BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Tyler Johnston III threw for 313 yards and three scores on Saturday to lead UAB a 35-3 non-conference football victory over the University of South Alabama at Legion Field.

Johnston, who completed 22-of-27 attempts, also ran for 26 yards to guide a Blazer (3-0) offense that recorded 514 total yards on the day.  Kendall Parham caught three passes for 107 yards while Austin Watkins hauled in six receptions for another 90 — each scored a touchdown — and Spencer Brown added 80 yards and a pair of scores on the ground.

Tra Minter paced the Jaguars (1-3) with 43 yards rushing as well as three catches for 34 yards, while Nick Mobley was credited with a game-high 10 stops.  Keith Gallmon and DJ Daniels made nine and eight tackles, respectively, as well for South's defense.

UAB 35, South Alabama 3 (final stats)
South Alabama/UAB photo gallery

GAME FACTS
-The Blazers put together a pair of scoring drives covering 80-plus yards in the opening quarter — the first required three snaps while the second capped an 11-play march — as they finished the period with 160 yards of total offense.
-After recording one first down on its opening two possessions, South got on the board on the final play of the first quarter on a 27-yard Frankie Onate field goal.
-UAB would score on each of its first four possessions in building a 28-3 edge through two quarters as it outgained the Jags 347-141 in the half.
-The lone score of the third quarter came when the Blazers moved 82 yards in 15 plays, taking more than eight-and-a-half minutes off the clock before Johnston III found Hayden Pittman for a 16-yard touchdown pass.
-UAB converted on 9-of-13 third downs to control the ball for just under 40 minutes.
-The Jaguars did not turn the ball over and were called for only four penalties.

NOTES
-This was the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
-It was the final non-conference game on the Jags' regular-season schedule this fall.
-After allowing just one scoring drive of 80 yards or more in the first three games of the season, South saw UAB score on three 80-plus yard marches.
-It was the first time South has been held under 100 yards passing since Arkansas State accomplished the feat on Nov. 3 a year ago.
-With his catch on USA's first possession of the second half Minter went over 3,000 all-purpose yards in his career, becoming the third individual in program history to accomplish the feat.
-Both Gus Nave and Sterrling Fisher recorded their first interceptions of the season to account for the two takeaways by the Jaguar defense.
-Gallmon posted a career-high tackle total for the second week in a row.
-It was third time in USA's first four contests this season that Daniels has been credited with a tackle for loss.
-Jack Brooks finished with a career-best average of 45 yards per punt while having multiple kicks inside the opposition's 20-yard line for the second straight outing.
-Rocel McWilliams' sack in the third quarter — his first since a win at Troy on Oct. 11, 2017 — was the first this season of Johnston III.

THEY SAID IT
South Alabama head coach Steve Campbell
On what he told the team in the locker room after the game: "I thought we played better [defensively] in the second half. 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. We need to find a way to move the ball and score some points. Take your hat off to UAB, they're a good football team. We still need to give ourselves a chance though to move the ball. I don't think we turned it over on offense, which was one of our issues early on during the first two weeks, but we've gotten better in that area. We also didn't have as many penalties, but we need to make more plays."
On how to turn things around with eight conference games remaining: "We start conference play next weekend and we need to go beat [ULM]. We'll go back to the drawing board and figure out a way to score some points offensively. Defensively, we did a good job of getting off the field in the second half. They [UAB] went on one [scoring] drive in the second half and that was a nine minute drive where they converted five or six third downs and we just couldn't get off the field. We made them earn it in the second half and didn't give them anything cheap. There's some stuff for us to build off from this game. Our special teams played better. If you just look at the final score, it's not want you want at all. UAB won their division last year and they're a good football team. Memphis was in their conference championship and they're a good team. We played Nebraska, which is a good program and has been for a while. We've played a tough [non-conference] schedule, so we're ready to get into our conference play. ULM is going to be a good team; they took Florida State to overtime, so they're right along the lines of what we've been seeing and that's prepared us for conference play. We're excited to get into conference play next week."

Senior RB Tra Minter
On the team's mindset: "Obviously it was a tough loss for us against an in-state rival, a good UAB team.  We're disappointed we didn't get the win, but we're going to watch film tomorrow and get better from there."
On starting conference play next weekend: "It's a clean slate for us right now, so we need to put this loss behind us; we can't dwell on it.  We need to get better and take things day-by-day as we get ready for next week, if we can get a win we will be 1-0 in the conference."

Sophomore LB Nick Mobley
On the mood in the locker room after the game: "Of course we are not happy.  We have two options — we can stay in it or move forward.  Option two is always the best."
On how the team can move forward: "It's just going to work, there is no magic potion.  We have to work hard and we have to execute."

Up next: The Jags open Sun Belt Conference play with a trip to ULM on Saturday, with kickoff against the Warhawks scheduled for 6 p.m. (CDT.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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