Sept. 8, 2007

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Despite holding the lead throughout a majority of the contest, the UAB Blazers dropped a hard fought decision at Florida State, 34-24, on Saturday night. FSU's Drew Weatherford threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Seminoles, as they rallied from an early two-touchdown deficit to hold off the Blazers.

The Seminoles fell out of the Top 25 after losing Monday at Clemson and found themselves in a hole to UAB, which has lost nine straight but was up 17-3 lead in the first half.

The Blazers were led by senior quarterback Sam Hunt, who passed for 226 yards on 17-of-35 passing. Hunt was also the team's leading rusher, going for 56 yards on 11 carries on the night.

Sophomore wide receiver/quarterback Joseph Webb had a second consecutive week where he led the team in receiving, catching six passes for 89 yards and a touchdown. In two games on the season, Webb has compiled 12 receptions, 187 yards and two touchdowns.

Weatherford hit a streaking Richard Goodman in stride for a 50-yard touchdown on the final play of the third period that gave the Seminoles a 31-24 lead and Gary Cismesia's 40-yard field goal two minutes later finally gave Florida State some breathing room at 34-24.

Florida State didn't get its first lead, 24-17, until late in the third quarter on Marcus Sim's 1-yard TD run, but UAB countered on Webb's one-handed catch on a 16-yard pass from Hunt to tie the game at 24.

Tight end Charlie Graham and wideout Greg Carr also caught TD passes for Florida State (1-1, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), which totaled 520 yards offense.

Although the offensive statistics were virtually even at the half, UAB held a 17-10 lead on the strength of Will Dunbar's 21-yard interception return for a touchdown just five minutes into the game that made it 10-0. Dunbar, who missed the Blazers' opening contest at Michigan State, racked up a career-high 17 tackles in addition to his pick on the evening.

After a 28-yard field goal by Cismesia, Hunt's 4-yard scoring scramble early in the second quarter boosted UAB into its 17-3 lead.

The Blazers will hope to get their first win of the 2007 campaign when they play their first home game of the 2007 season on Saturday, Sept. 15, at 6 p.m. CT against Alcorn State.