Alabama-Birmingham Blazers vs Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles Box Score on Nov 29, 2014

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 29, 2014

UAB 45, Southern Miss 24: Jordan Howard rushed for a school-record 262 yards and a touchdown on 35 carries as the visiting Blazers became bowl eligible for the first time since 2004.

Cody Clements matched a career high with three touchdown passes while completing 14-of-21 for 176 yards to help UAB (6-6, 4-4 Conference USA) defeat the Golden Eagles for the fifth time in six meetings after losing all 10 previous encounters. D.J. Vinson added 86 yards and a TD on the ground while Jamarcus Nelson returned a kickoff 99 yards for a TD and joined Tristan Henderson and Josh Magee in catching TD passes in the first half to stake the Blazers to a 21-0 lead.

Michael Thomas returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown for Southern Miss (3-9, 1-7), which dropped five in a row to conclude its third straight losing season (4-32). Nick Mullens was 24-of-42 for 263 yards while being sacked seven times and threw a TD pass to Jalen Richard, who also ran 91 yards for a score.

Howard rushed 18 times for 140 yards in the first half, including a 52-yard run to help set up Clements' 14-yard touchdown pass to Nelson. After Clements' 22-yard scoring strike to Magee, Thomas took the ensuing kickoff all the way back to make it 21-7 with 41 seconds left in the first half.

Howard unleashed a 47-yard run on UAB's first play from scrimmage in the second half and scored from the 1 four plays later to stretch the lead to 28-7. After Corey Acosta's 45-yard field goal trimmed the deficit to 28-10, Nelson put it away with his kickoff return and Vinson added a 12-yard score in the fourth quarter.