UAB beat Miami University 24-20 to win the HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl. What happened, who was the player of the game, and what does it all mean?
HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl What Happened, Player of the Game, What It All Means
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HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl What Happened
– UAB RB Jermaine Brown overcame an earlier fumble with a 12-yard touchdown run on 4th-and-1 to cap off a 70-yard drive to take the 24-20 lead with 1:31 to play. Miami University made it interesting in the final moments, but on the UAB 15 with one second to go, the final pass to Miles Marshall came up just short – he was tackled on the two-yard line as time ran out.
– UAB star RB DeWayne McBride – the nation’s leading rusher – opted out just before the game. Brown was able to fill in and finish with 116 yards and two scores.
– The UAB offensive line took over late. Miami University was missing a slew of key parts, but it took advantage of a few UAB mistakes to stay in the game in the second half. When the Blazers needed the big scoring drive, they hammered way, but the D had to hang on for dear life at the very end.
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HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl Player of the Game
Reynard Ellis, LB UAB
He came up with a team-high 10 tackles, with a half a sack, but it’s all about his tenth stop that saved the game, stopping Jalen Walker on the two-yard line in the final moments.
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HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl Fun Stats
– Turnovers: UAB 3, Miami University 0. However, MU PK Graham Nicholson missed his lone field goal attempt off of one of the Blazer turnovers.
– Miami University was 4-of-5 on fourth downs. UAB was 1-of-3, but that one was the game-winning touchdown.
– In the heat of the Bahamas – both teams were struggling in the 80+ degrees – UAB had the ball for 33:27, Miami 26:33.
HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl What It All Means
The win makes it a winning season for UAB. It was a bit rocky, but it sent out head coach Bryant Vincent with a 7-6 final season, and now it’s Trent Dilfer’s program to run. With the win, UAB has now had six straight winning seasons since being off for two years. Before that, it went ten years without a winning campaign.
Miami University put up a great fight considering all the key players missing. Two yards – that’s all that came between the RedHawks and a winning campaign. It was still a solid year under head coach Chuck Martin, but it’s the program’s first losing season since 2017.
