MOBILE, Ala. – Spencer Brown ran for three touchdowns and Bryson Lucero threw for two more to help lead UAB to a 42-10 non-conference football victory over the University of South Alabama Thursday at Hancock Whitney Stadium.

Brown recorded 105 yards on 20 carries while Lucero completed 18-of-28 attempts for 319 yards to lead the Blazers (2-1) to 509 yards of total offense in the contest.  Austin Watkins Jr. caught seven passes for 183 yards and a score as well for UAB.

Carlos Davis rushed 17 times for 105 yards and Chance Lovertich threw for 168 yards and a touchdown in his first start for the Jaguars (1-2).  Nick Mobley and Riley Cole shared game-high honors with nine stops apiece.

UAB 42, South Alabama 10 (final stats)
South Alabama/UAB photo gallery

GAME FACTS
-Brown scored on runs of 15 and one yards to cap the Blazers opening two possessions as UAB outgained the Jags 163-28 over the first 15 minutes.
-South scored on back-to-back drives after recovering an onside kick to close the deficit to four, but the Blazers put together a pair of 70-plus yard marches that resulted in a 28-10 advantage at the break.
-The two teams combined for 136 yards of total offense in a scoreless third quarter.
-Lucero connected with Watkins for a 15-yard touchdown midway through the final period, and DeWayne McBride added a six-yard touchdown run with just over three minutes left in the contest to close out the scoring.
-The Jaguars finished with 315 yards of total offense, with 147 of those coming on the ground.
-UAB converted on 10-of-16 third downs and held the ball for 35 minutes.

NOTES
-This game concluded a home-and-home series between the two programs; the two are scheduled to meet again in 2030 in Mobile and the following fall in Birmingham.
-After opening the year with a win at Southern Miss, it was the first time since the 2014 season that the Jaguars have played multiple opponents from the same conference outside of Sun Belt Conference action.
-It was the second 100-yard game of Davis' career, and he also recorded a career-best all-purpose yardage total for the second game in a row after finishing with 129 in the contest.
-Cole shared the team lead in tackles for the first time since the Jaguars played Louisiana on Nov. 16 last year, with his total including 1½ stops behind the line of scrimmage.
-The senior forced and recovered a fumble in the third quarter with a six-yard sack of Lucero.
-Mobley has now paced the Jaguars or shared team-high honors in tackles in each of the first three games of the season, marking the ninth time in the last 15 outings he's accomplished the feat.
-Jalen Tolbert led South with 59 receiving yards on just three catches, making it the second time in three contests that the junior has paced the team in the category.
-It was the third time in the last four games that Kawaan Baker has caught five or more balls after he topped the Jags with five for 35 yards.
-He has recorded 100-plus all-purpose yards in back-to-back outings after adding 89 yards on four kickoff returns.
-Four Jag defenders — Jeremiah Littles (seven), Chris Henderson, Ryan Melton (five apiece), and Davyn Flenord (four) — were credited with a career-high tackle total in the contest.

THEY SAID IT
South Alabama head coach Steve Campbell
Opening statement: "I'm very disappointed in how we played tonight. I thought we would play better than we did. We had a hard time getting off the field in the first quarter; we didn't get many stops in the first half. Offensively, we had a hard time moving the football. We were able to put some points on the board, but in the second half we weren't able to generate the offense that we needed to in order to get us back in the game. We didn't coach well, we didn't play well. We had played better the first two weeks of the season, and tonight we didn't put ourselves in position to be successful so we're going to have to learn from it and get better. Conference play starts now and we're 0-0 right now. We need to play better and battle for the belt. Now, we have another chip on our shoulder."
On not punching it in for another touchdown after the onside kick: "It did take a little bit out of us, but we were able to get points out of it and turn it into a little bit of a game for a while. We weren't able to get the stop on the next drive, and UAB was able to create some separation. 
On striking the balance from this one in learning from it and moving on from it at the same time: "I haven't been in this position many times. We've got to take this game and learn from it and get better from it. If you forget it and don't learn from it, you're doomed to repeat it again."
On the play of Chance Lovertich in his first full game: "I thought Chance handled his first full game well. He pulled the ball down on a third-down play and was able to get a first down. We weren't able to keep anything going after that, but he was able to use his legs and do some good things. I thought he controlled the offense. There are some things from tonight's game that he'll learn from." 
On what he saw on the defensive side: "Our tackling out on the perimeter wasn't good, we missed some tackles out there. There were a couple of plays that UAB hit on the inside that wasn't due to tackling, but there were some plays on the outside that were a result of [poor] tackling. We gave up too many deep balls. We've got to put our players in better position so we can help them out and not give up that deep ball. In the second half, I thought we did better. We gave them the underneath stuff and played back more in the second half."

Senior LB Riley Cole
On what went wrong: "We started off slow and missed tackles. That just cannot happen, bottom line. We cannot miss tackles."
On putting this one behind you: "We just have to work on making tackles and moving forward from this without letting it take us down. We are still 0-0 in the conference, but conference play starts next week so we need to ramp it up and come back stronger."
Do you feel like the team is further along than you showed tonight: "Yes, but it felt like we took two steps backward tonight. This was not South Alabama football. This was something else and we did not start how South Alabama needs to start, but we'll get it fixed and come back stronger next week."

Junior QB Chance Lovertich
On how frustrating the game was: "Very frustrating. I feel for this entire team. We worked so hard but then to come out and perform like that, it is not something we want to do or take part in. We need to respond the way we know we can. It was a tough loss but we are 0-0 in conference. We still need to go out and perform better to win."
On not getting the touchdown after the onside kick: "We should have got a touchdown to tie it instead of the field goal, but we had a great response after falling behind. We practiced on finishing all week and need to continue to practice putting drives together and completing them."
On the postgame message: "We need to shift focus to putting this game behind us because we still have not played a conference game. That was a good football team, but that is not an excuse for losing. We know we are capable of playing better than what we did, and we have a resilient group so we will bounce back next week."

Up next: South will play host to Troy in the annual "Battle For The Belt" at 7 p.m. (CDT) on Saturday, Oct. 3, with the Jags's Sun Belt Conference opener slated to air live on ESPNU.

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).

Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics.  Contributions to South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give

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