Bahamas Bowl: UAB 24, Miami (OH) 20
UAB needed only their defense to stop with the goal line at their back as Miami (OH) wide receiver Jalen Walker headed into the end zone for a last-second game-winning touchdown. The Blazers wrapped Walker and brought him down at the 2-yard line, sealing a 24-20 win in an epic edition of the Bahamas Bowl.
It was a win for UAB that came with mixed feelings as interim coach Bryant Vincent, who took over the team following Bill Clark’s retirement in July, emerged victorious in his final game at the helm of the team. Meanwhile, over there on the sidelines was Trent Dilfer, UAB’s next head coach, picking up the pace and committing to the team he’ll inherit when the program flips from 2022 to 2023.
UAB was also without its running back star DeWayne McBride after the NCAA and Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year leading rusher announced just before the game that he would not be playing. Early on there was no sign McBride’s absence would play a role in the bottom line as backup running back Jermaine Brown was more than capable of being productive with a heavier workload and the Blazers took a 10-0 lead . But Miami put together an impressive touchdown drive just before halftime to cut that lead to 10-6 and give the RedHawks some momentum in the dressing room. It was the first of two touchdown passes from Miami quarterback Aveon Smith, both of which resulted in impressive catches.
UAB errors nearly lost the game in the second half, as the Blazers both fumbled a punt late in the third quarter to set up a one-play touchdown drive for Miami, and then a fumble with six minutes left in the fourth quarter with the Blazers losing backlog 20-17. But the Blazers’ defense stood firm as they did in the last game, forcing a field goal attempt after that fumble to give UAB’s offense another chance for a crucial point or go-ahead result. Brown was the star of the drive and the star of the game, scoring his second touchdown of the day and rounding out a performance of 24 carries and 116 yards.
Miami needed a TD to win, and Miami’s final drive was frantic. There were 12 games, multiple penalties, and two fourth-down conversions by the RedHawks. But ultimately, it was that final tackle that allowed UAB to hold onto the win and gave the Blazers a victory in the same bowl game they first returned to the field in 2017 at the end of the program’s first season after the program occurred was switched off.
It’s a fitting end to a great era in UAB football as the Blazers turn the page from the Bill Clark era to the Trent Dilfer era and from Conference USA to the American Athletic Conference leap. The past five years have included multiple bowl bids, two conference championships, and three conference title game appearances. Now it’s up to Dilfer and the rest of this UAB team to try and match those results in the AAC, and the best news for the Blazers comes from the fight they put on in the Bahamas Bowl and what that says about the current state this team testifies .