Recap: Tulane vs. UAB

New Orleans, LA (Sports Network) - Ryan Griffin completed 34-of-42 passes for 466 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Tulane Green Wave over the UAB Blazers in a 55-45 Conference USA shootout at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Tulane (2-6, 2-2 C-USA) running back Orleans Darkwa ran for 74 yards on 20 carries and scored two touchdowns. Receivers Ryan Grant and Xavier Rush both had big games catching the ball, the former with six receptions for 184 yards and scored two touchdowns and the latter 126 yards on eight grabs for two scores as well.

Austin Brown completed 26-of-52 passes for 409 yards and three touchdowns with three interceptions for UAB (1-7, 0-4) as the team lost a third straight outing. A favorite target was Jackie Williams who caught six passes for 143 yards and a touchdown. Kennard Backman Running back Darrin Reaves gained 166 yards on 21 carries and scored three touchdowns in the setback.

The Green Wave scored first when Griffin connected with Rush for a 21-yard touchdown pass at the 8:18 mark of the opening quarter.

UAB tied it up when Reaves punched it in for a one-yard touchdown a little over four minutes later.

On the next possession Griffin connected with Rush again, this time for a 15- yard touchdown.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Griffin went deep and connected with Grant for a 61-yard touchdown to put the Green Wave up, 21-7. Darion Monroe then returned a punt 57 yards down to the goal line for the Green Wave, leading to a 21-yard field goal by Cairo Santos.

UAB responded with a 25-yard field goal by Ty Long, but it stilled trailed by two touchdowns, 24-10, midway through the second frame.

Needing just six plays to move the ball 77 yards on their next possession, the Green Wave again added to the lead when Griffin and Grant combined on an eight-yard TD pass play.

With only 18 seconds remaining in the second stanza, the Blazers scored when Brown connected with Backman on a one-yard touchdown pass, which made the score 31-17 to end the first half.

UAB opened the second half with a quick drive and scored on a two-yard run by Reaves. Later in the period Brown hooked up with Williams on a 12-yard touchdown pass play, but in between Tulane had a score of its own as Griffin found Wilson Van Hooser for a 16-yard touchdown.

Darkwa scored his first rushing touchdown of the season when he punched it in from one yard out for Tulane just three seconds into the fourth quarter. Darkwa added a 32-yard TD run later in the frame as well to help the Green Wave pull away.

Reaves scored on a 25-yard touchdown run in order to keep UAB in the hunt at 45-38, but that was before Santos knocked through a 32-yard field goal for the Green Wave.

Brown connected with Backman for a 20-yards TD with 3:03 remaining in regulation, but still the visitors trailed by double digits.

The teams combined for 1,241 yards of total offense and both scored on all six of their red zone opportunities.