2020 UAB Blazers football team

2020 UAB Blazers football
C-USA champion C-USA West Division champion
C-USA Championship Game, W 22–13 vs. Marshall
Conference	Conference USA
Division	West Division
Record	6–3 (3–1 C-USA)
Head coach	Bill Clark (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Bryant Vincent (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Spread option
Defensive coordinator	David Reeves (4th season)
Base defense	3–3–5
Home stadium	Legion Field
Seasons ←  2019 2021  →

2020 Conference USA football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Marshall xy		4	–	1					7	–	3
Florida Atlantic		4	–	2					5	–	4
Western Kentucky		4	–	3					5	–	7
Charlotte		2	–	2					2	–	4
Middle Tennessee		2	–	4					3	–	6
FIU		0	–	3					0	–	5
West Division
UAB xy$		3	–	1					6	–	3
UTSA		5	–	2					7	–	5
Louisiana Tech		4	–	2					5	–	5
North Texas		3	–	4					4	–	6
Rice		2	–	3					2	–	3
Southern Miss		2	–	4					3	–	7
UTEP		0	–	4					3	–	5
Championship: UAB 22, Marshall 13
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Note: Due to COVID-19, Old Dominion opted out of the season.

The 2020 UAB Blazers football team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Blazers played their final home games at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, and competed in the West Division of Conference USA (C-USA). They were led by fifth-year head coach Bill Clark.

After compiling a 6–3 record (3–1 in conference play), the team accepted a bid to the Gasparilla Bowl. However, on December 22, the Blazers' bowl opponent, South Carolina, had to withdraw from the bowl due to COVID-19 issues within their program. ^[1] As no replacement team was available, the bowl was subsequently canceled. ^[1]

Preseason

Death of Jamari Smith

On May 28, 2020, it was announced that incoming freshman Jamari Smith, from Robert E. Lee High School in Montgomery, Alabama, had drowned while swimming with friends. ^[2]

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Award	Player	Position	Year
TBD

CUSA media days

The CUSA Media Days will be held virtually for the first time in conference history. ^[3]

Media poll (West Division) Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place) 1 Louisiana Tech 2 North Texas 3 Rice 4 Southern Miss 5 UAB 6 UTEP 7 UTSA

Media poll (CUSA Championship) Rank Team Votes TBD

Preseason All-CUSA teams

To be released

Schedule

UAB announced its 2020 football schedule on January 8, 2020. ^[4] The 2020 schedule was originally planned to consist of 6 home and 6 away games in the regular season.

The Blazers had games scheduled against Alabama A&M, New Mexico State, Old Dominion, UTEP, and Middle Tennessee but were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	7:00 p.m.	Central Arkansas *	Legion Field Birmingham, AL	ESPN3	W 45–35	12,716
September 10	8:00 p.m.	at Miami (FL) *	Hard Rock Stadium Miami, FL	ACCN	L 14–31	8,153
September 24	6:30 p.m.	at South Alabama *	Hancock Whitney Stadium Mobile, AL	ESPN	W 42–10	5,766
October 3	11:30 a.m.	UTSA	Legion Field Birmingham, AL	Stadium	W 21–13	12,547
October 17	12:30 p.m.	Western Kentucky	Legion Field Birmingham, AL	Stadium	W 37–14	11,098
October 23	7:00 p.m.	Louisiana *	Legion Field Birmingham, AL	CBSSN	L 20–24	11,610
October 31	2:30 p.m.	at Louisiana Tech	Joe Aillet Stadium Ruston, LA	Stadium	L 34–37 2OT	7,140
December 12	11:00 a.m.	at Rice	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	ESPN3	W 21–16	2,000
December 18	6:00 p.m.	at Marshall	Joan C. Edwards Stadium Huntington, WV (C-USA Championship Game)	CBSSN	W 22–13	8,324
December 26	11:00 a.m.	vs. South Carolina*	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL (Gasparilla Bowl)	ABC	CANCELLED
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 24 released prior to game All times are in Central time

^[8]

Rankings

Further information: 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: — = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	RV	RV*	RV
Coaches	—	—*	—
CFP	Not released															Not released

Game summaries

Central Arkansas

See also: 2020 Central Arkansas Bears football team

Game One – Central Arkansas Bears (0-1) at No. 24 UAB Blazers (1-0)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	7	14	0	14	35
#24 Blazers	14	14	3	14	45

at Legion Field • Birmingham, Alabama

• Date: Thursday, September 3, 2020
• Game time: 7:00 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: Clear • Temperature: 84 °F (29 °C) • Wind: SSW 5 mph
• TV announcers (ESPN3): Curt Bloom (play-by-play), Chad Pilcher (analyst)
• Pregame line: UAB –21.5 • Odds to win: UAB 93.1% • Game summary: ESPN NCAA

