The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Notes For The Cincinnati Game
10/8/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 8, 2001
THE GAME: UAB
vs. Cincinnati, Saturday, Oct.
13.
KICKOFF: Set for 4:00 pm CDT at Legion Field (83,091/Grass) in Birmingham.
THE TEAMS:? UAB is
2-3 (1-1 C-USA) and coming off a 24-7 loss at Central Florida last Saturday
(Oct. 6).? Cincinnati? is 2-2 (2-0 C-USA) and coming off a
46-33 win over Tulane at home on Saturday (Oct. 6).
THE COACHES: UC's Rick Minter is 36-46-1 in his eighth season as head coach of the
Bearcats. UAB's Watson Brown
is 33-38 in his seventh season at UAB (65-115-1 in his 17th season as a
collegiate head coach).
THE SERIES:?
Cincinnati? leads 3-1,
dating back to the 1996 season. Last season, the Bearcats defeated UAB 33-21 at
Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati (Nov. 4, 2000). Saturday's game will be the
first meeting between the two in Birmingham since the 1996 season, and the
first Conference USA game between the two in Birmingham (UAB was not a football
member of C-USA when the two met at Legion Field on Nov. 16, 1996 -- a 34-14
Cincinnati victory).
TELEVISION: None.
RADIO:? The
game will be broadcast live on the UAB Football Radio Network on stations throughout the state of Alabama and in
Birmingham on the Blazers' flagship station, WAPI AM 1070.? Gary Sanders is in his 23rd season as the play-by-play voice of
the Blazers (and his 11th broadcasting UAB football games).? Sanders will be joined in the booth by
color commentator Matt Coulter
(now in his fifth season with the UAB Broadcast crew), as well as
producer/engineer and jack-of-all-trades Jon Gentile (now in his fourth year with UAB) and
spotter/sideline reporter/legal advisor Bill Lewis. Saturday's broadcast will begin with the
pre-game show at 3:30 pm CDT live
from Legion Field.
IT'S GOOD TO BE
HOME: After two very difficult weeks
on the road (a 3-0 loss at Southern Miss, Sept. 29 and a 24-7 loss at Central
Florida, Oct. 6), the Blazers begin a two-game home stand, starting with Saturday's
game vs. Cincinnati and continuing with next week's homecoming game vs.
Tulane (Oct. 20, 4:00 pm CDT).
IT'S GOOD TO BE
HOME, cont.: UAB is? 2-0 at Legion Field this season. The
Blazer defense has not allowed a touchdown in eight quarters at home in
2001.? The only touchdown scored by
a UAB opponent at Legion Field? to
date this season was an interception return by Montana State's Kane Iaone
(Aug. 30).
ALL-TIME AT LEGION FIELD: The Blazers are 40-16-1 (.717) in 11 seasons at Legion Field (1991-? ). UAB is 20-9 (.690) at Legion Field in the school's NCAA Division
I-A era (1996-? ), and 3-4
(.429) all-time at home vs. C-USA
opponents (including the 1996 non-league loss to Cincinnati).
BROWN FACES HIS OLD TEAM: UAB Head Coach Watson Brown was head coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats for one
season (1983). UC finished 4-6-1 that year, and opened the season with one of
the biggest wins in school history -- a 14-3 win at defending national champion
Penn State (Sept. 10, 1983).
IN CONTRAST: UAB is in its 11th season of college football
competition (and its sixth at the NCAA Division I-A level), Cincinnati is in
its 114th season.
A STREAK ENDS: After holding opponents without a touchdown for 11
consecutive quarters (dating back to the Florida State game on Sept.8), the
Blazer defense finally surrendered a touchdown vs. Central Florida (Oct.
6).? UCF struck twice in the third
quarter, first on a one-yard run by Terrance Williams that capped a 23-yard
drive set up by a UAB fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half, and
then on a very well-executed 64-yard pass from quarterback Ryan Schneider to
Doug Gabriel (the Golden Knights' third touchdown of the evening was
scored on a quarterback sack and fumble recovery in the end zone). The two TDs
by UCF are the only ones given up by the UAB defense in the last 13 quarters of
play.
