The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Face Challenging Road Contest Saturday At Tulsa
10/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 15, 2011
Gameday Central | Gametracker | Listen Live
UAB returns to Conference USA play Saturday as the Blazers travel to Tulsa, Okla. to take on the Tulsa Golden Hurrricane in a contest at H.A. Chapman Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. CT with the game to be televised by the CBS Sports Network.
The Blazers (0-5, 0-2 C-USA) are coming off a 21-3 defeat at home last Saturday to SEC foe Mississippi State. UAB held a 3-0 lead at intermission, but MSU quarterback Tyler Russell came off the bench to throw for 166 yards and three touchdowns -- all in the second half -- to lead the Bulldog comeback. UAB QB Jonathan Perry passed for 195 yards as he hit 18-of-36 passes with one interception. RB Pat Shed ran for 73 yards (16 attempts) and also had five receptions for 32 yards.
Tulsa (2-3, 1-0 C-USA) had an open date last weekend after beating North Texas, 41-24, a week earlier in a non-conference home game. QB G.J. Kinne passed for 314 yards and three touchdowns in the victory.
UAB at Tulsa
Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011 - 7:00 p.m. CT
H.A. Chapman Stadium
Tulsa, Okla.
TV: CBS Sports Network - Dave Ryan (pbp), Rich Rodriguez (color)
RADIO: Blazer IMG Sports Network - David Crane (pbp), John Whitcomb (color) and Sam Miller (sidelines) have the call. The broadcast can be heard on WUHT-FM 107.7 in Birmingham.
FIRST AND 10
-- UAB returns 16 starters on offense (7) and defense (9) from last season's team that finished 4-8. The Blazers had a pair of performers -- offensive tackle Matt McCants and defensive tackle Elliott Henigan -- named to the 2011 preseason All-Conference USA team by the league's coaches. In addition, UAB returns quarterback Bryan Ellis, who passed for 2,940 yards and 25 touchdowns in only nine starts during the 2010 campaign.
-- UAB has a young football program compared to most of its opposition. The Blazers are in their 21st season of football (and 16th at the Division I-A or FBS level) as they played their first intercollegiate season in 1991 at the NCAA Division III level. UAB moved to Division I-AA two seasons later in 1993 and remained at that level three years before making the transition to Division I-A beginning in 1996.
-- Safety Jamie Bender's 35-yard interception return for a touchdown at East Carolina was the Blazers' first defensive score since Marquis Coleman returned a pick 99 yards at UTEP on Oct. 31, 2009. UAB scored defensive touchdowns in back-to-back games after T.J. Ballou returned an interception 52 yards for a score in the Blazers' 24-23 loss Oct. 1 at Troy.
-- Senior Nick Adams' 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown vs. Tulane Sept. 17 was the Blazers' first kickoff return for a score since the 2008 season, a span of 37 games.
-- In the Sept. 10th season opener at Florida, there were 19 UAB players who saw first-time action in a Blazer uniform, including seven true freshmen. The seven true freshmen were: TE Kennard Backman, RB Bashr Coles, DL Mickey Jackson, PK Ty Long, DE Tyler Peppers, RB Darrin Reaves and DE Diaheem Watkins.
-- QB Bryan Ellis moved into the No. 4 spot on UAB's career list for passing yards with his performance at Florida in the season opener. Ellis now has 3,417 career passing yards and has reached that number in only 12 starts. Daniel Dixon, who had been fourth on the Blazer all-time list, totaled 3,085 during his career from 1997-2000.
-- WR Jackie Williams, who caught a career-best eight passes for 89 yards against Troy earlier this month, has had at least one reception in all 17 games of his collegiate career. He has a team-high 26 grabs for 244 yards in five games this season. Another Blazer receiver, Patrick Hearn, has his own reception streak going as the junior has caught at least one pass in 16 consecutive contests for UAB. Hearn has 15 catches in 2011 for 185 yards.
-- UAB has one of the most experienced offensive lines in the country with 143 career starts among six offensive linemen. Senior Terence Edge leads the way with 37 career starts.