Game information

First quarter (7:03) UAB – Gerrit Prince 6 yard pass from Tyler Johnston III, Matthew Quinn kick (Drive: 12 plays, 73 yards, 5:15; UAB 7–0) (2:46) UAB – Spencer Brown 5 yard rush, Matthew Quinn kick (Drive: 9 plays, 55 yards, 3:24; UAB 14–0) (0:03) UCA – Cameron Myers 4 yard rush, Hayden Ray kick (Drive: 2 plays, 4 yards, 0:13; UAB 14–7) Second quarter (10:50) UAB – Myron Mitchell 18 yard pass from Bryson Lucero, Matthew Quinn kick (Drive: 5 plays, 55 yards, 2:03; UAB 21–7) (5:31) UAB – Gerrit Prince 10 yard pass from Tyler Johnson III, Matthew Quinn kick (Drive: 7 plays, 63 yards, 2:56; UAB 28–7) (2:33) UCA – Lujuan Winningham 15 yard pass from Breylin Smith, Chandler Caughron kick (Drive: 1 play, 15 yards, 0:05; UAB 28–14) (1:21) UCA – Robert Rochell 35 yard fumble return, Chandler Caughron kick (UAB 28–21) Third quarter (3:07) UAB – Matthew Quinn 23 yard field goal (Drive: 12 plays, 48 yards, 6:51; UAB 31–21) Fourth quarter (12:41) UAB – Lucious Stanley 8 yard rush, Matthew Quinn kick (Drive: 4 plays, 30 yards, 2:10; UAB 38–21) (8:12) UAB – Jermaine Brown Jr. 30 yard rush, Matthew Quinn kick (Drive: 4 plays, 43 yards, 2:00; UAB 45–21) (5:43) UCA – LuJuan Winningham 8 yard pass from Breylin Smith, Chandler Caughron kick (Drive: 7 plays, 65 yards, 2:29; UAB 45–28) (0:32) UCA – Sam Camargo 6 yard pass from Breylin Smith, Chandler Caughron kick (Drive: 10 plays, 83 yards, 2:40; UAB 45–35)

Statistics	UCA	UAB
First downs	20	29
Plays–yards	66–293	83–459
Rushes–yards	21–100	49–233
Passing yards	193	226
Passing: comp–att–int	25–46–1	24–34–1
Time of possession	22:55	37:05

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Central Arkansas	Passing	Breylin Smith	25/46, 193 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Kierre Crossley	10 carries, 59 yards
	Receiving	Lujuan Winningham	6 receptions, 53 yards, 2 TD
UAB	Passing	Tyler Johnston III	17/25, 143 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Spencer Brown	24 carries, 127 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Austin Watkins	7 receptions, 72 yards

At Miami

See also: 2020 Miami Hurricanes football team

Game Two – UAB Blazers (1–0) at Miami Hurricanes (0–0)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Blazers	7	0	7	0	14
Hurricanes	7	7	17	0	31

at Hard Rock Stadium • Miami Gardens, Florida

• Date: Thursday, September 10, 2020
• Game time: 7:00 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: Clear • Temperature: 82 °F (28 °C) • Wind: ENE 5 mph
• TV announcers (ACC Network): Dave O'Brien (play-by-play), Tim Hasselbeck (analyst), Katie George (sideline)
• Pregame line: Miami –14

Game information

First quarter (2:40) UAB – Austin Watkins 16 yard pass from Tyler Johnston III, Matthew Quinn kick (Drive: 2 plays, 17 yards, 0:44; UAB 7–0) (1:04) MIA – Cam'Ron Harris 66 yard rush, José Borregales kick (Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:36; Tied 7–7) Second quarter (10:04) MIA – D'Eriq King 12 yard rush, José Borregales kick (Drive: 6 plays, 64 yards, 2:16; Miami 14–7) Third quarter (10:15) MIA – José Borregales 25 yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 66 yards, 4:45; Miami 17–7) (6:19) UAB – Spencer Brown 6 yard rush, Matthew Quinn kick (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:56; Miami 17–14) (4:02) MIA – Cam'Ron Harris 4 yard rush, José Borregales kick (Drive: 7 plays, 71 yards, 2:17; Miami 24–14) (0:00) MIA – Brevin Jordan 4 yard pass from D'Eriq King, José Borregales kick (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 2:42; Miami 31–14) Fourth quarter No scoring

