The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Saturday, November 3
Birmingham, Ala.
6:30 p.m.
UAB
52
vs
3
UTSA
Record-Breaking Display Powers UAB to 52-3 Win Over UTSA
11/3/2018 11:26:00 PM | Football
BIRMINGHAM – UAB fans are accustomed to big-time performances when they come to Legion Field and Saturday night's offensive output was no different as UAB tallied a school-record 668 yards of total offense and extended its home winning streak to 11 games with a 52-3 rout of UTSA.
The Blazers (8-1, 6-0 C-USA) got the offense moving with an unprecedented display on the ground, rushing for a school-record 419 yards, shattering the previous record of 371 set on Nov. 29, 2014 against Southern Miss. The ground game helped the Blazers post 52 points and win with a 49-point margin, tied for the third-best margin of victory in program history.
Tyler Johnston III, who made his first career start at quarterback for the Green and Gold, went 10-for-17 against the Roadrunners for 249 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 62 yards and a touchdown on nine carries.
Sophomore Spencer Brown was the catalyst for the running back corps' big night on the ground, handling the ball 20 times for a season-best 147 yards and two touchdowns. Brown notched his third-straight 100-yard performance and tied the school record with his 13th rushing touchdown of the season.
UAB's receivers were led by Xavier Ubosi, who brought in three catches for 72 yards and two scores. Kailon Carter also went for six points against UTSA, hauling in his first touchdown of the season and finished with 50 yards.
The Blazers' defense held UTSA to 220 yards of total offense and just 84 yards on the ground, while allowing the Roadrunners to convert only two third down conversions (2-of-12). UAB has allowed just 38 points through six C-USA games this season, with five of those opponents scoring seven points or less.
Chris Woolbright led the way with five total tackles and one TFL, followed by Anthony Rush, who added four tackles and a TFL of his own. Grayson Cash brought in UAB's only interception of the evening, the first of his career, while Tre' Crawford fell on a timely forced fumble by Zachary Williams deep in Blazer territory to keep UTSA out of the end zone.
It was a dream start for Johnston III in his first career start, rushing the ball twice for 10 yards on the opening drive before hitting Kailon Carter for a 50-yard score to put the Blazers ahead early, 7-0.
Johnston III's hot play continued into the second possession, going 3-for-3 through the air with passes of 37 yards and 12 yards, respectively, before connecting with Ubosi for a 22-yard touchdown strike to double the Blazers' advantage, 14-0, with 7:54 to play in the opening period.
UTSA (3-6, 2-3 C-USA) responded to UAB's early offensive explosion with three points of its own, taking the ball down the field with the help of two big pass plays. The Blazer defense stepped up big inside the red zone, though, keeping the Roadrunners away from the end zone and limiting the damage to a 37-yard field goal by Jared Sackett to cut the lead to 14-3.
The Blazers responded with their second 50-yard touchdown of the contest when Wilson took a handoff from Johnston III and turned on the jets around the corner, scampering untouched into the end zone to push UAB's advantage to 21-3 late in the first quarter.
Starting from its own two-yard line following a strong defensive stand, the UAB offense marched right down the field once again on the shoulders of Brown and Johnston III, who found Ubosi for 19 yards on second and long to the UTSA 31. On the ensuing play, the quarterback-receiver duo connected for the second time to extend the lead to 28-3.
UAB's special teams got involved early in the second quarter as Gerrit Prince shot through the UTSA punt defense and blocked the attempt to set up UAB on the UTSA four-yard line. Brown needed one play to find the end zone for the 12th time this season, bouncing off a tackle for six and putting UAB ahead, 35-3, with 12:00 in the first half.
In all, UAB scored touchdowns on its first five possession to take command of the game.
Vogel capped off the dominant first half with a career-long 51-yard field goal to cap off a 7-play, 56-yard drive and send the Blazers into the locker room with a 38-3 lead.
The Blazers scored once in each of the final two quarters, with Brown tacking on his second score of the evening with 9:32 to play in third and Johnston III adding his own rushing score 50 seconds into the fourth quarter before the Blazers went on to seal the 52-3 victory.
