The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Back At Legion Field To Take On UTEP
10/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 15, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- Nearly a month since its last home game, the UAB football team returns to action at Legion Field Saturday as the Blazers play host to the UTEP Miners in a Conference USA matchup. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. CT.
The Blazers (1-4, 0-2 C-USA) come into the game hungry for a win, but they will face a UTEP squad that is the only league team that has already notched five victories this season.
The Miners (5-1, 2-1 C-USA) are led by senior quarterback Trevor Vittatoe who has passed for 1,577 yards and 14 touchdowns thus far. His favorite target through the first six games has been wide receiver Kris Adams who has 23 receptions for 553 yards with eight touchdowns.
UAB got a first-hand look at Vittatoe and the Miners' explosive capabilities in last year's game at El Paso. The Blazers prevailed in the game, 38-33, but had to hold off a second-half charge by the Miners. Vittatoe finished with 397 passing yards and UTEP totaled 585 as a team in the game.
"UTEP has a very explosive, talented offensive football team," Blazers' head coach Neil Callaway said. "I think they have as good a quarterback and running back (Donald Buckram) as there is in our conference. I feel the same way about their corps of receivers. As a group, they do an outstanding job. They are a team that can hurt you running, throwing, quarterback scrambling, or whatever.
"They just have a lot of talented guys. Plus they have a big, physical offensive line. We are going to have a tough challenge on our hands defensively."
UAB, after playing well in back-to-back games against Troy and Tennessee, had a disappointing performance last week in a 42-7 loss at UCF. The Blazers averaged 540 yards on offense against the Trojans and Volunteers but managed only 269 in the loss at Orlando.
Quarterback Bryan Ellis has passed for 882 yards and five touchdowns in the past three games. Fellow signal-caller David Isabelle leads the Blazers in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns with 389 and four, respectively. Junior Pat Shed is the leading rusher among the running backs with 277 yards and an impressive 6.3 yards per carry average.
On the other side of the ball, defensive end Bryant Turner ranks among the national leaders in sacks (13th in the latest NCAA rankings) while sophomore linebacker Marvin Burdette is the team's leading tackler with 36 stops.
UAB and UTEP will be meeting for the fourth time with the Blazers holding a 2-1 series lead. The visiting team has won each of the first three matchups in the series.
Saturday's game will be carried live on the Blazers ISP Sports Network, airing locally on 107.7 WUHT-FM. David Crane, John Whitcomb and Otis Leverette will call the action with the pregame show beginning at 1:30 p.m. CT.
