The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Football Holds Weekly Press Luncheon
9/15/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 15, 2003
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The UAB football team held its weekly press luncheon at Bartow Arena on Monday as head coach Watson Brown talked about his team's upcoming matchup against the South Carolina Gamecocks at 6 p.m. (CDT) on Saturday.
"I believe that we can win every game that we play," Brown said. "There's no game that we can't win, just like there's no game where somebody can't beat us. If you're watching college football right now, it's a week-in and week-out struggle. There have been top-25 teams beaten every week and people are so much closer in talent that the team that plays better will win. That's just what we haven't done in the last two. We haven't played well enough to win."
UAB (1-2) is coming off of a 20-9 defeat against in-state rival Troy State on Saturday in which the Blazers committed five costly turnovers at home in Birmingham. Prior to UAB's defeat versus Troy State, the Blazers turned the ball over four times against Southern Miss in a 17-13 loss.
"It was a tough loss for us, but not any tougher than the one a week before," said Brown. "It's always hard to lose when you think that you're a part of the reason that you lost. When the other team beats you it's another thing and I'm not taking anything away from Troy State, because they played fantastic and hard, but we've had nine turnovers in two games and nobody wins games when they turn the ball over like that."
In its first three games of the 2003 campaign, UAB has averaged 372 yards of total offense per game, but has committed 10 turnovers.
"The mistakes that we're making are very correctable," Brown said. "It's not as if we're not moving the ball. It's not that we're giving up a ton of big plays. We've given up a few, but the main concerns that I have are that we need to take care of the ball and stop the runs that are coming right at us. Both of those things are correctable and now we just have to see if we can get them corrected."
South Carolina heads into Saturday's non-conference matchup with a 2-1 overall record and a 0-1 mark in Southeastern Conference play. The Gamecocks opened the season with a pair of victories over Louisiana-Lafayette, 14-7, and No. 15 Virginia, 31-7, prior to last week's 31-7 loss against the eighth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs.
"South Carolina's strength is their defense," said Brown. "They've struggled a little bit on offense lately and they are not passing the ball really well now, but they're really good on defense. They forced a lot of turnovers in the Virginia game and that's what set up the win. Last week, Georgia took care of the ball better and that's what made it tougher for South Carolina to get the easy points. They are an SEC team. They run really well. They hit you and they're very athletic on both sides of the ball."
The UAB football team will face off against the South Carolina Gamecocks for the first time in school history on Saturday as the Blazers look to snap their two-game losing streak at 6 p.m. (CDT) in Columbia, S.C.
UAB Player Quotes
Quarterback Darrell Hackney
Overall view of the upcoming game against South Carolina
"Every time you play an SEC team, somebody is watching. We just have to go in and try to take care of business. We need to hold onto the ball, not make bad decisions at quarterback and try to come out with a victory."
On the Troy State game
"Turnovers were huge, especially in the red zone. You can't have turnovers in the red zone or deep in your own territory."
Middle Linebacker Nigel Eldridge
Overall view of upcoming game against South Carolina
"We're going to come out and probably have big changes in our gameplan. Hopefully, everything will work out."
On the offense's struggles
"We have to be able to make up for the offense making mistakes. We can't blame anything on them. If we make stops, then the game goes on. We're at fault just as much as they are."
Weak-Side Linebacker Zac Woodfin
On the loss to Troy State
"It was extremely tough. Anytime you play an in-state school and come out on the losing end, it's tough. We have to give them credit for everything they did. They deserved to get the win. They played better than we did and they deserve every bit of it."
On the offense's struggles
"I think we're a close enough family, a close enough group of guys, that we're not going to blame anyone for the loss. It's not hard to not point fingers. We're just going to stick together and keep fighting. I think things are going to get turned around soon."
Overall view of the upcoming game against South Carolina
"We're very excited to be playing at South Carolina. We're going to go to South Carolina with the intention of winning that football game. We'll try to get the job done."
Wide Receiver Jhun Cook
On the loss to Troy State
"Every week, Coach (Watson) Brown tells us that it's the little things that win the ballgame. The team that makes the most plays, as well as who takes care of the ball, will win the game. We turned the ball over five times on Saturday, but we have to get over those little mistakes and bounce back. We have a great offense. If we can cut down on our mistakes, we'll do well for the rest of the season. Turnovers hurt any offense. It's about trying to bounce back. These two games have made us realize that taking care of the ball is key."
Overall view of upcoming game against South Carolina
"If we could win, it would be very, very big for the city of Birmingham and for the University, but most of all for our team. It would be a great momentum-builder for the season. It's a matter of us going in the right frame of mind. Knowing that we have to protect the football, make our right assignments and the right blocks the whole game. The team with the least amount of turnovers is going to win the game."
