BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Sept. 27, 2014) – FIU football (2-3, 1-0 C-USA) used a strong defensive effort and big plays on offense to earn a 34-20 victory at UAB on Saturday in the squad's Conference USA opener. FIU tied a school record by forcing six turnovers, while also scoring touchdowns of 85 and 75 yards in the victory.
 
The school record of six turnovers in a game has happened twice in the history of the FIU Football program. FIU also forced six turnovers vs. Florida A&M on Nov. 27, 2004. Of the six turnovers on Saturday, four came on interceptions. The four interceptions by the FIU defense are tied for second in school history. FIU also had four interceptions at Texas A&M on Sept. 18, 2010 and at Gardner Webb on Nov. 15, 2003. Junior Richard Leonard had two of those interceptions, returning one for a score, while Demarkus Perkins also took one back all the way.
 
Offensively, the Panthers used two big plays that helped set the tone in the game, tallying the second and sixth longest pass plays in school history. Freshman quarterback Alex McGough recorded his second career 200-yard passing game in the victory. McGough threw for 204 yards and two scores, while the FIU offense did not turn the ball over in the win. Sophomore Jonnu Smith (75 yards) and redshirt senior Glenn Coleman (85 yards) were responsible for the big scores.
 
UAB got on the board first with a two-yard touchdown run by D.J. Vinson with 13:36 left in the first half. The score capped off a five-play, 74-yard drive which took 1:24.
 
Leonard tied the game in the second quarter with a 25-yard interception return for a touchdown with 8:44 left in the half. The return for a touchdown was the second of the season for Leonard and fourth of his career. The Miami native is now tied for second all-time at FIU in return touchdowns (Nick Turnbull – 2002-05 and Lionell Singleton – 2004-07).
 
UAB responded on the ensuing drive, going 52 yards on eight plays, capped off by a 29-yard touchdown pass from Cody Clemens to Gerald Everett with 5:38 left in the second half. The extra point attempt was blocked by Wakefield to put the score at 13-7.  
 
With 3:37 left in the half, McGough connected with Smith for a 75-yard touchdown pass to give FIU a 14-13 lead. The reception was a career best for Smith, who has caught at least one pass in 17-straight games. The TD pass was the fifth-longest in school history.
 
FIU extended its lead in the second half to 21-13, following an 85-yard touchdown pass from McGough to Coleman with 9:30 left in the 3^rd quarter. The connection was a career-best for McGough who bested his previous high set earlier in the game. The reception for Coleman set a personal best for the redshirt senior and was the second-longest reception in school history. The one-play drive took just 19 seconds.
 
The Panthers added three more points to make the score 24-13 after sophomore Austin Taylor converted a 35-yard field goal with 8:00 left in the third. Taylor made the score 27-13 with a 25-yard field goal with 14:17 left in the game, capping off a four-play drive that lasted 1:47. It marked the second-straight score by the Panthers set up after FIU forced a turnover.
 
Perkins recorded the team's fifth turnover of the game, returning an interception 31 yards for a touchdown. The score gave FIU a 34-13 lead with 13:40 left in the game.  
 
The school-record tying sixth turnover came on an interception by sophomore cornerback Wilkenson Myrtil with 5:21 to go in the contest, as he kept a foot down in FIU's own end zone to bring UAB's potential scoring drive to a halt.
 
UAB cut the FIU lead to 34-20 when Cody Clements scrambled for a 15-yard touchdown run with 1:21 to go in regulation.
   
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FIU returns home to face the Florida Atlantic Owls on Thursday, Oct. 2, at 7:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on FSN.
 
The game will be broadcast live on 1210AM with Mike Levine (play-by-play) and Pete Pelegrin (color analyst) calling all of the action. FIU's remaining four home games features C-USA opponents Florida Atlantic (Oct. 2), Marshall (Oct. 8), Rice (Nov. 1) and Middle Tennessee (Nov. 15).
 
For FIU football ticket information, log onto www.FIUSports.com or contact the University Credit Union Box Office at 305-FIU-GAME (348-4263).
 
For the latest information on Panthers football, follow us on Twitter, @FIUFootball, and check out Pete Pelegrin's in-depth coverage of FIU Athletics on his official blog, The Prowl, at www.FIUSports.com.
 
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offer more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.