Statistics	UAB	MIA
First downs	14	25
Plays–yards	61–285	78–495
Rushes–yards	26–80	52–337
Passing yards	205	158
Passing: comp–att–int	19–35–0	18–27–0
Time of possession	29:04	30:56

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UAB	Passing	Tyler Johnston III	15/23, 150 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Spencer Brown	16 carries, 74 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Myron Mitchell	8 receptions, 117 yards
Miami	Passing	D'Eriq King	16/24, 144 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Cam'Ron Harris	17 carries, 134 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Brevin Jordan	3 receptions, 51 yards, 1 TD

At South Alabama

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blazers	14	14	0	14	42
Jaguars	0	10	0	0	10

See also: 2020 South Alabama Jaguars football team

Pregame line	Over/under
UAB −6.5	47.5 [9]

Statistics	UAB	South Alabama
First downs	22	18
Total yards	509	315
Rushing yards	190	147
Passing yards	319	168
Turnovers	1	2
Time of possession	35:00	25:00

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UAB	Passing	Bryson Lucero	18/28, 319 yards, 2 TDs
	Rushing	Spencer Brown	20 carries, 105 yards, 3 TDs
	Receiving	Austin Watkins	7 receptions, 183 yards, 1 TD
South Alabama	Passing	Chance Lovertich	14/29, 168 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Carlos Davis	17 carries, 105 yards
	Receiving	Jalen Tolbert	3 receptions, 59 yards, 1 TD

UTSA

	1	2	3	4	Total
Roadrunners	3	3	0	7	13
Blazers	7	7	7	0	21

See also: 2020 UTSA Roadrunners football team

Pregame line	Over/under
UAB –21.5	55 [10]

Statistics	UTSA	UAB
First downs	17	21
Total yards	280	409
Rushing yards	190	214
Passing yards	90	195
Turnovers	1	4
Time of possession	26:53	33:07

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UTSA	Passing	Jordan Weeks	7/19, 57 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	Sincere McCormick	22 carries, 150 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Joshua Cephus	3 receptions, 42 yards
UAB	Passing	Bryson Lucero	18/29, 195 yards, 3 TDs, 3 INTs
	Rushing	Spencer Brown	26 carries, 144 yards
	Receiving	Myron Mitchell	6 receptions, 64 yards, 1 TD

Western Kentucky

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	7	7	0	0	14
Blazers	10	14	10	3	37

See also: 2020 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

Pregame line	Over/under
UAB –11.5	44 [11]

Statistics	Western Kentucky	UAB
First downs	15	17
Total yards	250	358
Rushing yards	88	217
Passing yards	162	141
Turnovers	4	2
Time of possession	28:33	31:27

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing	Kevaris Thomas	16/35, 162 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
	Rushing	Jakairi Moses	6 carries, 41 yards
	Receiving	Joshua Simon	6 receptions, 81 yards, 1 TD
UAB	Passing	Bryson Lucero	15/31, 141 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	DeWayne McBride	10 carries, 131 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Austin Watkins	7 receptions, 55 yards, 1 TD

Louisiana

	1	2	3	4	Total
Ragin' Cajuns	0	10	7	7	24
Blazers	3	10	7	0	20

See also: 2020 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team

Pregame line	Over/under
LA −2.5	50.5 [12]

Statistics	Louisiana	UAB
First downs	17	17
Total yards	286	285
Rushing yards	134	175
Passing yards	152	110
Turnovers	0	2
Time of possession	30:37	29:23

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Louisiana	Passing	Levi Lewis	12/20, 152 yards, 2 TDS
	Rushing	Elijah Mitchell	21 carries, 67 yards
	Receiving	Kyren Lacy	2 receptions, 43 yards
UAB	Passing	Bryson Lucero	10/23, 110 yards, 2 INTs
	Rushing	Spencer Brown	28 carries, 128 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Ryan Davis	2 receptions, 34 yards

At Louisiana Tech

	1	2	3	4	OT	2OT	Total
Blazers	0	14	17	0	3	0	34
Bulldogs	3	14	0	14	3	3	37

See also: 2020 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team

Pregame line	Over/under
UAB –13	47.5 [13]

Statistics	UAB	Louisiana Tech
First downs	20	20
Total yards	485	381
Rushing yards	338	49
Passing yards	147	332
Turnovers	3	1
Time of possession	32:44	27:16

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UAB	Passing	Tyler Johnston III	4/9, 81 yards
	Rushing	Spencer Brown	29 carries, 140 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Austin Watkins Jr.	6 receptions, 95 yards
Louisiana Tech	Passing	Aaron Allen	18/26, 191 yards, 2 TDs
	Rushing	Israel Tucker	17 carries, 54 yards
	Receiving	Adrian Hardy	7 receptions, 101 yards, 2 TDs

