Anthony Wales ran for 111 yards and four touchdowns as Western Kentucky overpowered Florida International 49-21 on Saturday night.
The Hilltoppers (7-3, 5-1) remained atop the East Division of Conference USA and wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard first, going 76 yards in 10 plays with Quinton Baker scoring from 10 yards away with 9:51 left in the opening quarter.
The Hilltoppers went up 14-0 on the next series when Wales scored the first of his touchdowns, getting into the end zone from a yard out. That touchdown came two plays after WKU used a double-reverse throwback screen from quarterback Mike White to Nicholas Norris that gained 33 yards to the Florida International 7.
FIU (3-7, 3-3) tried to stay in the game, cutting the Hilltoppers lead to 14-7 with seven seconds to go in the first quarter on quarterback Maurice Alexander's 2-yard run.
But Western Kentucky regained control quickly, scoring on White's 41-yard touchdown throw to Taywan Taylor on the first play of the second quarter.
The Hilltoppers defense then got in on the scoring as cornerback Leverick Johnson not only broke up a Florida International pass intended for Thomas Owens, but tipped the ball to himself and returned it 61 yards to the end zone.
The rest of the scoring for the Hilltoppers was all Wales, as he scored from 5 yards with 38 seconds to play in the half, and added touchdown runs of 59 and 10 yards in the third quarter.
Florida International managed two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter from backup quarterback Christian Alexander to cut into the lead.