BLAZERS PLAYING FOUR OF FIRST SIX ON THE ROAD
UAB plays four of its first six games on the road this season. The Blazers opened the season Sept. 10th at Florida before returning home a week later to start the Conference USA season vs. Tulane. UAB played at league foe East Carolina Sept. 24, took on Troy on the road Oct. 1 before hosting SEC foe Mississippi State last Saturday. The Blazers are at Tulsa this coming Saturday.
SERIES HISTORY: THIRD MEETING BETWEEN UAB AND TULSA UAB and Tulsa will be meeting for only the third time when they play Saturday. The Golden Hurricane has won each of the first two matchups, taking a 38-30 victory in 2007 in head coach Neil Callaway's first season at the helm of the Blazer program, and then claiming a 45-22 win in the 2008 season opener at Legion Field.
In opposite C-USA divisions, the teams are scheduled to play again in 2012 with the game slated at Legion Field.
2007 - Tulsa won 38-30 at Tulsa
2008 - Tulsa won 45-22 at Birmingham
LAST MEETING VS. TULSA
UAB quarterback Joe Webb rushed for 136 yards and threw for 169 yards and two touchdowns for the Blazers, but UAB came up short by a 45-22 score in the 2008 season opener against Tulsa.
The Blazers led 22-21 at halftime but were outscored 24-0 after intermission.
Tulsa's defense held strong in the second half, holding UAB to 21 yards of total offense in the third quarter. The Golden Hurricane outgained the Blazers, 314-133, in the second half.
Tarrion Adams scored on a 9-yard run with 12:12 left in the third quarter to give Tulsa a 28-22 lead. Then Courtney Tennial added a 1-yard touchdown run to give the Golden Hurricane a 14-point lead in the third.
Charles Clay caught two touchdown passes for Tulsa, including a 73-yard score in the fourth. Brennan Marion had four catches for 125 yards.
David Johnson connected with Jacob Collums on a 10-yard touchdown and had a 5-yard passing score to Clay in the first half.
Tulsa, which led the nation in a season earlier, had 601 total yards on offense. UAB totaled 414 yards on offense.
The Golden Hurricane went ahead 21-13 when Tarrion Adams scored on a three-yard run.
The Blazers cut the lead to 21-19 in the second quarter when Frantrell Forrest returned a kickoff for a 90-yard touchdown. Swayze Waters made a 32-yard field goal before halftime to give UAB a one-point lead.
Wide receiver Mario Wright led the Blazers in receptions and receiving yards (3-46).
Adams finished with a team-high 63 rushing yards for Tulsa on 12 attempts while Jamad Williams had 58 yards on the ground on only seven carries.
THIRD TRIP TO STATE OF OKLAHOMA FOR BLAZERS
UAB will be making its third overall football trip to the state of Oklahoma this weekend. Not only have the Blazers played Tulsa once previously on the home field of the Golden Hurricane, but UAB played a road game against Oklahoma at Norman in the first game of the 2006 season. The Blazers suffered a narrow defeat in that game, falling to the Sooners, 17-10.
SHED MOVING UP UAB RECEIVING LIST FOR RUNNING BACK
UAB senior running back Pat Shed continues to move up the UAB career charts for receptions and receiving yards for a running back.
Though he's only played in 16 games for the Blazers, Shed is ranked in the top five in both categories. Shed currently has 65 receptions which ranks him No. 5 on UAB's all-time list for a running back. His 579 receiving yards are fourth all-time for the Blazers.
SHED ECLIPSES 1,000-YARD RUSHING MARK FOR CAREER
Running back Pat Shed has played in just 16 games for the Blazers, but he eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for his career in Saturday's loss to Mississippi State. Shed enters this week's game at Tulsa with 1,048 career rushing yards at UAB. Shed missed the 2011 season opener at Florida due to injury but has played in the past four contests.
Shed posted a season-high 73 rushing yards against Mississippi State and now has 201 yards on the season.
IRVIN HAD FOUR FUMBLE RECOVERIES VS. ECU, LEADS NATION
Junior linebacker Greg Irvin recovered all four fumbles for UAB at East Carolina, breaking the previous individual school record of two in a single game. They were the first fumble recoveries of Irvin's career.
With his performance in a single day, Irvin took over the NCAA lead in 2011 with his four fumble recoveries. He's still atop the list this week in the NCAA stats.
