The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers close out regular season at East Carolina
11/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 25, 2005
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- The UAB football team, coming off its most impressive win of the season - a 35-23 victory at UTEP last weekend -- will play its final regular season game of the season Saturday as the Blazers take on Conference USA foe East Carolina in Greenville, N.C.
UAB (5-5, 3-4) will be looking to become bowl eligible when it meets up with the Pirates (4-6, 3-4) at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. The Blazers lead the all-time series with ECU, 3-1, but have not played against the Pirates since the 2002 season when UAB won by a 36-29 score in Birmingham.
UAB's last trip to Greenville came during the 2000 season when the Blazers prevailed by a 16-13 score.
Both UAB and East Carolina are coming off big wins last Saturday. The Blazers used a balanced attack to upset then No. 24-ranked UTEP to even their record at 5-5. ECU, meanwhile, pulled off a mild upset at Huntington, W.Va. as it went on the road and escaped with a 34-29 win over the Thundering Herd.
The Blazers and Pirates have shared a common trend this season, that being getting off to slow start. UAB has been outscored 41-3 in the first quarter over the last five games while ECU has scored a total of 24 first-period points with 14 of those coming in the season opener against Duke.
UAB is hoping Saturday's game in Greenville won't be the final appearance in the Green & Gold for senior quarterback Darrell Hackney. Hackney will enter Saturday's contest with ECU having passed for 9,608 yards and 71 touchdowns during his career.
QB James Pinkney has been productive for East Carolina, leading the Pirates to comebacks in several games during the season. Pinkney currently has 2,487 yards passing and 12 touchdowns.
Saturday's game will carried on the ISP Blazer Network (101.1 FM, Birmingham) and also televised locally in Birmingham on UPN 68.
