UAB extended its home winning streak to 10 games Saturday with a 29-21 comeback victory over North Texas in front of 28,014 at Legion Field.
The Blazers are now 6-1 overall (4-0 in CUSA) and have sole possession of first place in the West division. They're also receiving six votes in the latest Amway Coaches Poll, a single vote in the AP Poll and are the only team in CUSA with a single loss on its record.
Here are five things we learned from the Blazers' thrilling victory over North Texas:
Halftime adjustments
It wasn't pretty in the first half against the Mean Green.
The Blazers allowed Mason Fine to become the first quarterback all season to throw for more than 200 yards in the first 30 minutes alone. He was sacked three times in the first half but took advantage of UAB in the short passing game and had two touchdown passes to Jaelon Darden and one to Rico Bussey.
"I wasn't happy," head coach Bill Clark said. "I won't say all that I said because it wasn't pretty. I came in at halftime and told them that this is exactly what I said that it could look like. This is what happens when good teams play. We have such high standards for ourselves. I saw a different energy when they came out. The crowd's energy was special."
Indeed it was as the Blazers shut out North Texas in the second half and took momentum away from the Mean Green on a forced safety from defensive lineman Garrett Marino. North Texas was 0 for 7 on third-down and fourth-down conversions in the second half and its six possessions ended in downs, safety, punt, downs, fumble and downs.
"It doesn't get any better than the way we won," Clark said. "We had adversity and got behind. Defensively, we made some adjustments at halftime. Some things I saw in the first half, I saw come to fruition. We had to stop playing man-three at halftime because we couldn't get there and couldn't hold up."
Defense still good despite "Fine" performance
Mason Fine is one of the best quarterbacks in the country regardless of conference affiliation. He was the fifth leading passer in the country coming in to the UAB game and threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns when it was all said and done.
The Blazers allowed a total of 400 yards to the Mean Green -- only the second time all season the UAB defense has given up that amount to an opponent -- but more than 75 percent came off of Fine's arm. UAB held North Texas to 64 rushing yards on 23 carries in the game and 3 of 13 on third and fourth-down conversions.
UAB's defense is still tops in the league in scoring (15.1 ppg) and passing defense (163.6 ypg), and is second behind Southern Miss in total defense (300.4 ypg). The Blazers face two of the bottom three offenses in UTEP and UTSA the next two weeks setting up a crucial rivalry bout with the Golden Eagles, who are fourth in the conference in offense (428.8 ypg).
Rushing game still dominating
Spencer Brown hit the century mark for only the third time this season but is still on pace for a 1,000 yard season and 17 touchdowns.
Brown has not had the amount of success he had last year as the Blazers are deeper at running back this season with Lucious Stanley and Ole Miss transfer Jarrion Street supplementing Brown and finding success of their own.
Stanley was the leading rusher at Rice with 70 yards and Street gained 59 yards against North Texas. Street did fumble the ball at the goal line but it worked out as Garrett Marino forced a safety on the next play to swing momentum back in the Blazers' direction.
Besides Brown's 591 rushing yards, Stanley and A.J. Erdely each have more than 200 yards rushing and Street is not far behind with 158 yards. The Blazers have ran for more than 200 yards in six of their seven games and lead the conference with 228.4 ypg giving them the third best offense overall behind North Texas and FAU.
Lee Dufour injury
What might have gone unnoticed in the first half was an injury to starting center Lee Dufour.
Dufour, one of four current Blazers who were members of the 2014 team, suffered an arm injury and was taken back to the locker room for evaluation. He did not return in the game and is scheduled for surgery which will end his junior season prematurely.
Accentuating the positive, Greg Fecanin came in for Dufour and the Blazers did not miss a beat the rest of the game. The Pinson native and former Clay-Chalkville product has played in 15 games for UAB, mostly on PAT and field goal attempts.
The loss of Dufour can not be understated but Fecanin played well in a tough spot and should ease the transition for quarterback A.J. Erdely, who has been taking snaps from Dufour for two seasons.
Division title within grasp
You can go ahead and say it.
The Blazers, if they play to the standard they've created the last four games, can and should win their next three games. That means they'll wrap up a division title before hitting the road the last two weeks of the season at Texas A&M and Middle Tennessee State.
UAB travels to UTEP (0-7) to face the Miners in the Sun Bowl this week and host UTSA (3-5) and Southern Miss (3-3) to close out the home schedule. The Blazers hold the tie-breaker over second-place Louisiana Tech and may be able to win the division against UTSA depending on what happens the next two weeks.
From being picked as the worst team in the nation in the 2017 preseason to possibly playing in - and hosting - the CUSA Championship game a year later is nothing short of a revelation to what Clark and this program has built in such a short time frame. The Blazers are off to the best start in school history this season and are 14-6 since returning to the field last year.
"Last year was such a miracle," Clark said. "They picked us to finish at 130 and we won eight games. There were times last year where I was just amazed. This happens when there is no overlooking. There are no excuses or anything else. That's what I got to hear at the conference meetings. They said that some people overlooked us last year. That was a point of pride for us."