SPEAKING OF THE? UAB? DEFENSE: As of
Oct. 7, the Blazers are ranked seventh in total defense (allowing opponents an
average of 259.40 yards per game), fifth in rushing defense (allowing an
average of 59.20 yards per game), 11th in scoring defense (allowing 14.40
points per game), tied for 20th in interceptions with seven, 23rd in pass
efficiency defense (opponents have a 101.5 rating) and tied for 27th in
turnovers gained (11).
BLAZERS STINGY vs.
C-USA? OPPONENTS: The UAB defense has not allowed a touchdown by a
C-USA opponent this season, the Blazers allowed Army and Southern Miss one
field goal each.
BLAZERS ESPECIALLY ?TOUGH vs. THE? ?RUN:? The UAB
Blazer defense has traditionally been very tough vs. the run.? UAB opponents rushed for 100+ yards as
a team only five times in 2000 and six times in 1999 and have done so once thus
far in 2001 (Florida State's 135 net yards Sept. 8), no individual
opposing player has broken the 100+-yard barrier since Louisville's Frank
Moreau did so vs. the Blazers during the 1999 season (Oct. 30, 1999 in
Louisville) -- that's 18 straight?
games.? Southern Miss'
Tim Blackwell came as close as anyone has since then, Blackwell finished the
game with 97 net rushing yards on 24 carries (he actually had 100 yards but
three negative yards brought him back to 97 for the game).
VERY TOUGH: C-USA opponents have averaged 62.0 net rushing yards
in the Blazers' two league games this season.?
BLAZERS STINGY WITH THE
POINTS, TOO: UAB has allowed its two
C-USA opponents an average of 3.0 points (literally two field goals) in two
games this season.
?"THE ?STEEL ?SHIELD": A nickname that originated with Coach Watson Brown,
given to the team's defensive front four -- seniors Bryan Thomas (DE), Eddie Freeman (DT), Rodney Jones (NG) and Marlon Bush (DE).? Of
late, the nickname has also come to be used in reference to the entire
defensive unit, which has been brilliant thus far.?
ANOTHER ?GOOD THING ?ABOUT ?PLAYING ?AT HOME: ?UAB,
which has struggled terribly on the offensive side of the ball in its last two
games (3.5 points and 170.5 total yards per game, 3.5 turnovers per game), has
averaged 48 points and 443.5 total yards per game, with only two turnovers in
its two home games (wins over Montana State and Army).
DROUGHT ENDS: When freshman running back Kendal Gibson bulled over from the one-yardline for a TD in the
third quarter vs. UCF last week, it was the first offensive score of any kind
for the Blazers since the third quarter of the Army game (Sept. 22).? The UAB offense had gone seven quarters
without scoring (the Blazers scored a defensive touchdown in the fourth quarter
vs. Army).
COINCIDENTALLY:? Kendal
Gibson scored the Blazers'
last touchdown before the scoreless streak began, on a seven-yard run in the
third quarter vs. Army.
UPON ?FURTHER ?REVIEW: Jason Southall's 93-yard kickoff return vs. UCF (that set up Gibson's
touchdown) is indeed the longest in UAB history, scoring or not.? Here is a partial list of the top marks
in Blazer history:
93 -
Jason Southall at UCF (2001)
85 -
Cedric Thatch at Wake Forest (1999)
82 -
Darrin Reaves at Hampden-Sydney (1991)
70 - Cedrick
Buchannon vs.? Southwestern
Louisiana (1995)
54 -
Cedric Thatch vs. Louisville (2000)
54 -
Cedric Thatch at Northeast Louisiana?
(1998)
52 -
Omar Parker vs. Jacksonville State (1997)
BIG NUMBERS: UAB's 55 points vs. Army (Sept. 22) is the
most ever by the Blazers vs. an NCAA Division I-A opponent. The UAB all-time
record is 61 points vs. Knoxville College in? a I-AA game at Legion Field in 1995, the previous scoring
high in the I-A era for the Blazers was 48 vs. Tennesssee-Martin (at the Hoover
Met, 1998).?
MULTIPLE INTERCEPTIONS: UAB's four interceptions in the Army game
(Sept. 22) equals the school's I-A era record, set vs. LSU last season
(Sept. 23, 2000) when the Blazers picked off four Tiger passes en route to a
13-10 victory in Baton Rouge.? The
all-time UAB mark for interceptions in a single game is five (5), set vs.
Morehead State in a I-AA game at Legion Field in 1999.
