The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Saturday, October 7
Birmingham, Ala.
3 p.m.
UAB
3-2 , 1-1
23
vs
22
Louisiana Tech
3-3 , 1-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Louisiana Tech
7
3
0
12
22
UAB
13
3
0
7
23
Blocked Field Goal Propels UAB to 23-22 Win Over Louisiana Tech
10/7/2017 8:15:00 PM | Football
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A blocked field goal by redshirt junior Stacy Keely as time expired propelled UAB to its first Conference USA win of the 2017 season as the Blazers downed Louisiana Tech, 23-22, at Legion Field on Saturday afternoon.
Keely blocked a 30-yard field goal attempt from Louisiana Tech's Jonathan Barnes and then made the tackle after the ball landed back in Barnes' hands, sending the 27,213 fans in attendance into a frenzy.
The win is the first over Louisiana Tech in program history after entering the game 0-5 overall against the Bulldogs, while it is also the Blazers' first C-USA win since defeating Southern Miss 45-24 on Nov. 29, 2014.
"The fight and heart in our guys, I don't think there was any doubt that they knew exactly who they were playing for," head coach Bill Clark said. "They were playing for their teammates and the alumni on homecoming against a conference opponent. The special thing was playing for those kids and those names on the back of our jerseys. It wasn't made it up. It really was that important and that special. It was a great win."
The defense played a key role in the game, holding Louisiana Tech to just 22 points on the night. Fitzgerald Mofor led the charge for the defensive unit, recording a career-best 10 tackles on the night. Shaq Jones and Broderick Thomas posted nine tackles apiece in the win.
"Our defense looked like the defense that I'm used to seeing," Clark noted. "I think I said that after Thursday's practice. That looks like us. We were able to get some guys healed up and go get lined up against a great offense. That made it that much more special to do it against somebody that is a really quality team.
On the offensive side of the ball, A.J. Erdely tacked on two scores on the ground to improve his season total to seven rushing touchdowns. He was also efficient in the air, going 21-of-32 for 188 yards. Erdely has now accounted for 13 touchdowns this season.
Freshman Spencer Brown had a career game in the win, running for a career-best 165 yards and scoring his fifth rushing touchdown of the season. His impressive performance on the ground also set a UAB freshman record for most yards in a game, topping the previous record of 159 held by Jordan Howard.
Andre Wilson hauled in a career-best eight passes for 105 yards to post his second-straight 100-yard game to also carry the Blazers' offensive attack.
Overall, the Blazers used a balance attack in the run game (178) and pass game (188) to finish with 366 total yards. It is the fourth game that UAB has recorded over 300 yards of total offense.
The Bulldogs were led by quarterback J'Mar Smith, who finished the game 17-of-29 for 209 yards and two touchdowns. The visitors finished the contest with 363 total yards of offense.
UAB (3-2, 1-1 C-USA) scored a touchdown on its opening possession for the third-straight contest as Erdely punched in his sixth rushing touchdown of the season from three yards out to give the Blazers a 6-0 lead before a missed PAT.
Brown added his fifth touchdown of the season after the Blazer defense forced its second three-and-out of the game, rushing from 11 yards out to extend the UAB lead to 13-0 in the first quarter.
Louisiana Tech (3-3, 1-1 C-USA) scored its first points of the first quarter at the 4:51 mark as Smith hit Teddy Veal for the 16-yard touchdown to cut the Blazer lead to 13-7.
A pair of second quarter field goals saw UAB take a 16-10 lead into the locker room.
Following a defensive duel that produced a scoreless third quarter, the Bulldogs scored the first points of the second half at the 13:10 mark in the final period as Kam McKnight found the end zone from one yard out to tie the game at 16-16. La. Tech would miss its PAT attempt.
UAB took the lead with 6:02 remaining as Erdely scored on the ground for the second time to give the Green and Gold a 23-16 lead to cap off an 11-play, 56-yard drive.
The Bulldogs scored a touchdown courtesy of a 42-yard pass from Smith to DeJuawn Oliver, but a crucial missed PAT by the Louisiana Tech kept UAB in the lead at 23-22 with 3:32 to play.
After forcing UAB to go three-and-out on its ensuing possession, Louisiana Tech received the ball with 2:08 remaining in the game, taking the ball 43-yards in five plays to set up the last-second try.
UAB called two timeouts to ice kicker Barnes before blocking the 30-yard attempt to preserve the 23-22 victory.
The Blazers close out its two-game home stand on October 14 with kickoff slated for 5:30 p.m. Fans can catch the broadcast of the game on beIN.
Keely blocked a 30-yard field goal attempt from Louisiana Tech's Jonathan Barnes and then made the tackle after the ball landed back in Barnes' hands, sending the 27,213 fans in attendance into a frenzy.
The win is the first over Louisiana Tech in program history after entering the game 0-5 overall against the Bulldogs, while it is also the Blazers' first C-USA win since defeating Southern Miss 45-24 on Nov. 29, 2014.
"The fight and heart in our guys, I don't think there was any doubt that they knew exactly who they were playing for," head coach Bill Clark said. "They were playing for their teammates and the alumni on homecoming against a conference opponent. The special thing was playing for those kids and those names on the back of our jerseys. It wasn't made it up. It really was that important and that special. It was a great win."
