UAB Closes Out Regular Season with 42-25 Win Over UTEP

Friday, November 26

Birmingham, Ala.

1 p.m.

UAB

UTEP

UAB Closes Out Regular Season with 42-25 Win Over UTEP

11/26/2021 5:59:00 PM | Football

Box Score Box Score Season Stats Postgame Notes - UTEP

BIRMINGHAM – Jermaine Brown Jr. rushed for a career-high three touchdowns as the UAB football team closed out the regular season with a 42-25 victory over UTEP on Friday afternoon at Protective Stadium.

The Blazers (8-4, 6-2 C-USA) gained 221 of their 328 total yards on the ground and scored four of their six touchdowns by rushing. The other two touchdown came via touchdown passes from Dylan Hopkins to senior tight ends Gerrit Prince and Hayden Pittman.

Brown Jr. rushed 16 times for 88 yards and three touchdowns after replacing an injured DeWayne McBride who left in the first quarter after compiling 99 yards and a touchdown on just seven carries.

Noah Wilder led a defensive charge with a season-high tying 14 tackles as UAB held UTEP (7-5, 4-4 C-USA) to 303 total yards of offense. Alex Wright entered the game ranking fourth in C-USA in sacks and added to that total today with 1.5, bringing his total to 7.0 this season.

The Blazers also gained two turnovers on special teams which both directly resulted in touchdowns to cap a total team win from offense, defense and special teams.

McBride opened the scoring with his 12th rushing touchdown of the season on a 17-yarded with 4:50 left in the first quarter.

However, UTEP tallied the next two touchdowns on a 7-yard and 11-yard rush to take a 14-7 lead with 11:42 left in the opening half.

On UAB's ensuing possession, McBride ripped off his longest run of the year with a 67-yarder which set the Blazers up inside the UTEP five yard line. McBride though, was injured on the play and would not return. Brown Jr. replaced McBride and punched the ball over the goal line on 4th-and-1 to tie the game at 14-14 with 9:15 remaining.

The Miners led 17-14 at halftime after Gavin Baechle connected on a 29-yard field goal, but UAB seized momentum midway through the third quarter to take a 28-17 lead.

The first of two UAB third quarter touchdowns came on 1-yard touchdown run by Brown Jr., and the Blazers then created a turnover on the ensuing kickoff as Damien Miller forced a fumble which Will Conner recovered at the UTEP 17.

Four plays later, Hopkins found Pittman on a 4-yard strike to give UAB a double-digit lead.

UTEP responded with a 30-yard touchdown pass to C-USA's second leading receiver Jacob Cowing, and their 2-point conversion was successful, making the score 28-25 in favor of UAB with 2:11 left in the third quarter.

The Blazers however, dominated the fourth quarter and put the game out of reach with two touchdowns in the span of eight seconds early in the stanza.

After Brown Jr. scored his third rushing touchdown with exactly 11 minutes remaining, the subsequent kickoff bounced in favor of the Blazers which Luke Percer recovered at the UTEP 15. It took UAB just one play as Hopkins' shovel pass to Prince found pay dirt to put the game out of reach. For Prince, it was his team-leading eighth receiving touchdown of the season.

This senior class graduates as the winningest class in program history. Since 2017, UAB is 42-20 overall, 30-9 versus Conference USA and 22-5 versus C-USA West Division opponents. It's 42 wins since 2017 are the most of any team in Conference USA during that span.

UAB will learn its bowl destination on Dec. 5. The Blazers have been bowl eligible every year under the direction of head coach Bill Clark (six straight seasons).