The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers On Road Saturday At Marshall
10/28/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 28, 2011
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- After posting its first win of the season, UAB will attempt to make it two in a row this Saturday when the Blazers travel to Huntington, W.Va. to take on the Marshall Thundering Herd in a Conference USA matchup. The game is set for noon ET and will be televised regionally by CSS.
The Blazers (1-6, 1-3 C-USA) rallied for a 26-24 victory over UCF last Thursday as freshman kicker Ty Long booted a game-winning 40-yard field goal with :21 remaining. UAB ran up 501 yards of total offense against a UCF defense that came into the game ranked No. 3 nationally and yielding only 221.3 yards per contest. QB Jonathan Perry started for UAB and passed for 327 yards and pair of touchdowns in the game.
Marshall (3-5, 2-2 C-USA) is coming off a 63-28 road loss at No. 19-ranked Houston last Saturday as the Cougars' Case Keenum passed for 376 yards and six touchdowns in the game. The Herd has wins this season over Southern Miss, Louisville and Rice.
UAB (1-6, 1-3 C-USA) at Marshall (3-5, 2-2 C-USA)
Joan C. Edwards Stadium (38,019) • Huntington, W.Va.
Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011 • 12:00 p.m. ET • CSS
TV: CSS - Mike Morgan (pbp), Chuck Oliver (color), Craig Ackerman (sidelines)
RADIO: Blazer IMG Sports Network - David Crane (pbp), John Whitcomb (color) and Sam Miller (sidelines) have the call. This week's broadcast can be heard on WJOX 94.5 FM 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 3,697 career passing yards and has reached that number in only 13 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 10 passes for 82 yards against UCF last week, has had at least one reception in all 19 games of his collegiate career. He has a team-high 43 grabs for 403 yards in seven games this season. Another Blazer receiver, Patrick Hearn, had his own reception streak snapped at Tulsa two weeks ago as the junior failed to catch at least one pass for the first time in 17 contests for UAB. He started a new streak against the Knights last week with three receptions and now has 18 catches in 2011 for 220 yards.
-- UAB has one of the most experienced offensive lines in the country with 153 career starts among six offensive linemen. Senior Terence Edge leads the way with 39 career starts.
SERIES HISTORY: SEVENTH MEETING BETWEEN UAB AND MARSHALL
UAB and Marshall will be meeting for the seventh time when they play Saturday in Huntington. The Thundering Herd lead the series with the Blazers by a 5-1 margin and are 3-0 against UAB on their home field at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
Marshall took a 31-17 decision over the Blazers last season in Birmingham and was a 27-7 winner at home two seasons ago.
UAB's only win in the series was a 23-21 victory in 2008 at Legion Field.
The Herd edged the Blazers, 20-19, in the first meeting between the teams back in 2005 at Huntington. Four of the six meetings in the series between the schools have been decided by seven points or less.
2010 - Marshall won 31-17 at Birmingham
2009 - Marshall won 27-7 at Huntington
2008 - UAB won 23-21 at Birmingham
2007 - Marshall won 46-39 at Huntington
2006 - Marshall won 31-24 at Birmingham
2005 - Marshall won 20-19 at Huntington
PERRY MADE FIRST CAREER START VS. TROY OCT. 1
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 seven 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, who finished with 106 passing yards at East Carolina as he hit 9-of-16 passes against the Pirates and led the Blazers on two long, late-game drives, has gone on to complete 78-of-138 for 842 yards this season. He had his best game last week vs. UCF as he threw for 327 yards on 31-of-42 passes.
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.
LAST MEETING
Quarterback Brian Anderson threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns to lead Marshall to a 31-17 win over UAB at Legion Field.
The score was tied at 17-17 when UAB kicker Josh Zahn booted a 20-yard field goal at the 12:54 mark of the fourth quarter. The Thundering Herd took the lead at the 9:32 mark when running back Troy Evans recovered his own fumble in the Blazer endzone. Marshall added to the lead, again on the strength of a play by Evans, when he returned a punt 24 yards to the UAB 21-yard-line.
