The Florida International University Panthers are going bowling after finishing 7-5 this season. 

CBS Miami's Mike Cugno interviewed FIU's head coach Willie Simmons to talk all about their successful season. 

The Panthers will face the University of Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners on Dec. 26 in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl in Dallas.

The following conversation was lightly edited for clarity. Watch their full interview in the player above.

Mike Cugno: You guys are going bowling. Has the whirlwind stopped? Or are you still just kind of riding the wave, enjoying it?

Willie Simmons: So far, we're riding the wave. It's been an amazing first season. I can't say enough about these young men just buying into what we've done since January, our administration has been great. Our Athletic Director Scott Carr, our President Jeanette Nunez, can't say enough about her coming in mid-spring and just really infusing a lot of excitement from our alumni base. But again, it's been a great season, and we're looking to see where we'll be bowling.

Cugno: You guys have a chance to win an eighth game this year. Could you talk about the buy-in that your players had to the program and yourself as a first-year coach?

Simmons: Yes, in that first meeting last Dec. 7, I told the team that we will win when everyone buys in. And obviously that's the process, and we started it in spring ball. Carried it over into the summer, and then in the training camp, and we had a rough patch about mid-season, we had to do some soul searching, but that's when you saw the senior leadership step up. You saw a lot of guys really holding each other accountable, and then you saw guys just really start doing what we were asking them to do every day. And the wins followed.

Cugno: Wins followed, I think, people not just locally, but nationally, also starting to follow along as well. [It was just] National Signing Day, at least early period, earlier this week, you guys brought in 25 recruits, I believe, and there still could be some more. And it wasn't just south Florida. You guys went to other states. How do you feel about the class that you brought in? And is this the first stepping stone, since it is your first full cycle with FIU.

Simmons: Yes, we're really excited about the class that we were able to bring in. Obviously, our foundation starts right here in South Florida. So, the ability to bring, I think, 10 student athletes from this area was huge for us. And then branching out to Georgia, parts of North Florida, Central Florida, and then even the [junior college] ranks, you know. So again, just trying to build a quality roster with young men who are self-motivated, who are driven, and who want the best experience that they can, and we want to provide that for them here at FIU. So not a few more guys assigned in the transfer period. But again, this is a solid foundation for what we're building here.

Cugno: Now, this is my favorite question, because I think head coaches in college football have a tough job now. They got to fly all over the country while juggling bowl practice and go recruit. Our guy here has all of Florida's top talent with the state titles going to be played over at FIU and on campus. How nice is it to have the state championship games for high school in Florida be right in, not your backyard, in your yard?

Simmons: Well, no, it's great for our one our high school student athletes. Pitbull Stadium was a beautiful venue. We hosted the state championships last year. So, a lot of excitement, a lot of eyes. It brings a lot of people to our campus, and I think that's the biggest selling point for us. There are a lot of people from different parts of the state that still haven't been into our campus and in our stadium. So, to have an up close and personal experience, I think will go a long way in helping us continue to establish ourselves as a force in this state.

Cugno: Now, before we let you go, Ben Johnson, the head coach for the Chicago Bears, went viral last week for the tarps off celebration in the locker room, but you kind of started the trend. I I mean, are you mad that he's just following your footsteps? Are you okay with it? I mean, you are the trendsetter, not just the head coach of FIU, but look at what you're doing. Your celebrations are picking up steam here.

Simmons: Well, I mean, I didn't copyright it, so I guess I should have got with Darren and make sure that we got ahead of that. But no, just excited to see you see fans doing it. Now, obviously, some head coaches, I can't take credit for it, but no, it's just excited to see I mean, we put so much into this. Winning is hard, and people don't understand how hard winning truly is. So, when you're in that locker room with your team, you had a big win, some things just come natural for us. It's taking shirts off. Our coaches know they better stay in the weight room.