UAB will plays its final home game of the season next Saturday, November 10, when it welcomes Southern Miss to Legion Field. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. on beIN Sports.
A win next Saturday would clinch the Conference USA West Division title for the Blazers and secure them a spot in the C-USA title game on Dec. 1.
The Blazers (8-1, 6-0 C-USA) got the offense moving with an unprecedented display on the ground, rushing for a school-record 419 yards, shattering the previous record of 371 set on Nov. 29, 2014 against Southern Miss. The ground game helped the Blazers post 52 points and win with a 49-point margin, tied for the third-best margin of victory in program history.
Tyler Johnston III, who made his first career start at quarterback for the Green and Gold, went 10-for-17 against the Roadrunners for 249 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 62 yards and a touchdown on nine carries.
Sophomore Spencer Brown was the catalyst for the running back corps' big night on the ground, handling the ball 20 times for a season-best 147 yards and two touchdowns. Brown notched his third-straight 100-yard performance and tied the school record with his 13th rushing touchdown of the season.
UAB's receivers were led by Xavier Ubosi, who brought in three catches for 72 yards and two scores. Kailon Carter also went for six points against UTSA, hauling in his first touchdown of the season and finished with 50 yards.
The Blazers' defense held UTSA to 220 yards of total offense and just 84 yards on the ground, while allowing the Roadrunners to convert only two third down conversions (2-of-12). UAB has allowed just 38 points through six C-USA games this season, with five of those opponents scoring seven points or less.
Chris Woolbright led the way with five total tackles and one TFL, followed by Anthony Rush, who added four tackles and a TFL of his own. Grayson Cash brought in UAB's only interception of the evening, the first of his career, while Tre' Crawford fell on a timely forced fumble by Zachary Williams deep in Blazer territory to keep UTSA out of the end zone.
It was a dream start for Johnston III in his first career start, rushing the ball twice for 10 yards on the opening drive before hitting Kailon Carter for a 50-yard score to put the Blazers ahead early, 7-0.
Johnston III's hot play continued into the second possession, going 3-for-3 through the air with passes of 37 yards and 12 yards, respectively, before connecting with Ubosi for a 22-yard touchdown strike to double the Blazers' advantage, 14-0, with 7:54 to play in the opening period.
UTSA (3-6, 2-3 C-USA) responded to UAB's early offensive explosion with three points of its own, taking the ball down the field with the help of two big pass plays. The Blazer defense stepped up big inside the red zone, though, keeping the Roadrunners away from the end zone and limiting the damage to a 37-yard field goal by Jared Sackett to cut the lead to 14-3.
The Blazers responded with their second 50-yard touchdown of the contest when Wilson took a handoff from Johnston III and turned on the jets around the corner, scampering untouched into the end zone to push UAB's advantage to 21-3 late in the first quarter.
Starting from its own two-yard line following a strong defensive stand, the UAB offense marched right down the field once again on the shoulders of Brown and Johnston III, who found Ubosi for 19 yards on second and long to the UTSA 31. On the ensuing play, the quarterback-receiver duo connected for the second time to extend the lead to 28-3.
UAB's special teams got involved early in the second quarter as Gerrit Prince shot through the UTSA punt defense and blocked the attempt to set up UAB on the UTSA four-yard line. Brown needed one play to find the end zone for the 12th time this season, bouncing off a tackle for six and putting UAB ahead, 35-3, with 12:00 in the first half.
In all, UAB scored touchdowns on its first five possession to take command of the game.
Vogel capped off the dominant first half with a career-long 51-yard field goal to cap off a 7-play, 56-yard drive and send the Blazers into the locker room with a 38-3 lead.
The Blazers scored once in each of the final two quarters, with Brown tacking on his second score of the evening with 9:32 to play in third and Johnston III adding his own rushing score 50 seconds into the fourth quarter before the Blazers went on to seal the 52-3 victory.
UAB will plays its final home game of the season next Saturday, November 10, when it welcomes Southern Miss to Legion Field. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. on beIN Sports.
A win next Saturday would clinch the Conference USA West Division title for the Blazers and secure them a spot in the C-USA title game on Dec. 1.
Players Mentioned
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