At Rice

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blazers	0	7	14	0	21
Owls	3	10	0	3	16

See also: 2020 Rice Owls football team

Pregame line	Over/under
UAB –7	42.5 [14]

Statistics	UAB	Rice
First downs	13	20
Total yards	354	232
Rushing yards	137	66
Passing yards	217	166
Turnovers	0	1
Time of possession	22:42	37:18

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UAB	Passing	Tyler Johnson III	9/18, 217 yards, 2 TDs
	Rushing	Tyler Johnson III	7 carries, 41 yards
	Receiving	Myron Mitchell	1 reception, 63 yards, 1 TD
Rice	Passing	JoVoni Johnson	17/23, 139 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Khalan Griffin	14 carries, 34 yards
	Receiving	Jake Bailey	7 receptions, 72 yards

at Marshall (Conference USA Championship)

See also: 2020 Marshall Thundering Herd football team and 2020 Conference USA Football Championship Game

Game Nine – UAB Blazers at Marshall Thundering Herd (Conference USA Championship)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Blazers	3	6	0	13	22
Thundering Herd	0	0	7	6	13

at Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, West Virginia

• Date: Saturday, December 18, 2020
• Game time: 7:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 34 °F (1 °C) • Wind: W 3 MPH
• Game attendance: 8,324
• Referee: Jon Noli
• TV announcers (CBSSN): Rich Waltz (play-by-play), Aaron Taylor (analyst) and Jenny Dell (sideline)

Game information

First quarter (1:45) UAB – Matt Quinn 30-yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 64 yards, 6:10; UAB 3–0) Second quarter (11:55) UAB – Hayden Pittman 19-yard pass from Tyler Johnston III, Matt Quinn kick failed (Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 2:54; UAB 9–0) Third quarter (6:17) MRSH – Artie Henry 7-yard pass from Grant Wells, Shane Ciucci kick (Drive: 6 plays, 49 yards, 2:06; UAB 9–7) Fourth quarter (14:55) UAB – Matt Quinn 42-yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 50 yards, 6:22; UAB 12–7) (5:55) UAB – Matt Quinn 48-yard field goal (Drive: 12 plays, 40 yards, 6:47; UAB 15–7) (5:38) MRSH – Xavier Gaines 70-yard pass from Grant Wells, Grant Wells pass failed (Drive: 1 play, 70 yards, 0:17; UAB 15–13) (4:02) UAB – Trea Shropshire 71-yard pass from T Johnston III, Matt Quinn kick (Drive: 3 plays, 75 yards, 1:36; UAB 22–13)

Statistics	UAB	MRSH
First downs	21	10
Plays–yards	74–468	51–268
Rushes–yards	52–216	27–130
Passing yards	252	138
Passing: comp–att–int	12–22–0	8–24–1
Time of possession	41:26	18:34

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UAB	Passing	Tyler Johnston III	12/22, 252 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Spencer Brown	30 carries, 149 yards
	Receiving	Trea Shropshire	5 receptions, 180 yards, TD
Marshall	Passing	Grant Wells	8/23, 138 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Brenden Knox	17 carries, 67 yards
	Receiving	Xavier Gaines	1 reception, 70 yards, TD

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2021 NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
4	121	Jordan Smith	DE	Jacksonville Jaguars

References

1. "Tampa's Gasparilla Bowl canceled after South Carolina bails". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
2. Scarborough, Alex (May 28, 2020). "UAB incoming freshman Smith drowns at age 18". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
3. "Conference USA to hold virtual football media days due to COVID-19". ktsm.com. May 5, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
4. "UAB Football Releases Complete 2020 Schedule". University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Athletics. January 8, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
5. Visser, David (July 21, 2020). "SWAC Suspends Fall Football Season". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
6. "ACC Announces Plans for Football and Fall Olympic Sports". TheACC.com. July 29, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
7. "Old Dominion postponing football and fall sports". The Virginian Pilot. August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
8. "2020 UAB Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
9. "UAB Blazers vs South Alabama Jaguars". Odds Shark. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
10. "UTSA Roadrunners vs UAB Blazers". Odds Shark. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
11. "WKU Hilltoppers vs UAB Blazers". Odds Shark. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
12. "Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns vs UAB Blazers". Odds Shark. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
13. "UAB Blazers vs LA Tech Bulldogs". Odds Shark. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
14. "UAB Blazers vs Rice Owls". Odds Shark. Retrieved January 2, 2021.