DUGGER ?WATCH: Senior running back Jegil Dugger has 340 net rushing yards this season
on 87 carries (3.9 average) and 1,480 career rushing yards (he's
UAB's career leader in the Division I-A era) on 322 carries (4.6
average).? Dugger, who is
UAB's all-time rushing leader in the school's Division I-A era (1996-? ) and second on the Blazers'
all-time list (Pat Green leads with 2,817 yards, 1991-94) , scored two TDs vs.
Army, giving him 11 for his career (ranking him second in the UAB Division I-A
era and third all-time in Blazer football history).
DUGGER ?A ?DOAK ?WALKER
AWARD CANDIDATE: Senior running back
Jegil Dugger, who rushed for 852 yards and five touchdowns (including
game-winners vs. Chattanooga and Memphis) on 177 carries in 2000 -- primarily
as a backup to often-injured starter Carl Fair -- is among the initial 43
players named to the 2001 Doak Walker Award watch list.? The Doak Walker Award is given annually
to college football's top running back.
A NOSE FOR THE BALL:? Senior
linebacker Rod Taylor was
credited with 20 tackles in the Southern Miss game (including 17 solo), that is
a UAB Division I-A era record, and ties for second all-time in Blazer history.
The feat was even more remarkable considering the fact that Taylor played the
game (and has done so three times in all) on a sore ankle that was badly
sprained in the Florida State game (Sept.8).
HUMPHRIES ?BACK: Speaking of linebackers playing hurt, John Humphries, who backs up Taylor at the "mike"
linebacker position, is back on the team's depth chart and ready for
action. Humphries, who suffered a broken arm vs. Florida State (Sept. 8),
dressed but did not play vs. UCF.
SPEAKING OF LINEBACKERS
NAMED TAYLOR: Walk-on linebacker Darrius
Taylor (Cherokee, Ala./Cherokee HS)
has developed into a terror on special teams. Watch for no. 40 on kickoff and
punt coverage, he's usually the one putting a big hit on the ballcarrier.
MULTIPLE INTERCEPTIONS:?
UAB's (four) interceptions in the game equals the school's
I-A era record, set vs. LSU last season (Sept. 23, 2000) when the Blazers
picked off four Tiger passes en route to a 13-10 victory in Baton Rouge.? The all-time UAB mark for interceptions
in a single game is five (5), set vs. Morehead State in a I-AA game at Legion
Field in 1999.
IT'S A FACT: UAB has intercepted at least one pass in 21 of its
last 27 games (and in three of five games this season).
IT'S ALSO A FACT: ?UAB has
blocked at least one kick in two games this season (punts vs. Montana State and
Army), and in four of its last seven games dating back to the Southern Miss
game at Legion Field last season.
ODDLY ENOUGH: There were two blocked kicks (both field goal
attempts) in the UAB-Southern Miss game (Sept. 29), but both were apparently
inadvertently blocked by the kicking teams, not the defenders.
PITTSBURGH ?GAME ?RESCHEDULED:?? UAB will make up the game at
Pittsburgh on Saturday, Dec. 1 at Heinz Field (1:30 pm EST).
MEMPHIS GAME ?START ?TIME ?CHANGED:?? Memphis announced Monday (10/8) that the Oct. 27 game
at the Liberty Bowl has been moved from 7:00 pm to 1:00 pm CDT.
STRONG SCHEDULES: The Blazers have ambitious non-conference schedules
over the next few seasons that include dates at Florida (2002),? at South
Carolina (2003),? at Florida State (2004), and Tennessee (2005), as well as a home game vs.? Pittsburgh (2002), and home-and-home series with Baylor (2003 in
Waco, 2004 in Birmingham) and UNLV
(2005 in Las Vegas, 2006 in Birmingham).
THOMAS? PRESEASON? ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTION:? Senior defensive end Bryan
Thomas was named to the Preseason
All-Conference USA Team in July.?
CLOSING ?IN:? Bryan Thomas led UAB with
10 sacks last season, and currently has 27.0 career sacks (including three vs.
Southern Miss, Sept. 29), ranking him first among all UAB players in the NCAA
Division I-A era (1996- ) and second all-time at UAB behind Rodney Foster (29,
from 1991-94).
