The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Football Holds Final Practice Before Facing Bearcats
9/30/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 30, 2004
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- The UAB football team concluded its week of practice for its upcoming game with Cincinnati on Saturday, Oct. 2. The Blazers and Bearcats will kick off at 7:00 p.m. ET at Nippert Stadium, with the game being televised regionally on Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS).
"I think we're ready to go," said UAB head coach Watson Brown. "We've had a good week and we're pretty healthy now. Looks like everyone is spirited and ready to get on a plane to go win another game."
UAB (2-1, 1-0 C-USA) defeated the Bearcats, 31-14, during the 2003 season at Legion Field in Birmingham. The Blazers are coming off an exciting 35-28 win over Memphis last Saturday, while Cincinnati defeated East Carolina, 24-19, last week in Greenville, N.C.
The Bearcats (2-2, 1-0 C-USA) have the fourth-best pass defense in the conference, while UAB counters with C-USA Offensive Player of the Week, Darrell Hackney. Hackney, who received the honor on Sept. 27, is ranked first in conference and eighth nationally in passing efficiency (170.7 rating). He is also coming off a 398-yard performance against Memphis with three touchdowns.
"Cincinnati is a very tough team," said Brown. "The strengths of their team are their offensive and defensive lines. Every time we've gone up there, they've been very physical games. We've got to play four hard quarters and we've got to take our A-game to win."
Nippert Stadium had a FieldTurf pro surface, something the Blazers have not played on all season.
"We've got to get up there and work out on it a little," Brown said. "Our kids haven't played on that surface in awhile. We play on turf four times this season, but this is the first one. The weather could be bad as well, so we need to get up there and work on the surface in order to get these players used to it."
