The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Houston
Blazers Fall to Cougars' Strong Second Half
10/10/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 10, 2008
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HOUSTON - UAB quarterback Joe Webb completed 24 of his 40 passes for 234 yards and a touchdown and also had 25 carries for a team-high 72 yards and one touchdown on the ground in a 45-20 loss to Houston.
Case Keenum threw for 360 yards and two touchdowns as Houston rallied to score six touchdowns in the second half en route to the victory.
The Blazers outgained the Cougars in the opening half, 277-174, including a 116-13 advantage in the ground game. However, the roles were reversed in the second half, as UAB only mustered 80 yards on 38 plays, compared to Houston's 375 yards of offense. Additionally, the Cougars' running attack outgained UAB 119-2 over the final 30 minutes.
Keenum, who went 24-for-36, threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Tyron Carrier and a 70-yard TD pass to Patrick Edwards as the Cougars (3-3, 2-0 Conference USA) erased a 20-3 halftime deficit and scored 42 straight points in the second half.
Bryce Beall rushed 12 times for 108 yards for the Cougars, who had 375 yards of total offense in the second half after getting only 174 in the first half.
Webb completed 24 of his 40 passes for 234 yards and a touchdown and also had 25 carries for a team-high 72 yards and one touchdown on the ground.
The Blazers (1-6, 0-3 C-USA) dominated the first half as Webb carried the ball 16 times for 86 yards. He gave UAB a 10-0 lead just 37 seconds into the first quarter with a 3-yard run.
After Ben Bell got Houston its first points with a 35-yard field goal with 1:27 left in the first half, the Blazers answered with a quick 80-yard scoring drive capped by a 21-yard touchdown pass from Webb to tight end Zach Lankford.
The Cougars regrouped at halftime and scored 21 points in each the third and fourth quarters en route to their second straight win after losing three straight.
"The first half score was 20-3, but really we had an opportunity to have a couple more touchdowns and couldn't get it done," said UAB head coach Neil Callaway. "Congratulations to Houston, they won the football game and made the plays, but it's all about us. It's about us making mistakes and not giving ourselves a chance to win.
"We came back out in the second half and made enough mistakes to obviously cost us the ballgame. We definitely made more mistakes in the second half than we did in the first.
The Blazers will now look ahead to next week's Homecoming contest vs. Marshall on Saturday, Oct. 18.
"We've got to get some confidence back," said Callaway. "I think we're at a point right now where we probably have got some people doubting. It all goes back to mistakes. There's no one mistake you can point to. We just made too many in the second half."
UAB's Homecoming game vs. Marshall will kick off at 3 p.m. at Legion Field.
