The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazer Football Kicks Off C-USA Slate Saturday At SMU
9/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 10, 2010
DALLAS -- The UAB football team arrived Friday afternoon in Texas, ready for its first Conference USA test of the season at SMU.
The Blazers and Mustangs kick off Saturday at 7 p.m. CT at SMU's Gerald J. Ford Stadium in UAB's first trip to Dallas since 2007.
The game will air live in the Birmingham area on 107.7 WUHT-FM via the Blazers ISP Sports Network. David Crane, John Whitcomb and Otis Leverette will call the action with the pregame show beginning at 5:30 p.m.
UAB (0-1) has had a long week of preparation after opening its season Thursday, Sept. 2 against Florida Atlantic. SMU (0-1) has had a bit of short week after opening this past Sunday at Texas Tech.
Both teams are coming off close losses. UAB led until the fourth quarter and had a potential game-winning field goal blocked on the last play of a 32-31 defeat. SMU made a second-half comeback to get within striking distance late in a 35-27 loss.
"(SMU head coach) June (Jones) gets the reputation of throwing the ball and that's where they are going to start, but I don't think we can go to sleep on the running game either," UAB head coach Neil Callaway said this week. "All in all, I think it will be an evenly matched football game. I think it will come down to whoever plays harder, makes the plays and finishes the ball game."
UAB emerged from the opening week with plenty of positives to build on, not the least of which was the performance of its new signal-caller. In his first career start, David Isabelle set a Conference USA quarterback record with 214 yards rushing. He also accounted for all four Blazer touchdowns, three of them on the ground and one through the air to Daniel Borne.
The Blazers out-gained Florida Atlantic by nearly 80 total yards, ran for 345 as a team and won the time-of-possession battle.
In SMU's loss, quarterback Kyle Padron led the Mustang attack with 218 yards passing and two scores. He was also intercepted three times in the game.
UAB will be looking to avenge last year's 35-33 loss to SMU in Birmingham. The Blazers came back from a 21-point halftime deficit in that game but had a two-point conversion attempt in the final minute come up short. In the last meeting in Dallas, SMU earned a 22-9 win in 2007.
