Miami, FL -- The Florida International defense returned four interceptions for touchdowns, as the Golden Panthers posted a dominating 52-6 victory over the Florida Atlantic Owls in a Sun Belt Conference showdown.

Ben West paced the ground attack for Florida International (4-6, 2-4 SBC), rushing for 140 yards and three scores on 26 carries. Josh Padrick struggled in the contest, tossing one interception, while completing just 10-of-20 pass attempts for 114 yards.

Sean Clayton was dreadful in the setback, completing just 10-of-20 passes for only 82 yards for Florida Atlantic (2-9, 2-5). Clayton also threw three interceptions and was sacked three times. Because of Clayton's poor play, freshman McKinson Souverain found himself under center for the Owls and although the young signal-caller tossed two interceptions, he was able to complete 4-of-8 pass attempts for 90 yards and one score.

The Golden Panthers opened the scoring midway through the first quarter when Adam Moss split the uprights on a 32-yard field goal.

Late in the opening frame, FIU pushed its lead to 10-0 on a 10-yard touchdown run by West.

A 21-yard touchdown scamper by West early in the second stanza gave the Golden Panthers a solid 17-0 advantage.

A 36-yard interception return by Keyonvis Bouie late in the second quarter and 51-yard interception return for a score by Lionell Singleton just seconds into the third frame pushed the Golden Panthers lead to 31-0.

West tallied his third touchdown run of the contest late in the third quarter when he rumbled into the end zone from one-yard out, extending FIU's lead to 38-0.

Less than two minutes later Nick Turnbull took an interception 34 yards for a touchdown, pushing the Golden Panthers lead to 45-0.

Midway through the final frame the FIU defense struck again, this time it was Marshall McDuffie, who returned an interception 82 yards to pay dirt.

With just over two minutes remaining in the contest, the Owls finally got on the board when Souverain hit Thomas Parker with a 65-yard scoring strike. FAU was unsuccessful with the extra point try, but the game was well out of reach by that point, as the Golden Panthers held a commanding 52-6 lead.

The four interceptions returned for touchdowns tied the NCAA record set by Houston against Texas back on November 7th, 1987.