The UAB Blazers defeated the Rice Owls in dominant fashion in a 40-14 blowout victory at Protective Stadium.

An electric first quarter featuring two touchdowns from each team set the stage for what looked to be a shootout, but Rice’s offensive struggles in the second quarter, gave the Blazers a clear path to victory.

The Blazers won their second straight home game, and boosted their record to 3-8 on the season, while Rice fell to 3-8.

Here’s the takeaways from Saturday afternoon:

Blazers’ secondary comes up big

The UAB Blazers did something they’ve rarely accomplished in 2024, winning the turnover battle 4-1.

Three of the Owls turnovers came in the second quarter, with one fumble and two interceptions. The first pick was made by safety Tyjon Jones on a throw over a yard behind his receiver from EJ Warner. It led to a UAB field goal, extending their lead to 20-14 in the second quarter.

The Owls’ offense pushed back, driving all the way down to the UAB two-yard line with seconds remaining in the first half. Instead of taking the field goal to cut into UABs lead, the Owls decided to go for seven. Warner’s pass was picked off by Blazer safety Adrian Maddox, who returned the ball 98 yards for a pick six to put the Blazers up 27-14 at halftime.

A fourth-down stop in the red zone by UAB’s secondary in the third quarter all but shut down any momentum the Owls created the entirety of the second half.

Warner finished the day 28-49 passing for 222 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.

Lee Beebe Jr. leads UAB offense

16 carries, 161 yards, 10.1 yards per carry and two touchdowns.

It was the most dominant game of running back Lee Beebe Jr.’s young career, as he surpassed his career high in rushing yards for a game by 46 yards.

The highlight of the game came in the first quarter, when he broke off a 48-yard touchdown to put UAB up 14-7.

In his seventh start since replacing Jacob Zeno, Jalen Kitna played another inconsistent, but mostly efficient day, finishing 18-23 for 174 yards with two touchdowns and only one turnover, a fumble in the first quarter.

The Blazers’ finished the day with 364 yards on offense, a much-needed bounce back after last week’s beat down in Memphis.

Senior day win a big one for ’25 class

Amidst a now 3-8 season, there hasn’t been much for this senior class to hold on to going forward.

The six game losing streak featuring four blowouts and injuries to star players along the way left a bad taste in the mouths of the UAB faithful and almost certainly the Blazers’ senior class.

Seniors Michael Moore and Tyjon Jones came up with turnovers on defense, and center Brady Wilson played another clean game as he continues to cement his claim as one of UAB’s best offensive lineman in the program’s history.

It can’t make up for the last two years of losing for those who have been here since before the ’23 season, but it certainly gives them one final positive memory of playing at Protective Stadium.

The UAB Blazers finish their season next week against the Charlotte 49ers, as they’ll attempt to break even with 2023’s 4-8 record.