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Second Half Rally Not Enough For UAB Against Southern Miss, 37-28
Oct. 22, 2005
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Dustin Almond threw three touchdown passes and Southern Mississippi held off a second-half rally by UAB for a 37-28 victory Friday night. The Golden Eagles (4-2, 3-1 Conference USA) took a 17-0 lead, but the Blazers got within 34-28 with 5:51 to play on an 11-yard pass from Darrell Hackney to Chico Cleveland. The Golden Eagles put the game away with a 73-yard drive that was capped by a 20-yard field goal by Darren McCaleb with 50 seconds to play. Almond finished 18-of-33 for 247 yards. Hackney was 29-of-42 for 407 yards and three touchdowns for UAB (3-4, 1-3). Jhun Cook caught six passes for 127 yards and a touchdown for UAB and Lance Rhodes had five catches for 115 yards. McCaleb also had field goals of 47 and 44 yards for the Golden Eagles. Larry Thomas ran 28 times for 129 yards for Southern Miss, which held UAB to 80 yards on the ground. Southern Miss went up 17-0 in the first quarter thanks partly to special teams mistakes by the Blazers. The Golden Eagles started their second possession on the UAB 35 after a 23-yard punt return by Chris Johnson. The Blazers' defense held and forced a Southern Miss punt, but an offsides penalty against UAB gave the Golden Eagles the first down and set up McCaleb's 47-yard field goal. The Golden Eagles expanded the lead to 10-0 on their next possession on a 25-yard pass from Almond to Damion Carter. The six-play, 74-yard drive was kept alive because of a roughing the kicker penalty after the Blazers had forced the Golden Eagles to punt. Josh Barnes scored on a 34-yard run for Southern Miss late in the first quarter. The Blazers did not get a first down until the second quarter and did not move into Southern Miss territory until the final five minutes of the first half, when UAB drove 89 yards in 18 plays. Rhodes got the Blazers on the scoreboard with 24 seconds remaining in the half, catching a 17-yard pass from Hackney.
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