STEWART SHINES: Redshirt junior punter Ross Stewart had his finest game as a Blazer vs. Florida State
(Sept. 8), the Blountsville, Ala. native punted six times for 285 yards (a 47.5
average), and had a long kick of 68 yards -- a personal best.? Stewart's season average is
currently 45.55 yards per punt, good enough to rank him seventh
nationally.? Six of Stewart's
22 punts this season have been downed inside the opponents' 20-yardline.
Stewart is currently second in Conference USA? in punting.
AARON, GALLEGO RECEIVE
C-USA? HONORS: UAB quarterback Jeff Aaron and placekicker Rhett Gallego were honored by Conference USA for their
performances in last Saturday's 55-3 win over Army at Legion Field. Aaron, who
completed 17 of 23 passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for
another score - all in just over one half of play - was named C-USA
Offensive Player of The Week.?
The senior from Montgomery, Ala. (Jeff Davis HS) led scoring drives on all six
UAB possessions in the first half.? Gallego, a senior from Birmingham
(Hueytown HS), earned C-USA Special Teams Player of The Week honors.? He made both of his field goal
attempts (from 45 and 34 yards) and hit six of six PAT attempts for 11 points
in the game.? Gallego was named C-USA Player of The Week three times
during the 2000 season.
TEAM CAPTAINS: UAB Head Coach Watson Brown selects game captains -- always seniors -- shortly
before kickoff each week. Permanent captains are designated following the
season.
NUMBER CHANGES: There were several jersey number changes among
veteran Blazer players between the 2000 and 2001 season, primarily among the
receiver corps. Those changes include:
Player ???????????????
Old Number/2001 Number
Maurice Gallery ???????? 20 (1998-00)/1
Travis
Johnson?????????? 19
(1997-00)/3
T.J.
Simmons? ????????????
11 (1999-00)/9
NUMBER CHANGES, cont.:??
One newcomer, junior receiver Brandon Seabrook, has changed jersey numbers? three times since the Montana State
game (Aug. 30), Seabrook, a junior college transfer from Atlanta, Ga., wore no.
40 (a duplicate number, shared with linebacker Darrius Taylor) vs. the Bobcats, no. 8 at Florida State, was
scheduled to wear no. 84 at Pittsburgh (Sept. 15), and was assigned to no. 26
for the Army game.? Two other
number changes for the Army game included placekicker Will
"Gimp" Morthland (no.
33), and receiver Brian
Buckner? (no. 84).
BROTHERS:? The 2001 Blazer team has no less than three (3) sets of brothers on the
roster. The most high profile are freshman twins Kendal and Randal Gibson (Aliceville, Ala.). The Gibsons are not, however,
the first set of twins to play for the Blazers,? Terry and Perry Collier (Munday, Texas) were members of Coach Watson Brown's first UAB
team in 1995. Other brothers on the 2001 team include redshirt sophomore
offensive tackle Artavious Williams
and redshirt freshman noseguard Tony Williams (Montgomery, Ala.), and sophomore receiver Lynorse and sophomore defensive back Anthony Garrett (Cottonwood, Ala.). There was almost another set of
brothers on the 2001 team, freshman defensive lineman Ernest Repress (Barnesville, Ga.) and brother Clarence (also a lineman) both signed with the Blazers last
spring, but Clarence did not enroll this fall.
CURRENTLY ON ?NFL ROSTERS (as of Oct. 7):? Seven
former Blazers, including:
Josh
Evans (DT) * Tennessee Titans
Dainon
Sidney (DB) * Tennessee Titans (injured reserve)
Izell
Reese (DB) * Dallas Cowboys
Otis
Leverette (DE) * Washington Redskins
Rodregis
Brooks (DB) * Indianapolis Colts
Jake
Arians (PK) * Buffalo Bills
Carl
Fair (RB) * Cleveland Browns (practice squad)
UNIFORM CHANGES: The 2001 Blazers took the field for the Montana State game (Aug. 30) in re-designed uniforms. In addition to style changes on the green game jerseys, the team wore white pants for the first time during the Watson Brown era (1995-? ), and also sported green stockings. The new jerseys and pants (as well as the team's shoes) are made by adidas. UAB still has its traditional gold helmet with green stripe and "Dragon Shield" logos (a white helmet was developed but did not make it past the prototype stage). UAB will wear the green jerseys and white pants at home and its traditional white jersey and gold pants (both made by Alabama-based Russell Corp.)? in road games.
