiving yards on the year.  It was Turner’s second touchdown reception of 50-plus yards this season.  Turner had a 65 yard reception against Miami (Fla.) on Sept. 15 this year.  The pass was McCall’s longest of his career.

• Trenard Turner’s 84 yards receiving is the most ever in a single game by an FIU running back, breaking Rashod Smith’s previous record of 70 at Indiana State (Sept. 7, 2003).

• FIU’s 21-12 lead at halftime marked its largest halftime lead of the season and its largest halftime lead since holding a 20-7 lead heading into intermission against South Florida on Sept. 9, 2006. The Golden Panthers lost that game, 21-20

• The Golden Panthers’ 21 points in the second quarter were the most scored in a quarter by the team since it scored 21 against Middle Tennessee in the 2005 season finale. That was the last time FIU won a game.
  
  
• Marquis Rolle’s 31-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter was the first of his career.

Post Game Quotes

Florida International Head Coach Mario Cristobal

“They are special guys, they are special people. We came to built something special and this is the beginning of it. Fortunately, we get to close down a special place.”

About the Orange Bowl

“We just came to play football. I’m not going to into all that stuff. I love the Orange Bowl. I bought my place downtown just to see it every morning and night, and before I go to bed. These players, these coaches, these alumni, and everyone involved in this program they deserved it the most. It’s the beginning, its just the beginning.”

What to expect for next season

“80 percent of our players are in their first or second year of playing football. What does that mean for us? That means we are going to be a really good football program and then we are going to be a great program and then we are going to be a championship program. It’s all about just working your tail off, heading in the right direction and doing it the right way.

“We come into this game knowing that North Texas had a great offense and that they can put a lot of points on the board. They ran some same stuff as Louisiana-Monroe and Louisiana-Lafayette. They get the ball out quick and tried to take advantage. Defensively, I think our guys did a great job disguising coverage. On offense, the line set the wall and Paul McCall did a great job. Our wide receivers caught the ball and we ran the ball well. But to go out and get the first win of the season on the last game of the year, let the winning streak begin.”

What were you expecting from Paul McCall

“A guy that was going to compete. I think all our guys are the same way. They want to get the job done. Its hard, to sit behind somebody, especially if it’s the quarterback position. He found a way to have a positive attitude. He found a way to come and work at practice everyday. He got his opportunity today, and made the most of it.”

The quarterbacks for next season

“I don’t think you have a proven quarterback when you only win one game. But they have proven that both guys can compete. No doubt about it. When Wayne [Younger] was in there he showed some things that were real good. Then Paul came out tonight and showed some things that were real good as well. That’s got to make you feel real good in the off-season and going into spring ball. I think what has kept this team up is the competition.”

About the losing streak

“Those were heartbreaking loses. Especially for our defense who had to go against North Texas, who has been on a role offensively. They have been stacking up yards and points. To be able to hold them to what we did and some of the situations we put ourselves in with turnovers. That’s tough to mesh.”