The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Wrap Up Season Saturday At FAU
11/25/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 25, 2011
Gameday Central | Gametracker | Listen Live | Game Notes
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- The UAB Blazers will play their final game of the 2011 season Saturday afternoon when they take on Sun Belt Conference foe Florida Atlantic at Boca Raton, Fla. The Blazers and Owls, playing each other for the fourth consecutive season, will kick off at 4:00 p.m. ET Saturday at FAU Stadium which opened in October of this season.
UAB (3-8, 3-5 C-USA) will be in pursuit of its third straight victory after a 34-31 upset victory over No. 20-ranked Southern Miss last Thursday at Legion Field. The Blazers got a game-winning 38-yard field goal from freshman Ty Long with 3:04 remaining on the clock. UAB trailed 14-0 just three and half minutes into the game but outscored the Golden Eagles 24-7 the rest of the half to take a 24-21 lead into the locker room at intermission.
The Blazers finished the game with 236 passing yards and 189 yards rushing. QB Jonathan Perry hit 17-of-26 passes with a touchdown while RB Greg Franklin paced the ground game with 85 yards.
UAB was successful on an impressive 12-of-17 third down conversions in the game.
FAU (0-10, 0-7 Sun Belt) is seeking its first win of the season after dropping a 34-7 conference game at Troy last Saturday. The Owls still have a game remaining next week when Louisiana-Monroe visits FAU Stadium.
UAB at Florida Atlantic
Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011
4:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. CT
FAU Stadium (30,000)
Boca Raton, Fla.
TV: None
RADIO: Blazer IMG Sports Network - David Crane (pbp), John Whitcomb (color) and Sam Miller (sidelines) have the call. The game can also be heard on WUHT 107.7 FM in Birmingham.
FIRST AND 10
-- UAB returned 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.
-- 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 last two games vs. Memphis and Southern Miss, QB Jonathan Perry has passed for 646 yards (46-of-74) with five touchdown passes and no interceptions.
-- UAB recorded the largest fourth-quarter, come-from-behind victory in school history, overcoming an 18-point deficit (35-17) to start the final quarter for a 41-35 win Nov. 12 at Memphis. The previous largest fourth-quarter comeback was 13 points on two occasions - versus Butler in 1993 and versus Troy in 2010.
-- WR Jackie Williams, who caught a career-best 10 passes for 82 yards against UCF last month, has had at least one reception in all 22 games of his collegiate career. He has a team-high 54 grabs for 545 yards in 10 games this season. WR Patrick Hearn has caught a pass in 21 of the past 22 games for the Blazers.
-- UAB has one of the most experienced offensive lines in the country with 173 career starts among six offensive linemen. Senior Terence Edge leads the way with 43 career starts. Fellow senior Matt McCants has 41 career starts for the Blazers.
SERIES HISTORY: FOURTH MEETING BETWEEN UAB AND FLORIDA ATLANTIC
UAB and Florida Atlantic will be meeting for the fourth time and for the fourth consecutive season when they play Saturday at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Fla.
The Owls have a 2-1 edge in the series that began with a 49-34 FAU victory at Boca Raton in 2008. UAB won by a 56-29 margin in 2009 before Florida Atlantic rallied for a 32-31 win at Legion Field last season in the season opener for both teams. The Owls outscored the Blazers, 20-3, in the final quarter and a half to overcome a 28-12 deficit.
2010 - FAU won 32-31 at Birmingham
2009 - UAB won 56-29 at Birmingham
2008 - FAU won 49-34 at Boca Raton
LAST MEETING
Florida Atlantic blocked a potential 28-yard game-winning field goal on the final play to hold off UAB in a 32-31 win in the season opener for both teams at
Legion Field.
The Blazers jumped out to a 14-0 lead after one quarter and took a 28-12 advantage early in the third quarter.
Alfred Morris scored on a 38-yard run with 2:20 left in the game for the Owls to give FAU a 32-31 lead, its first of the game.
UAB quarterback David Isabelle, who ran for three touchdowns, threw an interception that was returned 38 yards for a touchdown by Brently Harstad to pull FAU within 28-19 at the 6:19 mark of the third quarter.
That play proved to be one of the largest in the game as momentum shifted at that point.
After the Blazers went three-and-out on their next possession, FAU took possession at its 27-yard line and promptly marched 73 yards on only five plays to cut the lead to 28-26.
Isabelle, making his first career start, finished with 214 yards rushing, a UAB and Conference USA single-game record for a quarterback. His rushing total was the second-highest in Blazers' history. He had a 50-yard run in the final minute to set up the Blazers' failed field-goal attempt.
The Blazers were dominant in the first 15 minutes as they ran up 138 yards of offense on the way to a 14-0 lead. Meanwhile, UAB's defense held the Owls to only 33 yards of offense in the opening period, and -8 yards rushing.
Isabelle also had one touchdown pass as he hit running back Daniel Borne for a 15-yard score with :46 remaining before halftime.
Jeff Van Camp's third touchdown pass of the game -- a 43-yarder to Willie Flo -- for the Owls' final score of the game. Van Camp threw for 254 yards, while Jean had nine catches for 164 yards.
IRVIN TIED FOR NO. 1 IN NCAA IN FUMBLE RECOVERIES
Junior linebacker Greg Irvin recovered all four fumbles for UAB at ECU, breaking the previous individual school record of two in a single game. They were the first fumble recoveries of Irvin's career. Irvin is tied for the NCAA lead after registering his fifth fumble recovery of the season last Thursday vs. Southern Miss. Teammate T.J. Ballou is tied for fourth nationally with four fumble recoveries.
