The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
5-3 , 3-1
Rice
3-4 , 2-1
UAB Football Falls to Rice 30-24 at Protective Stadium
10/23/2021 7:28:00 PM | Football
The Blazers (5-3, 3-1 C-USA) scored what would have been a game-winning 40-yard touchdown with :11 remaining in the game, but the play was negated on a holding call, and UAB's last second Hail Mary was unsuccessful.
Dylan Hopkins threw for a career-high 318 yards and tied his career-high with 19 completions. Gerrit Prince hauled in four catches for 114 yards and his seventh touchdown reception of the season.
Noah Wilder led the defense with 12 tackles, while Antonio Moultrie had a career-high 10 tackles. However, Rice quarterback Wiley Green was 17-of-22 for 205 yards and three touchdowns in leading the Owls to victory.
Rice was a perfect 5-for-5 on fourth downs, cashing in from the UAB 1-yard line for a touchdown to notch their fifth fourth-down conversion of the afternoon.
Rice (3-4, 2-1 C-USA) built a 13-0 lead in the first quarter, but sophomore running back DeWayne McBride paced the UAB offense with three carries, 74 yards and two rushing touchdowns in the first 15 minutes to vault back in front.
McBride's first carry of the game went for 36 yards to set up the Blazers in the red zone. The Blazer tailback then powered through the line one play later for a 12-yard rushing touchdown to make it 13-7.
After a fumble recovery from linebacker Antonio Moultrie on the ensuing possession, McBride once again broke free for a score, taking a third-down carry on the Rice 26 for a touchdown.
Rice regained the lead with 3:23 remaining in the half on an 11-yard touchdown pass and led 20-14 at the break.
After the Blazers went three-and-out to open the second half, Rice capped off a 10-play, 65-yard drive with a touchdown score from the 1-yard line to extend its lead back to 13.
UAB quickly cut the game back to one possession when tight end Gerrit Prince, who topped 100 yards for the second time this season, hauled in a career-long 72-yard touchdown less than a minute after Rice's 10-play scoring drive, making the score 27-21.
Prince's team-high seventh touchdown reception of the season moved him into seventh place on UAB's single season receiving touchdown list.
The Owls and the Blazers traded field goals in the fourth quarter, and Matt Quinn's 33-yarder with 3:23 left made the score 30-24.
UAB got the three-and-out it needed to give the ball back to the offense with 2:10 left in the game. However, following the nullified touchdown, UAB's last second heave from its own 47 was knocked down.
The Blazers are off next weekend and return to Protective Stadium on Nov. 6 to host Louisiana Tech.
Team Stats
RIC 7, UAB 0
RIC - Myers,Jordan 1 yd run (VanSickle,Christian kick), 12 plays, 50 yards, TOP 05:10
RIC 13, UAB 0
RIC - Bull,Jaeger 2 yd pass from Green,Wiley () 6 plays, 51 yards, TOP 02:28
RIC 13, UAB 7
UAB - McBride,DeWayne 12 yd run (Quinn,Matt kick), 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:34
RIC 13, UAB 14
UAB - McBride,DeWayne 26 yd run (Quinn,Matt kick), 3 plays, 33 yards, TOP 01:35
RIC 20, UAB 14
RIC - Pitre III,August 11 yd pass from Green,Wiley (VanSickle,Christian kick) 13 plays, 80 yards, TOP 07:33
RIC 27, UAB 14
RIC - Bull,Jaeger 1 yd pass from Green,Wiley (VanSickle,Christian kick) 10 plays, 65 yards, TOP 05:20
RIC 27, UAB 21
UAB - Prince,Gerrit 72 yd pass from Hopkins,Dylan (Quinn,Matt kick) 3 plays, 76 yards, TOP 00:40
RIC 30, UAB 21
RIC - VanSickle,Christian 27 yd field goal 13 plays, 71 yards, TOP 08:22
RIC 30, UAB 24
UAB - Quinn,Matt 33 yd field goal 8 plays, 59 yards, TOP 02:29
