BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Howard Schnellenberger spent most of Saturday afternoon at Legion Field looking into the sun and shielding his eyes.

By the end of the day, one could not blame the Florida Atlantic coach for completely covering his eyes when his defense was on the field.

The Owls defense was hard to watch for anybody, as it sunk to a new low in a 56-29 loss to Alabama-Birmingham. The performance prompted Schnellenberger to label this ``the worst [defensive] beating'' we've ever had.

``Unacceptable,'' FAU linebacker Michael Lockley said. ``That's ridiculous on our part. They dominated us.''

UAB (4-5, 3-2 Conference USA) scored on its first eight possessions, all ending in touchdowns. By the time the Owls forced UAB to punt, nine minutes remained in the game and the score was 56-29.

The Blazers' 622 yards is an FAU opponent's record, surpassing the 608 yards gained by Louisville in 2005. Their domination was so complete that they faced just four third downs in the first three quarters.

Joe Webb, the leading rusher in the nation among quarterbacks, did most of the damage. Webb had 120 yards rushing and 292 yards passing. He finished 14 of 19.

``We've got to find out what to do to correct it right now,'' Schnellenberger said. ``I don't have an exact answer for that. I hope to have it before we finish the day [Sunday].

``It's obviously too late to use patches and glue to try to shore up the defense. Major, major surgery is needed.''

That starts with defensive coordinator Kirk Hoza, who was under fire last season after the Owls gave up 29 points and 400 yards per game.

Those numbers look good compared to the 37 points and 454 yards this team is giving up.

The Owls (2-6, 2-2 Sun Belt) were able to feel good about the starting debut of quarterback Jeff Van Camp, who replaced the injured Rusty Smith and finished with 254 yards and three touchdowns. Van Camp was 24 of 36 and tossed two interceptions against the worst pass defense in Division I-A.

FAU totaled 440 yards, combining with UAB to establish a school record of 1,062 yards in a game.

Van Camp, a fourth-year junior, had played in 12 games and thrown 56 passes in his first 3 ½ years.

``There was a little bit of anxiety,'' Van Camp said. ``I missed starting.''

Van Camp's highlight was a 22-yard touchdown pass to Jamari Grant into triple coverage on the final play of the first half to cut UAB's lead to 35-21.

The Owls faced a fourth-and-8 and decided against a field-goal attempt.

``I thought we were going to come out in the second half on a roll and put some points on the board,'' Van Camp said.

Instead, it was UAB who continued to roll and flatten the Owls defense.

The Blazers had scored touchdowns on all five first-half possessions, driving 83, 98, 80, 71 and 63 yards. Three of the drives were completed in just three plays.

Webb had help.

Reserve running back Rashaud Slaughter had 104 yards on just three carries, and wide receiver Frantrell Forrest had 55 yards on just two catches.

``I thought we'd be effective offensively,'' UAB coach Neil Callaway said. ``I didn't know we'd be that efficient.''

Neither did Schnellenberger, who finally got tired of talking about his defense.

``I'm not going to stand here and berate the defense,'' Schnellenberger said. ``I have berated them during the course of the year, and now we're beyond being berated.''

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