SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 2, 2013
Middle Tennessee 24, Alabama-Birmingham 21: Cody Clark drilled a short field goal with three seconds remaining to power the visiting Blue Raiders past the Blazers in Conference USA action.
Reggie Whatley carried 15 times for a career-high 155 yards while Logan Kilgore passed for 160 yards and two touchdowns for Middle Tennessee (5-4, 3-2), which has won two straight by a total of five points after a three-game slide. Marcus Henry added a career-high 136 yards receiving.
Freshman Jordan Howard rushed for 154 yards while Darrin Reaves accumulated 111 yards and a touchdown on the ground for UAB (2-6, 1-3), which set season highs with 56 attempts and 299 rushing yards. Jonathan Perry completed six of his nine attempts for 57 yards, but he also threw a critical fourth-quarter interception.
Reaves’ 21-yard first-quarter score and Ty Long’s 37-yard field goal midway through the second quarter allowed the Blazers to jump out to a 10-point advantage. Kilgore answered with a 3-yard TD pass to Kyle Griswould to cut the deficit to 10-7 by halftime.
Henry put the Blue Raiders in front for the first time with a 93-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter and the Blue Raiders stretched the lead on Stephen Roberts 40-yard interception return. Perry rallied UAB with a 21-yard strike to Jamarcus Nelson and tied it with a two-point conversion, but Henry’s 33-yard catch with seven seconds left put Clark in position for the game-winning, 18-yard kick.