The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Open Marshall Week With Monday Media Luncheon
10/19/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 19, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB football team returns to conference play this weekend with a pivotal road trip to Huntington, W. Va., to face the Marshall Thundering Herd on Saturday.
UAB head coach Neil Callaway along with quarterback Joe Webb, cornerback Brandon Carlisle and defensive lineman Elliott Henigan met with the media at Monday's weekly luncheon to look ahead to the Marshall game and recap this past Saturday's loss at Ole Miss.
The Blazers (2-4 overall) stepped out of conference action and dropped a 48-13 decision on the road in Oxford, Miss. It was the first of three straight games away from home for the Blazers, who are in a three-way tie for second place in the Conference USA East Division standings with a 2-1 league record.
Marshall (4-3 overall) is in that same tie for second place in the East. At 2-1 in conference play, the Herd's only C-USA loss has come against league-leading East Carolina. Marshall also stepped out of conference play over the weekend and lost 24-7 on the road at West Virginia.
"This game is a conference game, so it has some extra meaning to it," Callaway said. "I made sure our players understood that in our team meeting. I think Marshall is a much-improved team from last year.
"I would anticipate this season being a close, hard-fought football game. We need to make sure we have a good week of preparation."
Saturday's kickoff is scheduled for Noon ET (11 a.m. CT) at Joan C. Edwards Stadium, and the game will be televised by CSS.
The game will also be carried on the Blazers ISP Sports Network and can be heard in the Birmingham area on flagship station WUHT-FM 107.7 with David Crane (play-by-play) and Jake Arians (color) on the call. The pregame show will begin 90 minutes prior to kickoff.
UAB Head Coach Neil Callaway
On the Ole Miss game:
"Obviously, Ole Miss has a good football team and we lost handily to them. You have to give Ole Miss credit. They are a very good football team, and we knew that coming in, especially defensively, and they proved that to be true. Offensively, I thought we did a nice job running the football. Even though we are not where we want to be, I think we showed improvement throwing the football. The first 20 snaps of the game were good from a defensive standpoint, but we came unraveled a little bit before halftime. We gave up a couple of quick scores, which I think did us in."
On the kicking game versus Ole Miss:
"I was disappointed in the kicking game all the way around. The opening kickoff they returned for a touchdown was not good. We had confusion on the kickoff as far as assignments and miscommunication a few times. I thought (punter) Trey (Ragland) had a couple of good punts, but one that was not good was the one he punted from the endzone, which was critical. (Placekicker) Josh (Zahn) missed a field goal early on that would have made it 7-3. We just need to put that one behind us and move on to the next game."
On the upcoming Marshall game:
"This game is a conference game, so it has some extra meaning to it. I made sure our players understood that in our team meeting. I think Marshall is a much-improved team from last year. We have to make sure we always know where their running back and tight end are. They have a new quarterback this year, who I think has performed well. They do a nice job offensively. Defensively, they are an attacking style of defense. They like to change things up and they like to bring pressure. They are not going to be a defense that sits and waits on you. They are going to come after you.
"We are looking forward to going up there. Marshall has a nice atmosphere to play in. The previous time we went up there two years ago, Marshall won in a close, hard-fought ball game. Last year, we won in a close, hard-fought ball game. I would anticipate this season being a close, hard-fought football game. We need to make sure we have a good week of preparation. We will finally be able to get back on our practice field as long as we don't get any more rain, which will be good. We're looking forward to the occasion."
On upcoming C-USA games:
"We talked about it yesterday. What I told our players, and I think they know this, is that these next few ball games are going to be the defining moment for our season. Obviously, we are going to take it one game at a time and not look ahead, but it's going to be critical to do well these next couple of weeks."
On whether last Saturday's loss will affect the players in the upcoming game:
"The guys are a lot more resilient to move past the losses than us coaches. We always come in Sunday to work out, lift and run and meet on the previous game. Once we get that over with, we all are ready to get started. I think we will be able to move past this one with no problem."
On handling adversity in the Ole Miss game:
"I think from a defensive standpoint, the first 20 snaps were good. But then when we gave up a big play, things started to snowball a little. We have to learn how to handle adversity a little better, particularly defensively. People are going to make plays, but that doesn't mean the game is over. We need to do better about putting things behind us and moving on."
Sophomore DL Elliott Henigan
On moving on from the loss at Ole Miss:
"You can't dwell on the loss. We played hard. We didn't do what we were supposed to, but we tried as hard as we could. We have to move on and prepare for the next one. I feel like a lot of my teammates get over the loss quickly. You just can't dwell on it because it will mess you up for the next game. You just have to get up, wipe yourself off and prepare for the next game."
On the importance of the upcoming game at Marshall:
"It's really important. If we lose this game, then we drop a lot in the conference standings. We're all tied up at the top at 2-1, so if we lose this one and go 2-2, we'll drop near the bottom. So this is a big game for us."
Senior CB Brandon Carlisle
On avoiding mistakes defensively:
"Any time you go out there and miss assignments, you don't give yourself a chance to make plays and you don't give yourself a chance to win games. You'll never see how good you can be. I think we've proved we can do it, just in the Southern Miss game alone, when we didn't have any busts and we just played off our ability. We showed we can do things right."
On still being in the mix for a conference championship:
"I believe it's very important that we stress we have a lot to play for. Like I told the guys, there are no moral victories in football. You either when or you lose. And we're at a point right now where if we take care business in the conference, we can still play for the championship, which is what we want to do."
Senior QB Joe Webb
On the upcoming game at Marshall:
"It's a big ballgame. It's a big conference game. It would be a huge win and confidence-booster for the team. I think we just need to go up there and play our best game."
On the keys to the Marshall game:
"I think it will take a lot of focus and concentration and encouraging our teammates when things aren't going our way. We need to execute what we're doing and have a good gameplan going into the game. As long as we do that and our defense makes big plays, we'll be okay."
On the close games recently between UAB and Marshall:
"It's going to be a very hard-fought game. It could come down to the last possession, the last drive. We just need to go out there and play fast. We don't want to come out in the first half and get off to a bad start and have to try to make a comeback in the second half. We just need to go out there and execute what we're doing and have a good gameplan, and hopefully we'll come out with a win."
