The UAB football team got into a shootout to close out the season but came away on the wrong end in a 45-42 loss to North Texas, Saturday, Nov. 25, at DATCU Stadium in Denton, Texas.

UAB (4-8, 3-5 AAC) racked up 506 yards of offense but allowed the Mean Green to amass 643 yards.

Jacob Zeno finished 16-of-26 passing for 285 yards and two touchdowns and Tejhaun Palmer had two receptions for 98 yards and a score. True freshman Amare Thomas had four catches for 10 yards, setting the UAB freshman record for receptions, and Fred Farrier II had a 32-yard touchdown reception.

Jermaine Brown Jr. had 18 carries for 116 yards and two touchdowns, along with a 47-yard reception, and finishes his career with more than 5,000 all-purpose yards and the third player in UAB history with at least 3,000 rushing yards. Meanwhile, Lee Beebe eclipsed the century mark for the first time in his career, finishing with seven carries for 101 yards and two touchdowns.

True freshman linebacker Everett Roussaw led the defense with 10 tackles, followed by Ricky Lee III and Jason Riles Jr. with nine tackles each. Colby Dempsey had six tackles, a pass breakup and an interception, and Kendal Johnson, Michael Fairbanks II, Damon Miller and Nikia Eason Jr. all secured a sack.

First-Half Surge

The Blazers owned the first 30 minutes, despite giving up 278 yards and 14 points, and carried a two-touchdown lead into the halftime break. UAB did most of its damage on the ground in posting 179 yards in the first half, finishing with 221 yards for the game, and Jacob Zeno connected with Fred Farrier II for a 32-yard touchdown pass inside the final 30 seconds of the first half.

The opening possession saw Jermaine Brown Jr. scamper for a 33-yard gain on the second play and Lee Beebe carried the Blazers into the red zone on a 26-yard reception. Brown finished off the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run and capped an 11-play, 75-yard drive on the next UAB possession with a 13-yard scoring run. Following a score from North Texas, giving the Mean Green a 14-13 lead, Beebe ripped off a 66-yard touchdown run to give UAB a 20-14 lead early in the second frame.

The Blazers allowed a 14-play, 71-yard drive by the Mean Green but forced a turnover on downs and Colby Dempsey intercepted Chandler Rogers on the next North Texas possession. UAB collected three sacks and held North Texas to 75 rushing yards in the first half and Zeno and Farrier connected on the 32-yard touchdown for a 28-14 lead following the Dempsey interception.

Second-Half Collapse

As well as the UAB offense played in the first half, it played as bad in the second half. Jacob Zeno and company struggled to keep drives alive in the second half, going three-and-out on three consecutive series, and its defensive counterparts suffered in having to stay on the field for 19:34 of game time.

The Blazers held North Texas to a field goal on the opening drive of the second half but Matt Quinn missed his opportunity on the ensuing possession — costing UAB a total of four points including his blocked PAT in the first half. Another defensive stop by UAB resulted in a punt but the offense went completely silent losing 11 yards on its next nine plays.

North Texas scored on its next three possessions, producing 18 points, but UAB was able to tie the game twice in the final frame on an 80-yard touchdown pass from Zeno to Tejhaun Palmer and a 2-yard run by Lee Beebe, capping a swift 5-play, 75-yard drive. Mean Green running back Ayo Adeyi broke off a 37-yard run on the second play of the final North Texas drive, setting up Noah Rauschenberg for a game-winning 32-yard field goal.

The Blazers totaled 179 yards in the second half — only 42 yards on the ground — and 127 yards of those came on Palmer’s touchdown and a 47-yard reception by Brown. Defensively, UAB gave up 365 yards in the last two frames and allowed two fourth-down conversions to extend North Texas scoring drives.