2020 UAB Blazers football
C-USA champion
C-USA West Division champion
ConferenceConference USA
DivisionWest Division
Record6–3 (3–1 C-USA)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBryant Vincent (4th season)
Defensive coordinatorDavid Reeves (4th season)
Home stadiumLegion Field
Seasons
← 2019
2021 →
2020 Conference USA football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
Marshall xy   4 – 1     7 – 3  
Florida Atlantic   4 – 2     5 – 4  
Western Kentucky   4 – 3     5 – 7  
Charlotte   2 – 2     2 – 4  
Middle Tennessee   2 – 4     3 – 6  
FIU   0 – 3     0 – 5  
West Division
UAB xy$   3 – 1     6 – 3  
UTSA   5 – 2     7 – 5  
Louisiana Tech   4 – 2     5 – 5  
North Texas   3 – 4     4 – 6  
Rice   2 – 3     2 – 3  
Southern Miss   2 – 4     3 – 7  
UTEP   0 – 4     3 – 5  
Championship: UAB 22, Marshall 13
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • Note: Due to COVID-19, Old Dominion opted out of the season.

The 2020 UAB Blazers football team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Blazers played their final home games at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, and competed in the West Division of Conference USA (C-USA). They were led by fifth-year head coach Bill Clark.

After compiling a 6–3 record (3–1 in conference play), the team accepted a bid to the Gasparilla Bowl. However, on December 22, the Blazers' bowl opponent, South Carolina, had to withdraw from the bowl due to COVID-19 issues within their program.[1] As no replacement team was available, the bowl was subsequently canceled.[1]

Preseason

Death of Jamari Smith

On May 28, 2020, it was announced that incoming freshman Jamari Smith, from Robert E. Lee High School in Montgomery, Alabama, had drowned while swimming with friends.[2]

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Award Player Position Year
TBD

CUSA media days

The CUSA Media Days will be held virtually for the first time in conference history.[3]

Preseason All-CUSA teams

To be released

Schedule

UAB announced its 2020 football schedule on January 8, 2020.[4] The 2020 schedule was originally planned to consist of 6 home and 6 away games in the regular season.

The Blazers had games scheduled against Alabama A&M, New Mexico State, Old Dominion, UTEP, and Middle Tennessee but were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5][6][7]

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 3 7:00 p.m. Central Arkansas*
ESPN3 W 45–35 12,716
September 10 8:00 p.m. at Miami (FL)*
ACCN L 14–31 8,153
September 24 6:30 p.m. at South Alabama*
ESPN W 42–10 5,766
October 3 11:30 a.m. UTSA
  • Legion Field
  • Birmingham, AL
 Stadium W 21–13 12,547
October 17 12:30 p.m. Western Kentucky
  • Legion Field
  • Birmingham, AL
 Stadium W 37–14 11,098
October 23 7:00 p.m. Louisiana*
  • Legion Field
  • Birmingham, AL
 CBSSN L 20–24 11,610
October 31 2:30 p.m. at Louisiana Tech
Stadium L 34–37 2OT 7,140
December 12 11:00 a.m. at Rice
ESPN3 W 21–16 2,000
December 18 6:00 p.m. at Marshall
CBSSN W 22–13 8,324
December 26 11:00 a.m. vs. South Carolina*
ABC CANCELLED

[8]

Rankings

Further information: 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: — = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
APRVRV*RV
Coaches——*—
CFPNot releasedNot released

Game summaries

Central Arkansas

See also: 2020 Central Arkansas Bears football team
Game One – Central Arkansas Bears (0-1) at No. 24 UAB Blazers (1-0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Bears 7 14 01435
#24 Blazers 14 14 31445

at Legion Field • Birmingham, Alabama

  • Date: Thursday, September 3, 2020
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Clear • Temperature: 84 °F (29 °C) • Wind: SSW 5 mph
  • TV announcers (ESPN3): Curt Bloom (play-by-play), Chad Pilcher (analyst)
  • Pregame line: UAB –21.5 • Odds to win: UAB 93.1% • Game summary: ESPN NCAA
Game information
First quarter
  • (7:03) UAB – Gerrit Prince 6 yard pass from Tyler Johnston III, Matthew Quinn kick (Drive: 12 plays, 73 yards, 5:15; UAB 7–0)
  • (2:46) UAB – Spencer Brown 5 yard rush, Matthew Quinn kick (Drive: 9 plays, 55 yards, 3:24; UAB 14–0)
  • (0:03) UCA – Cameron Myers 4 yard rush, Hayden Ray kick (Drive: 2 plays, 4 yards, 0:13; UAB 14–7)
Second quarter
  • (10:50) UAB – Myron Mitchell 18 yard pass from Bryson Lucero, Matthew Quinn kick (Drive: 5 plays, 55 yards, 2:03; UAB 21–7)
  • (5:31) UAB – Gerrit Prince 10 yard pass from Tyler Johnson III, Matthew Quinn kick (Drive: 7 plays, 63 yards, 2:56; UAB 28–7)
  • (2:33) UCA – Lujuan Winningham 15 yard pass from Breylin Smith, Chandler Caughron kick (Drive: 1 play, 15 yards, 0:05; UAB 28–14)
  • (1:21) UCA – Robert Rochell 35 yard fumble return, Chandler Caughron kick (UAB 28–21)
Third quarter
  • (3:07) UAB – Matthew Quinn 23 yard field goal (Drive: 12 plays, 48 yards, 6:51; UAB 31–21)
Fourth quarter
  • (12:41) UAB – Lucious Stanley 8 yard rush, Matthew Quinn kick (Drive: 4 plays, 30 yards, 2:10; UAB 38–21)
  • (8:12) UAB – Jermaine Brown Jr. 30 yard rush, Matthew Quinn kick (Drive: 4 plays, 43 yards, 2:00; UAB 45–21)
  • (5:43) UCA – LuJuan Winningham 8 yard pass from Breylin Smith, Chandler Caughron kick (Drive: 7 plays, 65 yards, 2:29; UAB 45–28)
  • (0:32) UCA – Sam Camargo 6 yard pass from Breylin Smith, Chandler Caughron kick (Drive: 10 plays, 83 yards, 2:40; UAB 45–35)
Statistics UCA UAB
First downs 20 29
Plays–yards 66–293 83–459
Rushes–yards 21–100 49–233
Passing yards 193 226
Passing: comp–att–int 25–46–1 24–34–1
Time of possession 22:55 37:05
Team Category Player Statistics
Central Arkansas Passing Breylin Smith 25/46, 193 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing Kierre Crossley 10 carries, 59 yards
Receiving Lujuan Winningham 6 receptions, 53 yards, 2 TD
UAB Passing Tyler Johnston III 17/25, 143 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing Spencer Brown 24 carries, 127 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Austin Watkins 7 receptions, 72 yards

