UAB Leads Wire-to-Wire in 33-14 Victory at UTSA

Saturday, October 12

San Antonio, TX

5 p.m.

UAB

5-1 , 2-1

UTSA

2-4 , 1-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

UAB

UTSA

UAB Leads Wire-to-Wire in 33-14 Victory at UTSA

10/12/2019 9:31:00 PM | Football

Box Score Box Score 2019 Season Statistics Postgame Notes

SAN ANTONIO– Behind a career night from wide receiver Austin Watkins Jr., the UAB football team led wire-to-wire in a 33-14 victory over UTSA at the Alamodome on Saturday night.

UTSA (2-4, 1-2 C-USA) entered the game ranked sixth nationally in pass defense allowing 158.3 yards per game, and the Blazers threw for 294 yards and two touchdowns on the Roadrunners. Watkins Jr. finished with six catches for 167 yards and a touchdown, while Tyler Johnston III was 17-of-26 for 294 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Entering tonight, only one team had thrown for more than 200 yards on UTSA (North Texas – 211).

It was a very balanced attacked as UAB (5-1, 2-1 C-USA) put up 492 yards of total offense which included 198 on the ground. Lucious Stanley led the charge with a career-high 92 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown. True freshman Jermaine Brown Jr. added 62 yards, which was also a career high.

In yet another dominant defensive performance, UAB held UTSA to 220 yards of total offense and had two fumble recoveries, bringing its nation-leading total to 10 recoveries. Kristopher Moll, Noah Wilder and Dy'Jonn Turner each had seven tackles, and Moll added 1.5 TFL, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry.

Jack linebacker Jordan Smith had a standout game as well, registering a career-high six tackles, 2.0 TFL, a forced fumble and three quarterback hurries.

Nick Vogel also contributed to the win with a career-high four field goals. His first was a 31-yarder which gave UAB a 3-0 lead with 9:59 to go in the opening quarter. Those would be the only three points of the quarter for either team.

After Moll forced a UTSA fumble which TD Marshall recovered, the Blazers went deep on the next play as Johnston III found Watkins Jr. on a 67-yard strike to give the Blazers a 10-0 advantage at the 14:01 mark of the second quarter.

UTSA answered right back behind a 4-yard touchdown run from Sincere McCormick which made the score 10-7 with 12:02 remaining in the half.

Vogel added two field goals from 31 and 24 yards, and UAB led 16-7 at the break. The Blazers outgained the Roadrunners 292-130 in the first half, led by Watkins Jr. who had five catches for 123 yards and a touchdown.

UTSA got within two at 16-14 after a 4-yard rushing touchdown by quarterback Lowell Narcisse with 8:57 left in the third, but those would be the final points for UTSA as UAB ended the game with 17 unanswered.

Myron Mitchell extended UAB's lead with his only catch of the night which was a ridiculous 25-yard toe-tap touchdown in the corner of the end zone to make the score 23-14 with six minutes left in the third.

Vogel added a season-long 48-yarder in the beginning of the fourth quarter, and Stanley iced the game with his third touchdown run of the season with 5:20 left in the game.

UAB had the ball for 13 more minutes than the Roadrunners (36:06-23:54) and UAB has still not allowed a team to score more than 20 points this season.

The Blazers return home next Saturday, Oct. 19, to host Old Dominion on Homecoming. UAB will honor Children's Harbor by wearing their alternate grey and lime jerseys with patients' names on the back. Kick is set fort 3 p.m. on ESPN+.