Alabama-Birmingham 59, Alabama A&M 0
Associated Press
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Jermaine Brown Jr. ran for 114 yards and touchdown, the UAB defense accounted for a pair of touchdowns, and the Blazers routed Alabama A&M 59-0 in the debut of head coach Bryant Vincent.
Vincent spent the last four seasons as offensive coordinator for the Blazers.
Brown had a 19-yard touchdown run to cap UAB's opening series. Charlie Goode blocked Troy Lendvay's punt attempt and Damien Miller recovered the ball in the end zone to end Alabama A&M's first drive. Mac McWilliam's 78-yard interception return for a TD made it 28-0 with 19 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Dylan Hopkins was 13-of-18 passing for 191 yards and a touchdown for UAB. His 4-yard TD run stretched the lead to 45-0 midway through the third quarter. Lee Witherspoon added 53 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns.
The Blazers, who finished 16th nationally in total defense (328.8) and beat then-No. 13 BYU 31-28 in the Independence Bowl last season, held Alabama A&M to 124 yards of offense in the first half and 235 yards overall.
Xaiver Lankford led Alabama A&M with 115 yards passing and 42 yards rushing.
| Scoring Summary |
| First Quarter |
AlaA&M | UAB |
| UAB |
TD |
11:18 |
Jermaine Brown Jr. 19 yd run (Matt Quinn kick) |
0 |
7 |
| UAB |
TD |
9:32 |
Damien Miller 0 yd punt return (Matt Quinn kick) |
0 |
14 |
| UAB |
TD |
7:26 |
Bryce Damous 25 yd pass from Dylan Hopkins (Matt Quinn kick) |
0 |
21 |
| UAB |
TD |
0:19 |
Mac McWilliams 78 yd interception return (Matt Quinn kick) |
0 |
28 |
| Second Quarter |
AlaA&M | UAB |
| UAB |
TD |
8:57 |
Lee Witherspoon 2 yd run (Matt Quinn kick) |
0 |
35 |
| UAB |
FG |
0:00 |
Matt Quinn 51 yd FG |
0 |
38 |
| Third Quarter |
AlaA&M | UAB |
| UAB |
TD |
9:47 |
Dylan Hopkins 4 yd run (Matt Quinn kick) |
0 |
45 |
| UAB |
TD |
5:44 |
Terrell McDonald 4 yd pass from Jacob Zeno (Matt Quinn kick) |
0 |
52 |
| UAB |
TD |
1:14 |
Lee Witherspoon 33 yd run (Matt Quinn kick) |
0 |
59 |
| Team Stats |
| |
Alabama A&M |
UAB |
| First downs |
15 |
25 |
| Rushing |
4 |
10 |
| Passing |
9 |
13 |
| Penalty |
2 |
2 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency |
3-5, 60% |
4-9, 44% |
| 4th down efficiency |
3-6, 50% |
1-2, 50% |
| Rushes-Yards |
39-98 |
36-231 |
| Passing Yards |
137 |
247 |
| Return Yards |
40 |
156 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int |
16-33-3 |
18-27-1 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost |
3--4 |
1--10 |
| Punts |
5 |
2 |
| Punts-Average |
31.6 |
47.5 |
| Fumbles Lost |
2-1 |
0-0 |
| Penalties - Yards |
4-45 |
9-75 |
| Time of Possession |
30:00 |
30:00 |
| Alabama A&M Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| T. Lendvay |
4 |
158 |
39.5 |
| Alabama A&M Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| UAB Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| R. Ellis |
1 |
9 |
9.0 |
| Alabama A&M Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
| UAB Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
