![Jermaine Brown Jr. scores his second touchdown of the game to give the UAB Blazers the 24-20 lead that ultimately gave them the victory in the 2022 HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl over Miami (OH). [YouTube/Screenshot/Public — User: Victors Valiant]](https://images.dailycaller.com/image/width=960,height=411,fit=cover,f=auto/https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Screenshot-2022-12-16-4.11.30-PM-e1671225205203.png "Jermaine Brown Jr. scores his second touchdown of the game to give the UAB Blazers the 24-20 lead that ultimately gave them the victory in the 2022 HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl over Miami (OH). [YouTube/Screenshot/Public — User: Victors Valiant]")
What a way to start out bowl season.
In the very first bowl game of the season Dec. 16, we were treated to a game in paradise, and it ended with fireworks on the beach in the form of a fourth-quarter comeback and a defensive stand to give UAB the ring.
The UAB Blazers and Miami (OH) RedHawks squared off in a thrilling contest with the Blazers being down 20-17 with just minutes left on the clock, but they ended up punching in a touchdown to put them up 24-20 at the 1:34 mark in the fourth quarter. The RedHawks made a charge in their final drive, but UAB managed to hold off Miami (OH) — who was threatening to score getting all the way to the two-yard line — to win the 2022 HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl at Nassau’s Thomas Robinson Stadium.
UAB stops Miami (OH) two yards short of the end zone on the final play of the Bahamas Bowl 🏈
What a dramatic finish to start off bowl season 😲pic.twitter.com/MBw2WgT6dp
— 247Sports (@247Sports) December 16, 2022
Final Score 🇧🇸🏆
Miami (OH) 20 | UAB 24Congratulations to @UAB_FB 🐲The 2022 HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl Champions. pic.twitter.com/uZv4M6LBSi
— Bahamas Bowl (@TheBahamasBowl) December 16, 2022
I’ve got to give out two gameballs rather than just one for this contest. UAB’s running back Jermaine Brown Jr. and wide receiver Trea Shropshire were absolute beasts.
For Brown, he pulled in 116 yards and two touchdowns, and did this being put into the game as a starter after backing up DeWayne McBride during the season, who decided to sit out the bowl game to prepare for the NFL Draft. They were tough shoes to fill for Brown, not just because McBride is going to the NFL, but because he’s also the nation’s leading rusher this season in college football. Just an impressive day for Brown with the circumstances that he was forced to play under.
With Shrophshire, he was spectacular in the air, pulling in 183 yards and a touchdown. The only injustice I see with Shropshire’s statline is that he didn’t have more touchdowns, but it happens. Other than that though, he was a madman. (RELATED: Most Wonderful Time Of The Year: College Football Bowl Season Begins)
It was quite the entertaining game to get bowl season started. I was over here writing other blogs and couldn’t help but keep looking over at the TV because of the intensity of the game. It might have been a mild-scoring 24-20 contest, but it was a hell of a thriller, especially there at the end. I was certain that Miami (OH) was going to win that game, both before and after UAB scored to go ahead at the closing of the fourth quarter, but the Blazers — in both comeback and holding off fashion — got the victory and the trophy in an absolute nail-biter.
Thanks for the great start to bowl season, guys. That was spectacular.