LARGEST COMEBACK VICTORY IN SCHOOL HISTORY
UAB recorded the largest fourth-quarter, come-from-behind victory in school history two weeks ago at Memphis, overcoming an 18-point deficit (35-17) to start the final quarter for a 41-35 win over the Tigers. The previous largest fourth-quarter comeback was 13 points on two occasions - versus Butler in 1993 and versus Troy in 2010.
The Blazers trailed by 18 points on three different occasions, 21-3 in the second quarter, 28-10 in the third quarter and 35-17 in the fourth quarter. The largest deficit of any kind overcome by a UAB team was 23 points in the Troy comeback last year.
BLAZERS ECLIPSE 600 YARDS ON OFFENSE VS. MEMPHIS
UAB surpassed 600 total yards in a game for just the fourth time in school history in the Nov. 12th game at Memphis. The Blazers' 601 total yards against the Tigers are the fourth-most ever for a Blazer team and the most since a 622-yard output against Florida Atlantic in 2009.
THREE BEST RUSHING GAMES IN 2011 HAVE RESULTED IN VICTORIES
Overall this season, UAB has found the going tough as far as a productive running game. The Blazers rank just 89th in the country in rushing yards per game at 123.7.
There's no doubt that when UAB has been able to run the ball, the offense has had a lot more success. In fact, in the team's three victories this season over UCF, Memphis and Southern Miss, the Blazers have averaged 185 yards per game on the ground. However, in the eight losses, UAB has averaged only 101 yards per contest.
PERRY HAD OUTSTANDING GAME AT MEMPHIS
Sophomore quarterback Jonathan Perry threw a career-high four touchdown passes and notched his first career 400-yard passing game with 410 yards through the air in the Blazers' comeback victory at Memphis two weeks ago. It was his second game with at least 300 yards passing. His first came with 327 yards last month against UCF. Perry threw for 327 yards in the second half alone against the Tigers.
Perry's 410 passing yards are the seventh-most in a game by a UAB quarterback and the most by a Blazer since Bryan Ellis threw for 418 yards last season against East Carolina.
Perry also ran for a career-high 47 yards as he accounted for a combined total of 457 yards in the game. That is the third-most in UAB history, trailing only the 533 accounted for by quarterback John Whitcomb (539 passing, -6 rushing) against Prairie View A&M in 1994 and the 459 accounted for by QB Joe Webb (322 passing, 137 rushing) against UCF in 2009.
FRANKLIN, REAVES SHARING THE RUSHING LOAD OF LATE
With running back Pat Shed having missed the last five games due to injury, sophomore Greg Franklin and true freshman Darrin Reaves have seen the bulk of work in the Blazer backfield in recent weeks. The team's depth has been further diminished the past three weeks as junior RB Dontavius Jackson has also been out due to injury.
Franklin and Reaves have combined for 293 yards the past two games. Franklin is the team leader in rushing yards with 404 on 73 attempts (5.5 average) while Reaves has 336 rushing yards on 70 carries (4.8 average).
KICKER LONG NOW 18TH NATIONALLY IN FIELD GOALS
Freshman kicker Ty Long has quietly put together one of the best seasons among kickers in Conference USA. Long has connected on 16-of-19 field goals with a season-long of 49 yards. He has not missed a three-point attempt shorter than 43 yards.
Long currently ranks No. 18 in the latest NCAA statistics in field goals made per game at 1.45.
Long's 16 field goals are tied for the fifth-most in a single season in UAB history, while his .842 success rate would rank as the fourth-best in a season by a Blazer.
REAVES PRODUCING WITH INCREASED ACTION
Freshman running back Darrin Reaves has seen his most extensive action of the season in recent games and the product of Clay-Chalkville High School has made the most of the opportunity. Reaves has 336 rushing yards this season and 307 of those have come in the past five games.
He ran for a season-high 83 yards on a season-best 15 carries last month vs. UCF. Against Memphis Nov. 12th, Reaves tallied 73 yards on only eight attempts for a 9.1 average. Reaves added 62 yards vs. Southern Miss last week.
Reaves has now rushed for 336 yards this season on 70 attempts with one touchdown. He is averaging 4.8 yards per attempt.
WILLIAMS ALREADY HAS SURPASSED 2010 RECEPTION TOTAL
Sophomore WR Jackie Williams led all Conference USA freshmen in receptions in 2010 with 30 en route to earning a spot on the Conference USA All-Freshman Team. In 10 games this season, Williams already has eclipsed that total as he enters this week's FAU game with 54 catches for 545 yards. His 54 receptions already rank as the fourth-best single-season total in UAB history.
NELSON HITS THE LONG BALL FOR BLAZERS
UAB redshirt freshman receiver Jamarcus Nelson caught a pair of touchdown passes in the Nov. 12 win at Memphis, giving him a team-high four for the season.
Nelson had touchdown receptions of 47 and 42 yards from Jonathan Perry. All four of his TD catches have gone for at least 42 yards. His previous two TDs came from 66 and 45 yards from quarterback Bryan Ellis earlier this year in the game at Tulsa.
Nelson posted career highs in both receptions (six) and receiving yards (133) at Memphis. He posted UAB's second 100-yard receiving game of the season. He also had the first when he caught 111 yards worth of passes at Tulsa.
WILLIAMS EXTENDS RECEPTION STREAK TO 22 GAMES
UAB sophomore wide receiver Jackie Williams has posted 46 catches in his last eight games (East Carolina, Troy, Mississippi State, Tulsa, UCF, Marshall, Houston and Southern Miss) combined to extend his reception streak to 22 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.
He has 54 catches in 2011 to tie for the fourth-highest in a season at UAB.
FRESHMAN KICKER LONG HAS CONNECTED ON 16-OF-19
UAB freshman placekicker Ty Long has connected on 16 of his first 19 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 last month at Tulsa.
