BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Jeff Kelly threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Dawayne
Woods in the second overtime as No. 25 Southern Mississippi beat
Alabama-Birmingham 33-30 Saturday.
It was the third touchdown of the day for Woods, who also scored on runs of
3 and 5 yards. He had 194 all-purpose yards, including 82 on a kickoff return.
Kelly threw for two scores, both in overtime.
UAB's Rhett Gallego kicked a 37-yard field goal to put the Blazers ahead
30-27 in the second overtime.
Kelly and Woods took over from there.
After UAB's Rod Taylor and Adrian Abrams stopped Woods on third-and-1 at the
16, a quarterback sneak by Kelly gained 3 yards and gave the Golden Eagles a
new set of downs.
Two plays later, Kelly threw to Woods, who was all alone on the left side
and ran in untouched for the win.
Players from both Southern Miss (7-2, 4-1 Conference USA) and UAB (6-4, 2-3)
kneeled on the turf in disbelief. It was the first meeting between the teams.
The victory marked the second win of the year at Legion Field for Southern
Miss, which beat Alabama 21-0 earlier.
Kelly, who threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Dannye Fowler in the first
overtime, completed 25 of 34 passes for 261 yards with one interception.
UAB's Cory Conley had a 1-yard touchdown run in the first overtime.
After going ahead 20-17 on a 20-yard field goal by Gallego with 7:58
remaining, the Blazers defense forced a Southern Miss punt.
But the Southern defense also held, giving the Golden Eagles the ball at
their own 29 with 3:43 left.
Just a week after throwing four interceptions in a 49-28 loss to Louisville,
Kelly keyed a last-ditch drive.
Kelly ran for three times for 20 yards and completed four passes, including
a 15-yard toss to Bobby Garner to set up the tying, 20-yard field goal by Brant
Hanna.
Hanna also had a 27-yard field goal. Gallego had a 29-yard field goal but
missed on a 32-yard attempt.
UAB scored once on special teams. Avery Warner blocked a punt by Southern's
Mark Haulman in the end zone, and Percy Coleman fell on the ball for the
touchdown.
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
Copyright 2000, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved