The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers In Hattiesburg To Take On Southern Miss
11/1/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 1, 2008
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- The UAB Blazers will look to start one streak while putting an end to another when they meet Southern Mississippi Saturday night in Hattiesburg.
The Blazers (2-6, 1-3 Conference USA) would like to post a second straight win after defeating Marshall, 23-21, in their last outing two weeks ago at Legion Field.
Meanwhile, Southern Miss (2-6, 0-4 C-USA) has an 8-0 advantage in the all-time series against the Blazers even though the first seven of those matchups were decided by nine points or less. USM won 25-20 two years ago at Roberts Stadium.
Gametime is set for 7:00 p.m. CT and the contest will be televised regionally by CSS (Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast).
UAB is coming off an open date and though the Blazers were winners in their last action, head coach Neil Callaway thinks the bye week came at a good time. He also knows the challenge his team will face Saturday night.
"We are coming off an open week, which I think was much needed and much appreciated not only by the players but by the coaches," Callaway said. "UAB has never beaten Southern Miss. Obviously, it's a game we would like to win. We have a tremendous amount of respect for their program and what they've done."
Despite USM's record at this point, Callaway says the Golden Eagles provide a talented opponent to the Blazers.
"Their record is not where they want it to be," said Callaway. "I really don't know why. They've got some very good players. Their tailback (Damion Fletcher) is an outstanding running back. I thought going into the league this year he was the best returning player.
"They have an outstanding linebacker (Gerald McRath), who I think was defensive player of the year in Conference USA last year. You scratch your head and ask yourself why their record is where it is. You see them still making plays. I've been impressed with how hard they play. The fact that they play hard to the end impresses me."
Fletcher is having another outstanding season as he enters the game vs. UAB with 969 yards and seven touchdowns. He averages 6.2 yards per catch. McRath is leading C-USA defenders in tackles by far with 98 stops for a 12.2 average.
Of Southern Miss' five consecutive losses, four of them have been by a touchdown or less. The Golden Eagles fell to Memphis, 36-30, last Saturday in their most recent game.
UAB will counter with its own weapons. QB Joe Webb has thrown for 1,726 yards and eight touchdowns while running for a team-high 723 yards, a league record for a quarterback and the fourth-best total in C-USA this week.
Defensively, the Blazers have shown improvement in recent weeks. They held Marshall's offense scoreless in the second half in the last game as senior LB Joe Henderson led the way with 13 tackles and four stops for loss. Henderson was recognized with C-USA Defensive Player-of-the-Week honors for his performance.
"We've made a lot of progress (on defense), obviously, from the first two games where I didn't think we could stop anybody," said Callaway. "We are getting to a point now where we shut Marshall down in the second half. We've made a lot of improvement all the way around. We are playing a lot of freshmen, and I think they have gotten better.
"The older guys like Matt Taylor and Joe Henderson have stepped up and taken on leadership roles, saying `we don't want to lose any more ball games'. That's been a big factor also."
In addition to the CSS television coverage, Saturday's game will also be carried on the Blazers ISP Sports Network on WWMM 100.5 FM radio.
