The Blazers were unable to come back from a tied first half as the Flames score 33 straight points after halftime.
“We went from moving the ball to trying to get a first down”, said UAB head coach Bill Clark. “We gotta put this one behind us and move on quickly. That’s what we did after Georgia”.
Quarterback Dylan Hopkins threw 12-26 for 152 passing yards and one interception. RaJae’ Johnson-Sanders led the Blazers with 53 receiving yards on one catch.
Jermaine Brown Jr. ran for 106 total rushing yards on nine attempts with one touchdown. Brown scored the only touchdown for UAB.
Liberty quarterback Malik Willis went 13-19 with 287 passing yards and one passing touchdown. Willis also led the Flames run game with 146 rushing yards on 15 attempts and two rushing touchdowns. Demario Douglas led the Flames with 128 receiving yards and four catches.
The Blazers scored a 37-yard field goal on the opening drive of the game to lead the game early 3-0. Hopkins later would throw a 53-yard touchdown pass but was called back due to a UAB personal foul.
The Flames scored the first and last set of points at the beginning of the second quarter with a 20-yard field. UAB was able to recover a fumble in Liberty’s end zone to keep the score even at the end of the half 3-3.
Willis would go and score the three touchdowns Liberty made in the third quarter. He scored an eight-yard rushing touchdown, a 39-yard passing touchdown to wide receiver CJ Daniels, and then would score a one-yard rushing touchdown, extending their lead to 24-3.
Liberty scored first in the fourth quarter with an eight-yard rushing touchdown from running back Joshua Mack. They would score again from their second-string quarterback Johnathan Bennett throwing a 33-yard touchdown pass to Sibley. While going for the PAT, UAB blocked it and returned it for two points making it 36-5.
Brown Jr. would later score the last points of the game with a 59-yard rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter to end the game 36-12.
UAB (3-2) will face off against C-USA rival Florida Atlantic (3-2) Saturday, Oct. 9 at Protective Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