PERRY SEES MOST SIGNIFICANT ACTION OF CAREER
Quarterback Jonathan Perry made his first career start Oct. 1 at Troy, a week after he saw what had been his most extensive action at East Carolina. Perry, who had not played for the Blazers until the 2011 season, has seen action in all five games, but he saw considerable playing in the fourth quarter Sept. 24 at ECU after starting QB Bryan Ellis left the game due to an injury.
Perry finished with 106 passing yards as he hit 9-of-16 passes against the Pirates and led the Blazers on two long, late-game drives. In his two starts the past two games, Perry is 37-of-75 passing for 391 yards.
TRIO OF NEW COACHES JOINS STAFF
For the first time in Neil Callaway's five-year tenure at UAB, the football coaching staff has a few new faces on the sidelines. Tommy West, who has 30 years of coaching experience, including head coaching stints at Memphis, Clemson and UT-Chattanooga, is the Blazers' new defensive coordinator this season.
Rick Mallory, another veteran collegiate coach and former NFL offensive lineman, will coach the UAB offensive line, while John Wozniak joins the staff as running backs coach and co-special teams coordinator. West, Mallory and Wozniak all were on the same coaching staff at Memphis.
WILLIAMS EXTENDS RECEPTION STREAK TO 17 GAMES
UAB sophomore wide receiver Jackie Williams has posted 18 catches in his last three games against East Carolina, Troy and Mississippi State combined to extend his reception streak to 17 consecutive games. He has caught at least one pass in every game he has played with the Blazers, going back to the start of the 2010 season.
Through five games this season, Williams already is only four catches short of the number of receptions he totalled in all of 2010 when he led all Conference USA freshman receivers in receptions with 30. He has recorded a team-best 26 catches for 244 yards thus far this fall.
FRESHMAN KICKER LONG HAS CONNECTED ON 6-OF-8
UAB freshman placekicker Ty Long has connected on six of his first eight field goal attempts this season. Long, from Roswell, Ga., made his first five attempts before missing a 43-yarder at Troy Oct. 1. His longest kick of the season thus far is a 41-yarder against the Trojans.
BLAZERS LOOKING FOR MORE OFFENSIVE TOUCHDOWNS
Last season, UAB registered an impressive 42 touchdowns on offense. After five games in 2011, the Blazers have posted just three offensive TDs (15-yard Jackie Williams run, 7-yard Pat Shed run and 1-yard Jonathan Perry run). UAB's other three touchdowns this season have come on a 92-yard kickoff return by WR Nick Adams vs. Tulane, a 35-yard interception return score by safety Jamie Bender at East Carolina and 52-yard interception return by T.J. Ballou at Troy.
BLAZERS HOLD MSU SCORELESS IN FIRST HALF LAST SATURDAY
UAB shut out Mississippi State through the first half in last Saturday's game at Legion Field. It was the first time that the Blazers held an opponent scoreless in the opening half since the final game of the 2008 season. UAB held UCF scoreless the entire game on Nov. 29, 2008 as the Blazers posted a 15-0 victory.
LONGEST DRIVE OF SEASON
UAB's 14-play field goal drive at the end of the first half last Saturday vs. Mississippi State is the Blazers' longest drive of the season in terms of plays. In terms of yardage, the 73-yard scoring drive was UAB's second-longest this season, behind only an 80-yard touchdown drive three weeks ago at East Carolina.
BLAZERS WITH DEFENSIVE TOUCHDOWNS IN BACK-TO-BACK GAMES
UAB registered a defensive touchdown -- both on interceptions -- in consecutive games earlier this season. The Blazers got a 52-yard interception return for a touchdown by cornerback T.J. Ballou against Troy Oct. 1 and a week earlier safety Jamie Bender ran back a "pick six" from 35 yards out against East Carolina.
The Blazers have scored six touchdowns this season and three of those have come via either special teams or defense. Wide receiver Nick Adams returned a kickoff 92 yards against Tulane last month. Jackie Williams nearly provided the Blazers with another special teams score two weeks ago against the Trojans as he returned a punt 91 yards before being knocked out of bounds at the Troy 1-yard line.
