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Photo by Sam Lewis Antwan Barnes blocks a Middle Tennessee punt that led to FIU's second, second-quarter touchdown en route to a 35-31 win over the Blue Raiders. With the victory, the Golden Panthers finished the season at 5-6.

Freshman A’mod Ned scored on a 20-yard run with 1:19 remaining in the game and FIU closed out its season with three-straight wins and a 35-31 Sun Belt Conference victory over Middle Tennessee, Saturday night at FIU Stadium.

After forcing Middle Tennessee to punt from its own end zone, the Golden Panthers (5-6, 3-4 Sun Belt) started at midfield with 1:59 to play, down 31-28. Quarterback Josh Padrick completed an eight-yard pass to Chandler Williams and then hit tight end Moses Hinton on a side-line pass good for 20 yards to the Blue Raiders’ 20.

On a first-and-10 handoff, Ned found a hole up the middle, cut right and raced into the end zone for the game-winning score.

Middle Tennessee (4-7, 3-4 SBC) had one more chance for the win, but a Hail Mary pass from Blue Raiders quarterback Clint Marks to Cleannord Saintil was broken up by FIU defensive backs Chris Smith and Kent Henderson, ending the game.

Ned led all FIU runners with 72 yards on 14 carries and teammate Ben West had 49 yards on seven rushes. Padrick hit on 22-of 32 pass attempts for 314 yards and two touchdowns, both to senior receiver Cory McKinney who ended his four-year FIU career with a catch in 44 straight football games.

But the junior wide receiver Williams was Padrick’s favorite target on the night, catching eight balls for 160 yards and setting a new school record with 61 catches on the year.

Marks completed 26-of-37 passes for 297 yards and a pair of touchdowns and the Blue Raiders scored another passing touchdown on a flea-flicker from running back Eugene Gross, 19 yards to Marks. Running back Ralph King finished with 105 yards on 30 carries for Middle Tennessee.

Photo by Geoff Anderson Freshman A'mod Ned finished as FIU's leading rusher and had two TD runs, the last, with 1:19 to play, proved the game winner.

FIU started sluggishly and Middle Tennessee took full advantage scoring touchdowns on its first two possessions for a 14-0 lead after one quarter.

But Padrick and the Golden Panthers put it together with three touchdowns in the second quarter, and led at the half, 21-17. Special teams play set up the second score when defensive end Antwan Barnes blocked a punt deep in MTSU territory. On the second play of the drive, Ned when 18 yards for the first of his two TD runs of the night.

It was a back-and-forth third quarter when Middle Tennessee scored on a Marks six-yard run put the Blue Raiders on top, 24-21, and then Padrick called his own number on a one-yard sneak, which gave the Golden Panthers a 28-24 advantage after three quarters.

Middle Tennessee move back on top, 31-28, with 5:11 remaining in the game on a nine-play, 58-yard drive that ended on a Marks to Stephen Chicola touchdown pass of two yards.

The Golden Panthers started the next possession at their own 24 yard line and Padrick moved the team to the Middle Tennessee 38 when he hurled a long pass toward Andre Rollins in the end zone that was picked off by the Blue Raiders Bradley Robinson at the two.

But the FIU defense held and forced a punt, giving the offense the ball at the Middle Tennessee 48-yard line, which started the game-winning drive.

“Middle Tennessee is a good football team,” said FIU head coach Don Strock. “Their front four is the best we have seen all year long—including Texas Tech and Kansas State. Hats off to MTSU, knowing their [coaching] staff had been released. They did a great job of preparing their team for this game.”

“It was a good football game,” said Middle Tennessee head coach Andy McCollum who coached his last game for the Blue Raiders. “Our kids fought all the way to the end and we just came up a play short. We’ve had two or three games like this where we’ve just come up a play short.”

The three-game win streak is the longest ever for the four-year old Golden Panther program and their five wins tied the most ever, accomplished in FIU inaugural season of 2002.

“We’re thrilled to be 5-6, having won four of our last five games,” said Strock. “I’m proud of the seniors, especially those who were here for our first practice year. There was something about this group; the light went on for them. The maturation of these guys was something special. But work begins on Monday to replace the 25 seniors we lose.”

Bouie Sets Mark: With 18 tackles against Middle Tennessee, junior middle linebacker Keyonvis Bouie became FIU's all-time single-season tackler with 118 in 2005. He surpasses, by one, the total tackles by former Golden Panther defensive back John Haritan who had 117 in 2003. Bouie is just the second Golden Panther defender ever to have 100-or-more tackles in a season.