At Miami

See also: 2020 Miami Hurricanes football team
Game Two – UAB Blazers (1–0) at Miami Hurricanes (0–0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Blazers 7 0 7014
Hurricanes 7 7 17031

at Hard Rock Stadium • Miami Gardens, Florida

  • Date: Thursday, September 10, 2020
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Clear • Temperature: 82 °F (28 °C) • Wind: ENE 5 mph
  • TV announcers (ACC Network): Dave O'Brien (play-by-play), Tim Hasselbeck (analyst), Katie George (sideline)
  • Pregame line: Miami –14
Game information
First quarter
  • (2:40) UAB – Austin Watkins 16 yard pass from Tyler Johnston III, Matthew Quinn kick (Drive: 2 plays, 17 yards, 0:44; UAB 7–0)
  • (1:04) MIA – Cam'Ron Harris 66 yard rush, José Borregales kick (Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:36; Tied 7–7)
Second quarter
  • (10:04) MIA – D'Eriq King 12 yard rush, José Borregales kick (Drive: 6 plays, 64 yards, 2:16; Miami 14–7)
Third quarter
  • (10:15) MIA – José Borregales 25 yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 66 yards, 4:45; Miami 17–7)
  • (6:19) UAB – Spencer Brown 6 yard rush, Matthew Quinn kick (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:56; Miami 17–14)
  • (4:02) MIA – Cam'Ron Harris 4 yard rush, José Borregales kick (Drive: 7 plays, 71 yards, 2:17; Miami 24–14)
  • (0:00) MIA – Brevin Jordan 4 yard pass from D'Eriq King, José Borregales kick (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 2:42; Miami 31–14)
Fourth quarter
No scoring
Statistics UAB MIA
First downs 14 25
Plays–yards 61–285 78–495
Rushes–yards 26–80 52–337
Passing yards 205 158
Passing: comp–att–int 19–35–0 18–27–0
Time of possession 29:04 30:56
Team Category Player Statistics
UAB Passing Tyler Johnston III 15/23, 150 yards, 1 TD
Rushing Spencer Brown 16 carries, 74 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Myron Mitchell 8 receptions, 117 yards
Miami Passing D'Eriq King 16/24, 144 yards, 1 TD
Rushing Cam'Ron Harris 17 carries, 134 yards, 2 TD
Receiving Brevin Jordan 3 receptions, 51 yards, 1 TD

At South Alabama

1 2 3 4 Total
Blazers 14 14 0 14 42
Jaguars 0 10 0 0 10

See also: 2020 South Alabama Jaguars football team

UTSA

1 2 3 4 Total
Roadrunners 3 3 0 7 13
Blazers 7 7 7 0 21

See also: 2020 UTSA Roadrunners football team

Western Kentucky

1 2 3 4 Total
Hilltoppers 7 7 0 0 14
Blazers 10 14 10 3 37

See also: 2020 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

Louisiana

1 2 3 4 Total
Ragin' Cajuns 0 10 7 7 24
Blazers 3 10 7 0 20

See also: 2020 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team

At Louisiana Tech

1 2 3 4OT2OT Total
Blazers 0 14 17 030 34
Bulldogs 3 14 0 1433 37

See also: 2020 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team

At Middle Tennessee

1 2 3 4 Total
Blazers 0 0 0 0 0
Blue Raiders 0 0 0 0 0

See also: 2020 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team

At Rice

1 2 3 4 Total
Blazers 0 7 14 0 21
Owls 3 10 0 3 16

See also: 2020 Rice Owls football team

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2021 NFL Draft
Round Pick Player Position NFL Club
4 121 Jordan Smith DE Jacksonville Jaguars

References

  1. ^ a b "Tampa's Gasparilla Bowl canceled after South Carolina bails". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  2. ^ Scarborough, Alex (May 28, 2020). "UAB incoming freshman Smith drowns at age 18". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  3. ^ "Conference USA to hold virtual football media days due to COVID-19". ktsm.com. May 5, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  4. ^ "UAB Football Releases Complete 2020 Schedule". University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Athletics. January 8, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  5. ^ Visser, David (July 21, 2020). "SWAC Suspends Fall Football Season". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  6. ^ "ACC Announces Plans for Football and Fall Olympic Sports". TheACC.com. July 29, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  7. ^ "Old Dominion postponing football and fall sports". The Virginian Pilot. August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  8. ^ "2020 UAB Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
Categories