The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Begin Preparations For Florida Atlantic
9/1/2008 12:00:00β―AM | Football
Sept. 1, 2008
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- UAB head football coach Neil Callaway and several Blazer players were on hand Monday at the weekly media luncheon to discuss the team's upcoming game at Florida Atlantic. Game time Saturday at Lockhart Stadium is 4 p.m. EDT (3 p.m. CT).
UAB (0-1), coming off an opening-week loss to Tulsa, is preparing for its first ever meeting against the Owls. Saturday's contest is the first in a four-game series, which features home games for the Blazers in 2009 and 2010 followed by another trip to Florida Atlantic in 2011.
Saturday's game is the first road contest of the season for UAB and the first of four straight non-conference match-ups, three of which are away from home.
The Blazers opened at Legion Field Saturday with a good first half against preseason Conference USA West Division favorite Tulsa. UAB led the Golden Hurricane 22-21 at halftime before falling 45-22.
"With the Tulsa game, obviously we are very disappointed in the outcome," Callaway said. "It's a game we thought we would have a good shot at. It looked like that going into halftime. I knew offensively we could score some points. I knew defensively we would struggle a little because of their style of offense. The most disappointing thing was not being able to score points in the second half."
Quarterback Joe Webb made his second career start and threw two first-half touchdown passes. Receiver Frantrell Forrest caught one of the touchdowns and also returned a kickoff 90 yards for a score.
"I do think there were a lot of positives," Callaway said. "I think we did a lot of things a lot better than a year ago. We will take those positives and build on them and learn from our mistakes. We just have to keep getting better every week."
Florida Atlantic is coming off a 52-10 loss Saturday at Texas. The Owls went 7-5 in 2007 and represented the Sun Belt Conference with a victory over C-USA member Memphis in the New Orleans Bowl.
"Florida Atlantic will be a very physical football team," Callaway said. "It will be a different type of ball game than what we had last week against Tulsa. Offensively, Florida Atlantic is going to come right at us. They do an excellent job throwing the football. Their quarterback is the key to their offensive attack. Defensively, they are a hard-nosed bunch that's going to get after you."
Monday's luncheon was moved from Bartow Arena to the south side Full Moon restaurant. The arena is one of four Birmingham locations hosting evacuees from the Gulf Coast region who are escaping Hurricane Gustav.
Head Coach Neil Callaway
On Tulsa
"With the Tulsa game, obviously we are very disappointed in the outcome. It's a game we thought we would have a good shot at. It looked like that going into halftime. I knew offensively we could score some points. I knew defensively we would struggle a little because of their style of offense. The most disappointing thing was not being able to score points in the second half. I do think there were a lot of positives. I think we did a lot of things a lot better than a year ago. We will take those positives and build on them and learn from our mistakes. We just have to keep getting better every week."
On Florida Atlantic
"We are playing a team that I know will be a physical, hard-nosed team. Howard Schnellenberger is one of the guys I have followed over the years, watching his career and how he does things and the way he runs his program. I guess it goes back to his days with coach Bryant at Kentucky and Alabama. He has had a lot of success wherever he has been, building programs at Miami and at Louisville. He has been one of the most outstanding coaches in this country for a long time. Everywhere he has been he has won. Florida Atlantic will be a very physical football team. It will be a different type of ball game than what we had last week against Tulsa. Tulsa had a lot of finesse and misdirection. Offensively, Florida Atlantic is going to come right at us. They do an excellent job throwing the football. Their quarterback is the key to their offensive attack. Defensively, they are a hard-nosed bunch that's going to get after you. We are going to have to make sure we are ready to go in all phases of the game."
On FAU's quarterback play
"One of coach Schnellenberger's fortes over the years has been the number of high quality quarterbacks he has put in the NFL. Their passing game is as efficient as anyone we will see."
On stopping FAU's running game
"I was really proud of the defensive line last week. I thought we did a decent job of stopping the run game. But we will have to see. I don't think Tulsa was the type of team that would come right at you like Florida Atlantic. It will be a good challenge."
On the lack of offense in the second half of the Tulsa game
"I wish I could tell you. We've gone back and looked at it. We never really put anything back-to-back. Joe Webb is obviously a big part of our offense, but we can't depend on Joe to do everything. We have to spread the ball around. The running backs and receivers have to do their part. If I had to say one thing, offensively, it would be that we just got sloppy. We just have to stay focused for 60 minutes and stay the course."
On the first game jitters
"I thought some of the young guys played really pretty well. Chase Daniel and Drew Luker did a fine job. They made some freshman mistakes like you would expect, but overall I was pleased with they way they played. The problem was playing an offense like Tulsa's. They are just so hard to defend."
Receiver Frantrell Forrest
On rebounding from the loss to Tulsa
"I feel like it was a step backwards. We made a couple of mistakes. There are some things that we could have made happen, but we didn't. We're going to bounce back and work harder."
On what the offense can do this season
"We have a lot of guys that can make plays on this offense. We should have a very productive season."
On what he tells the younger guys as they get ready for their first road game
"We just tell them that they need to relax, get ready to play football and have fun. A lot of the guys are already ready and focused for this game."
On whether he feels the Florida Atlantic game is a must-win game
"I really feel that every game is a must-win game. We are trying to turn this program around and get the support from everybody that we can in the city of Birmingham."
Defensive end Bryant Turner
On the loss to Tulsa
"Tulsa had a very difficult offense to prepare for. They run a lot of trick plays that were hard to prepare for. You have to be a very disciplined defense to stop Tulsa's offense. I think we did well. The coaches said we did well in the first half, but we only played one half as a team. We need to learn how to play two halves."
On getting the defense focused for the upcoming game at Florida Atlantic
"The first game broke the ice and got the nervousness out for the rest of the season. I think we will be more focused going into the second game. The game being away doesn't really matter. We are still going to be focused."
On what the defensive line needs to work on before the upcoming game
"We played a pretty good game this last game, but we want to be more physical and work on technique going into this next game."