The defense played a key role in the game, holding Louisiana Tech to just 22 points on the night. Fitzgerald Mofor led the charge for the defensive unit, recording a career-best 10 tackles on the night. Shaq Jones and Broderick Thomas posted nine tackles apiece in the win.
"Our defense looked like the defense that I'm used to seeing," Clark noted. "I think I said that after Thursday's practice. That looks like us. We were able to get some guys healed up and go get lined up against a great offense. That made it that much more special to do it against somebody that is a really quality team.
On the offensive side of the ball, A.J. Erdely tacked on two scores on the ground to improve his season total to seven rushing touchdowns. He was also efficient in the air, going 21-of-32 for 188 yards. Erdely has now accounted for 13 touchdowns this season.
Freshman Spencer Brown had a career game in the win, running for a career-best 165 yards and scoring his fifth rushing touchdown of the season. His impressive performance on the ground also set a UAB freshman record for most yards in a game, topping the previous record of 159 held by Jordan Howard.
Andre Wilson hauled in a career-best eight passes for 105 yards to post his second-straight 100-yard game to also carry the Blazers' offensive attack.
Overall, the Blazers used a balance attack in the run game (178) and pass game (188) to finish with 366 total yards. It is the fourth game that UAB has recorded over 300 yards of total offense.
The Bulldogs were led by quarterback J'Mar Smith, who finished the game 17-of-29 for 209 yards and two touchdowns. The visitors finished the contest with 363 total yards of offense.
UAB (3-2, 1-1 C-USA) scored a touchdown on its opening possession for the third-straight contest as Erdely punched in his sixth rushing touchdown of the season from three yards out to give the Blazers a 6-0 lead before a missed PAT.
Brown added his fifth touchdown of the season after the Blazer defense forced its second three-and-out of the game, rushing from 11 yards out to extend the UAB lead to 13-0 in the first quarter.
Louisiana Tech (3-3, 1-1 C-USA) scored its first points of the first quarter at the 4:51 mark as Smith hit Teddy Veal for the 16-yard touchdown to cut the Blazer lead to 13-7.
A pair of second quarter field goals saw UAB take a 16-10 lead into the locker room.
Following a defensive duel that produced a scoreless third quarter, the Bulldogs scored the first points of the second half at the 13:10 mark in the final period as Kam McKnight found the end zone from one yard out to tie the game at 16-16. La. Tech would miss its PAT attempt.
UAB took the lead with 6:02 remaining as Erdely scored on the ground for the second time to give the Green and Gold a 23-16 lead to cap off an 11-play, 56-yard drive.
The Bulldogs scored a touchdown courtesy of a 42-yard pass from Smith to DeJuawn Oliver, but a crucial missed PAT by the Louisiana Tech kept UAB in the lead at 23-22 with 3:32 to play.
After forcing UAB to go three-and-out on its ensuing possession, Louisiana Tech received the ball with 2:08 remaining in the game, taking the ball 43-yards in five plays to set up the last-second try.
UAB called two timeouts to ice kicker Barnes before blocking the 30-yard attempt to preserve the 23-22 victory.
The Blazers close out its two-game home stand on October 14 with kickoff slated for 5:30 p.m. Fans can catch the broadcast of the game on beIN.
Team Stats
LATECH
UAB
Total Yards
363
366
Pass Yards
209
188
Rushing Yards
154
178
Penalty Yards
95
57
1st Downs
21
22
3rd Downs
5
5
4th Downs
0
0
TOP
29:56
30:04
1st Quarter
LATECH 0, UAB 6
UAB - ERDELY, A.J. 3 yd run (VOGEL, N. kickfailed), 9 plays, 61 yards, TOP 3:41
LATECH 0, UAB 13
UAB - BROWN, S. 11 yd run (VOGEL, N. kick), 2 plays, 14 yards, TOP 0:35
LATECH 7, UAB 13
LATECH - VEAL, Teddy 16 yd pass from SMITH, J'Mar (BARNES, J. kick) 7 plays, 76 yards, TOP 2:48
2nd Quarter
LATECH 10, UAB 13
LATECH - BARNES, J. 39 yd field goal 11 plays, 52 yards, TOP 4:18
LATECH 10, UAB 16
UAB - VOGEL, N. 27 yd field goal 9 plays, 65 yards, TOP 4:01
4th Quarter
LATECH 16, UAB 16
LATECH - MCKNIGHT, K. 1 yd run (BARNES, J. kickfailed), 12 plays, 85 yards, TOP 6:04
LATECH 16, UAB 23
UAB - ERDELY, A.J. 1 yd run (VOGEL, N. kick), 11 plays, 56 yards, TOP 4:43
LATECH 22, UAB 23
LATECH - OLIVER, DeJuawn 42 yd pass from SMITH, J'Mar (BARNES, J. kickfailed) 7 plays, 67 yards, TOP 2:30
Game Leaders
CMP
21
TD
0
YDS
188
INT
0
Players Mentioned
RB
/ FootballQB
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DL
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DL
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LB
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CB
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WR
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