The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Football Continues Preparations For Southern Miss
9/2/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 2, 2003
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The UAB football team practiced in shorts and shells for nearly three hours on Tuesday as the Blazers continued preparations for their 2003 Conference USA opener against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles on Thursday at 6 p.m. here in Birmingham.
"Today was a good practice," said UAB head coach Watson Brown. "It's been different. We've been forced to go with a different (practice) schedule because of the quick turnaround. This would have been a normal Thursday practice for us, but we've got to get some normal time in to get ready for these guys."
UAB (1-0) and its perennial C-USA rival Southern Miss (0-1) will face off Sept. 4, in front of a nationally televised audience broadcast on ESPN2 from Legion Field. The announcers for Thursday's game will be Mike Tirico, Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso.
"We've been having to practice harder, closer to game time than we usually do," Brown said. "The kids are handling it fine and both teams are having to do it. These are the cards that we were dealt, but it doesn't bother me, because both teams have to do it."
On Thursday, both UAB and the Golden Eagles will compete against each other after only four days rest since their previous games. Southern Miss lost to Cal, 34-2, on Saturday, while UAB recorded a last-minute 24-19 victory against Big XII opponent Baylor on the road in Waco, Texas.
The rivalry between UAB and Southern Miss began in 2000 when the Golden Eagles rallied for a 33-30 overtime victory over the Blazers at Legion Field.
In 2001, with the C-USA championship on the line, the Golden Eagles held off a strong UAB team, 3-0, and handed the Blazers their first of only two league losses on the season. UAB finished the year with a 5-2 C-USA record and ended the season as the conference's second-place team.
Last season, Southern Miss posted a 20-13 win over the Blazers on Nov. 9, in Birmingham.
UAB will go through an unorthodox workout the day before a game on Wednesday as the Blazers attempt to get as much practice time as possible prior to Thursday's matchup.
"Tomorrow's practice (Wednesday) will be like a normal Thursday practice," said Brown. "We will practice tomorrow. It won't be a long one, but we will come out here before we go to the hotel and practice. We normally don't practice the day before a game, but we will tomorrow."
UAB and Southern Miss will meet at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 4, at Legion Field here in Birmingham.