Four plays later with 5:02 to play, Anderson hit tight end Lee Smith for an 8-yard touchdown pass, his second score for the day. Smith finished the game with nine receptions for 81 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Anderson, who completed 25 of 41 passes with one interception for the Thundering Herd, threw two first-quarter touchdown passes.
UAB quarterback Bryan Ellis also had two scoring passes in the first half, the second a 43-yarder to Patrick Hearn to tie the game at 14 with 1:03 to go until halftime.
After UAB's kickoff, Marshall then went seven plays in 58 seconds, culminating in Tyler Warner's 41-yard field goal.
The Blazers tied the game early in the fourth quarter on the Zahn field goal.
UAB, which had averaged 187 rushing yards over the previous three games was held to only 83 by Marshall. It was the first time that the Blazers had been held to less than 100 rushing yards through the first nine games.
Quarterback Bryan Ellis finished the game with 238 passing yards, hitting 21-of-45 passes for a pair of touchdowns.
UAB linebacker Marvin Burdette finished with 20 tackles in the game, coming up one shy of the Blazers' single-game record.
BLAZERS CAUSED SEVEN TURNOVERS SEPT. 24 AT EAST CAROLINA
UAB forced seven Pirate turnovers in the Sept. 24 loss at East Carolina, causing four fumbles and recording three interceptions. The four opponent fumbles recovered tied the Blazer school record. The last time UAB recovered four opponent fumbles was the Morehead State game in 1993.
WILLIAMS EXTENDS RECEPTION STREAK TO 19 GAMES
UAB sophomore wide receiver Jackie Williams has posted 35 catches in his last five games (East Carolina, Troy, Mississippi State, Tulsa and UCF) combined to extend his reception streak to 19 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.
Williams' streak is the fourth-longest in UAB history. Roddy White (2002-05) and Derrick Ingram (1991-94) each had 35-game streaks, while Cedrick Buchannon had a 23-game streak from 1993-95.
FRESHMAN KICKER Ty Long HAS CONNECTED ON 10-OF-12
UAB freshman placekicker Ty Long has connected on 10 of his first 12 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 49-yarder two weeks ago at Tulsa.
BURDETTE ONE OF C-USA'S BEST LINEBACKERS
UAB linebacker Marvin Burdette emerged as one of the best at his position in Conference USA during the 2010 season. Burdette finished with 114 tackles last fall, the fifth-highest total in Blazer history and the most by a UAB linebacker since 2003 when Zac Woodfin recorded 149 stops and Nigel Eldridge had 128. Burdette finished the 2010 campaign with 77 solo hits. He completed the year ranked No. 5 in the league with 9.5 tackles per contest.
Burdette was especially around the ball down the stretch as he registered 65 stops in the final five games and averaged 13 per contest in that period. He has 49 tackles in seven games in 2011 and 206 in his career.
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 11 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 four weeks ago against the Trojans as he returned a punt 91 yards before being knocked out of bounds at the Troy 1-yard line.
UAB POSTS HIGHEST RUSHING MARK SINCE 2010 USM GAME
UAB finished with a 174 yards rushing as a team in last week's game against UCF, the most for the Blazers since a 223-yard output on the ground last season at Southern Miss (Oct. 30, 2010). Freshman Darrin Reaves led the UAB rushers with a career-high 83 yards on 15 carries while sophomore Greg Franklin added 42 yards on eight attempts.
REAVES SEES MOST EXTENSIVE ACTION
Freshman running back Darrin Reaves saw his most extensive action of the season and ran for a career-high 83 yards on a career-best 15 carries last week vs. UCF. His 82 yards were the most by a UAB rusher this season.
PERRY FINISHES WITH BEST GAME
QB Jonathan Perry made his third career start and his third in the past four games in place of an injured Bryan Ellis last week vs. UCF. Perry completed his first eight passes and 11 of first 12 before finishing the night with career-highs in completions (31), attempts (42), yards (327) and touchdowns (two).
