The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
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MISSISSIPPI STATE
UAB Falls to Mississippi State in Overtime Thriller
9/23/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 23, 2006
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) Omarr Conner jumped across the goal line for a touchdown in overtime and Mississippi State got its first win of the season Saturday with a 16-10 victory over UAB in front of 36,104 at Legion Field.
Conner was State's third starting quarterback this season after Michael Henig was hurt in the season opener. UAB challenged the TD call, but it stood after a video review.
UAB had gotten the ball first in overtime, but Adron Chambers picked off Chris Williams' pass in the end zone on the second play to hold the Blazers.
"This was definitely a disappointing night," said UAB head coach Watson Brown. "The football game went exactly like I thought it would go. There were two good defenses on the field tonight and two offenses that are struggling. This is a very disappointing loss.The effort of our football team is fantastic," Brown said. "I really do feel for our players because they have not played a bad game and they are 1-3. They have put it all on the line in every game that we have played."
Mississippi State (1-3) rallied on offense after a night of mistakes and then kept UAB (1-3) out of the end zone just to get to overtime.
Trailing 7-3 in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs got the ball at the UAB 46 after a 25-yard punt return by Derek Pegues.
UAB fans went wild when the Blazer defense stopped Conner just short of the goal line on fourth-and-3. But the gain was enough for a first down, and Anthony Dixon went in from the 1 for a score on the next play.
The teams traded punts before the Bulldogs stopped a UAB drive and Parker Mullins kicked a 37-yard field goal with 1:57 remaining to tie it at 10 and force overtime.
Conner was 14-of-23 passing for 115 yards without an interception.
Dixon led Mississippi State rushers with 81 yards on 19 carries, but he also had a couple of drive-killing fumbles.
The low-scoring game was more of the same for UAB and Mississippi State, which struggled to put points on the board in their first three games. State has been shut out twice, and UAB hadn't scored more than 17 points in a game.
True to form, defense dominated and the teams swapped punts most of the first half. UAB finally scored late in the second quarter when Williams ran 9 yards for a TD to cap a 12-play, 73-yard drive that was keyed by his 21-yard pass to Sylvester Mencer for a first down at the State 35.
State answered with a career-long, 47-yard field goal by Adam Carlson. But a series of mistakes and missed chances kept State out of the end zone until Dixon's TD.
With the Bulldogs threatening on their opening drive, Dixon fumbled at the UAB 23 and Chris Felder recovered for the Blazers. UAB didn't get any points off the turnover, but it set a bad tone for State.
The Bulldogs were twice in position to go ahead in the third quarter but couldn't make it into the end zone either time.
On a fourth-and-1 at the UAB 25, Arnil Stallworth ran up the middle and into the heart of the Blazer defense, where Felder stopped him for no gain and UAB took over on downs.
Things didn't go any better on State's next drive. The Bulldogs had a first down at the UAB 24 after a late-hit penalty against the Blazers, but Kris Guyton forced a fumble by Dixon and grabbed the ball at the UAB 19 to end the threat.
UAB, a member of Conference USA, played host for the first time in 11 games against Southeastern Conference opponents. The attendance of 36,104 was second-largest in UAB history.
