The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Close Out Season Saturday With Afternoon Game At Rice
11/26/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 26, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- The UAB football team will take on the Rice Owls Saturday afternoon at Rice Stadium in Houston as the Blazers look to finish their 2010 campaign on a positive note.
The Blazers (4-7, 3-4 C-USA) are hoping to win their second straight game when they take on the Owls at 2:30 p.m. CT. UAB defeated Memphis, 31-15, last Saturday at Legion Field on `Senior Day' for the Blazers.
UAB had 510 yards on offense in the win over the Tigers as QB Bryan Ellis threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns. Ellis has now thrown for 2,692 yards and 22 touchdowns this season.
Those numbers are especially impressive when considering the junior did not play in the season opener vs. Florida Atlantic, saw limited action a week later at SMU and didn't enter the game the following week vs. Troy until midway through the second quarter.
UAB has amassed 500 or more offensive yards in five games this season, one more than the Blazers achieved in the 2009 season.
When UAB goes up against Rice (3-8, 2-5 C-USA) on Saturday, the Blazers will be facing a team that has also been explosive on offense in recent weeks.
The Owls are coming off a 62-38 win over East Carolina last Saturday as they finished with 639 yards on offense, including 410 on the ground.
Sophomore Sam McGuffie is the top rusher for Rice. He enters Saturday's contest with 827 yards on 179 carries, and much like his UAB counterpart Pat Shed, he has also been adept catching passes out of the backfield. McGuffie leads the Owls in receptions with 37.
"Looking ahead to the Rice game, they have really come on during the last two or three weeks, especially offensively," UAB head coach Neil Callaway said. "They scored 62 points against East Carolina last weekend and 49 against Tulane in the week before. They have caught fire offensively.
"They are doing a lot of things, running the football and mixing it up. Offensively, they have been so successful, and I think that has bled over into the rest of the team. They are playing good football, so it is a game that we will have to make sure we are ready to play."
Shed has had an outstanding season for UAB with 813 rushing yards and a team-leading 40 catches for 377 yards. In addition, Shed has been one of the top all-purpose performers in college football this season. He ranks No. 4 in the latest NCAA statistics for all-purpose average with 176.3 per contest.
Defensively, the Blazers are led in tackles by sophomore linebacker Marvin Burdette. Burdette enters the final game with 97 stops to rank No. 6 in Conference USA. Safety Jamie Bender has 80 tackles for UAB. On the defensive line, junior defensive tackle Elliott Henigan (50 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss) and defensive end Bryant Turner (10 TFL, 5.5 sacks) lead the way.
This will be the fourth meeting between the two teams. UAB leads the series by a 2-1 margin as the home team has won each of the three previous meetings. The Blazers took a 44-24 win in Birmingham in the 2009 season opener. The Owls were 34-33 winners in Houston in 2006. UAB won the first-ever matchup in 2005, taking a 45-26 win at Legion Field.
Saturday's contest will be carried live from Houston on the Blazer 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 p.m. CT.
