College football

FIU equals NCAA record in beating rival

MIAMI - Florida International tied an NCAA record by returning four interceptions for touchdowns and Ben West rushed for three scores in a 52-6 victory over rival Florida Atlantic on Saturday.

Keyonvis Bouie, Lionell Singleton, Nick Turnbull and Marshall McDuffie each scored on interception returns.

The feat was last accomplished Nov.7, 1987, when Houston returned four interceptions for touchdowns against Texas.

Bouie started the defensive scoring flourish with a 36-yard interception return late in the second quarter.

Singleton's 51-yard return came 19 seconds into the second half and Turnbull's 34-yard touchdown came with 25 seconds left in the third.

McDuffie went 82 yards with his interception return to tie the mark with 6:52 left.

The win was the first by the Golden Panthers (3-6, 2-4 Sun Belt Conference) over the Owls (2-9, 2-5) in the four-year history of their annual game dubbed the Shula Bowl. Both teams completed their first seasons as Sun Belt members after being Division I-A independents last year.

West rushed for 140 yards on 26 carries, including 107 yards in the first half. Josh Padrick was 10-for-20 for 114 yards for FIU.

Sean Clayton was 10-for-20 for 82 yards for Florida Atlantic. He was intercepted three times - two returned for touchdowns - before leaving the game in the third quarter in favor of backup McKinson Souverain.

Souverain was 4-for-8 with 90 yards rushing and two interceptions, both returned for touchdowns. He also threw a 65-yard touchdown pass to Thomas Parker for the Owls' only score.

[Last modified November 27, 2005, 01:18:21]