The UAB Blazers hit the road to take on the Rice Owls in a Conference-USA showdown on Saturday night. UAB comes into this matchup with a 2-1 record as they enter league play. The Owls are 2-2 entering league play and come in off a tough loss to Houston. The opening kickoff is set for 6:30pm EST.
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The UAB Blazers jumped out to a 7-0 lead after one quarter and a 21-7 lead at halftime and cruised to a 35-21 win over Georgia Southern at home last Saturday. The win pushes UAB to 2-1 on the season and improved UAB to 9-2 in non-conference games since 2017. They will kick off conference play on Saturday at Rice.
Quarterback Dylan Hopkins passed for 125 yards and one touchdown in the win but the story was running back DeWayne McBride. He set a career-high with 223 yards rushing and four touchdowns in the win. He had scoring runs of 1, 31, 27 and finally a 4-yard scamper to seal the deal late in the fourth quarter. The Blazers finished with 413 total yards including 288 on the ground.
Defensively, UAB was led by its secondary, which had three interceptions on the day. Jaylen Key, Tyler Taylor and Keondre Swoopes all had a pick in the win. UAB's defense allowed 418 total yards in the gam e including over 200 on the ground.
No one ???? ?????? ?????????????? gets more yards when they run the ball than DeWayne McBride.
For his career, Debo is averaging 7.4 yards per carry, a full yard ahead of the next closest running back ??#WinAsOne pic.twitter.com/OWWwldDfua
— UAB Football (@UAB_FB) September 28, 2022
UAB is just 86th in scoring offense this season and 76th in total offense. The Blazers are ranked fifth in rushing offense but just 123rd in passing offense. Defensively, UAB is ranked 32nd in scoring defense and 71st in total defense. The Blazers are 109th against the run and 36th against the pass. For the season, UAB is ranked 55th in turnover differential this season.