MIAMI--Senior quarterback David Wolke was hurting. His back had been a thorn through most of the season. Early in the second quarter, he took a shot on a roll out to his left. He fell trying to get up and couldn't make it to the sidelines without later being helped off.

Like any other senior, it would've taken a lot to have kept Wolke out of his last college game.

Playing through pain, Wolke uncorked a throw to his left in the fourth quarter, that was intercepted and returned 71 yards for a touchdown. The score sealed WKU's fate, as Florida International cruised to a 27-3 win in the season finale for both teams.

"Sometimes, it don't go right, but the team kept fighting," Wolke said. "The offense struggled a little bit and I take full responsibility for that. The defense fought their tails off. We should've tried to keep them off the field a little bit more."

After scoring the game's first points on a 26-yard field goal by senior kicker Tanner Siewert, the Toppers trailed 7-3 at halftime. WKU still wasn't out of it, after a pair of third quarter field goals by the Golden Panthers.

But FIU soon put it away with a three-yard touchdown pass and the interception return.

The Toppers couldn't get anything on offense, with just 180 total yards. Just 42 of those came rushing. The Golden Panthers meanwhile, rolled up 435 yards of total offense.

"I thought we went in with some good things, were moving the ball and we stalled in the red zone again and that's just been something we haven't been able to get fixed," coach David Elson said. "It's one of those things. We've just gotta finish drives and do a better job."

With the loss, WKU ends the season on an eight-game losing streak. It's also the last game for Wolke and the 20 other seniors.