BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — UAB quarterback Tyler Johnston III threw for 313 yards and three touchdowns as the Blazers beat South Alabama 35-3 on Saturday in the Jaguars’ final non-conference game of the 2019 season.
The South Alabama UAB game left the Jaguars without a touchdown for the afternoon. South Alabama’s only points came on a first-quarter field goal.
Johnston, Brown Lead Blazers
Johnston completed 22 of 27 passes and added 26 rushing yards. Spencer Brown ran for 80 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. UAB finished with 514 yards of total offense.
Quarterback Johnson Leaves With Concussion
South Alabama starting quarterback Cephus Johnson left the game early after being diagnosed with a concussion. He completed 3 of 5 passes for 7 yards and ran six times for 41 yards before exiting.
Tylan Morton replaced Johnson and went 5 of 10 for 76 yards. Desmond Trotter played late and threw one pass, which was incomplete.
Tra Minter led the Jaguars with 43 rushing yards and caught three passes for 34 yards. Jalen Tolbert had two receptions for 23 yards, and Kawaan Baker caught two passes for 22 yards.
South Alabama did not commit a turnover and was penalized four times.
Defensive Leaders
Sophomore linebacker Nick Mobley led South Alabama with 10 tackles. Defensive backs Keith Gallmon and DJ Daniels added nine and eight tackles, respectively.
Campbell Looks to Conference Play
Second-year head coach Steve Campbell said the defense improved after halftime but the offense needs to be reevaluated.
“I thought we played better [defensively] in the second half,” Campbell said. “Offensively, we didn’t put enough together to generate any touchdowns. This is now two weeks in a row that we haven’t played well offensively, so we have to go back and look at what we’re doing, and whether or not we have the right people at the right spots.”
Campbell said UAB’s only second-half scoring drive took about nine minutes and included five or six third-down conversions. “We made them earn it in the second half and didn’t give them anything cheap,” he said. “There’s some stuff for us to build off from this game. Our special teams played better.”
“We start conference play next week and that gives everybody a chance to start over,” Campbell said. “Everybody is 0-0 and it starts a new season. We’ll learn from this one.”
Up Next
South Alabama opens Sun Belt Conference play at Louisiana-Monroe, which took Florida State to overtime earlier this season before losing. Kickoff in Monroe, La., is set for 6 p.m., and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
Pregame Background
The game was the first meeting between South Alabama and UAB. The schools had previously scheduled a home-and-home series, which was canceled when UAB discontinued its football program in 2014. UAB resumed play in 2017 and had won all 13 of its home games since returning, and the Blazers beat Northern Illinois in the Boca Raton Bowl last season.
South Alabama entered at 1-2 and UAB at 2-0. The game was played at Legion Field and televised on NFL Network.
UAB head coach Bill Clark was South Alabama’s defensive coordinator under Joey Jones from 2009 to 2013 before leaving to become head coach at Jacksonville State. Former South Alabama assistants Bryant Vincent and Richard Owens are on Clark’s staff, and the UAB program includes 25 players and coaches with ties to the Mobile area, among them Johnston, a former Spanish Fort High School standout.
The Jaguars came in off a 42-6 home loss to Memphis in which running back Tra Minter left early with a concussion. Minter cleared concussion protocol and practiced during the week. Entering the game, he led South Alabama with 242 rushing yards and nine receptions for 80 yards, while Kawaan Baker had eight catches for 184 yards and two touchdowns. Johnson had thrown for 393 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions, and Campbell said Johnson would remain the starter after being pulled in the third quarter against Memphis.
On South Alabama’s pregame injury report, Riley Cole, Roy Yancey and Jalen Wayne were listed as probable, Tyree Turner and Patrick Rosette as doubtful, and Max Charite and Shawn Jennings were ruled out.
