The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Take On C-USA Foe North Texas In 2014 Homecoming
10/10/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Live Stats | Live Audio
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The UAB football team will be in pursuit of its fourth win of the season and second in Conference USA play Saturday afternoon when the Blazers play host to North Texas.
Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT at Legion Field. The game will be televised by the American Sports Network (ASN). Fans can watch the game locally on MyTV Channel 68 in Birmingham, or listen on the Blazer IMG Sports Network with David Crane, Steve Irvine and Sam Miller on the call.
The Blazers (3-2, 1-1 C-USA) are coming off a dramatic come-from-behind 42-39 victory last Saturday over Western Kentucky. UAB trailed 27-14 at halftime but rallied to outscore the Hilltoppers by a 28-12 margin in the second half.
The Blazers outgained WKU by a 381-133 margin in the second half, limiting the Hilltoppers to 1-of-7 on third downs. Running back Jordan Howard rushed for 183 yards and a pair of touchdowns while quarterback Cody Clements completed 22-of-25 passes for 300 yards and two scores.
North Texas (2-3, 0-1 C-USA) is coming off a 49-24 non-conference loss at Indiana last weekend. The Mean Green has played one league game to date, falling to Louisiana Tech (42-21) at home on Sept. 11.
For more information on the UAB football team, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_Football). For more on all Blazer sports teams follow the official Twitter account of UAB Athletics (@UABAthletics).
North Texas at UAB
Saturday, Oct. 11, 2014 • 2:30 p.m. CT
Legion Field - Birmingham, Ala.
TV: ASN (American Sports Network)
GAMEDAY NOTES
** UAB is in its 24th season of intercollegiate football and its 19th at the NCAA Division I level.
** The Blazers are playing North Texas for the first time since the Mean Green became a Conference USA member and for only the second time overall (only other meeting was 1995 in Denton, Texas).
**The Blazers ran up 591 yards of offense in Saturday's win over WKU, the second game this season that UAB has had more than 500. The 591 total are the most yards in a game by the Blazers since the 2011 Memphis game when UAB notched 601 yards.
**Against Mississippi State Sept. 6, the Blazers scored on pass plays of 88 (Jeremiah Briscoe to J.J. Nelson), 81 (Cody Clements to Josh Magee) and 75 yards (Briscoe to Quincy Perdue). Those plays represent the sixth-longest, seventh-longest and 12th-longest (tied) pass plays in UAB history.
**The Blazers had two players named to the All-Conference USA first team during the summer. Wide receiver J.J. Nelson and punter Hunter Mullins were both tabbed to the first unit by the league's coaches. Mullins, in addition, was named the C-USA Special Teams Player-of-the-Year.
**The Blazers return eight starters on offense and eight on defense, as well as both their kicker and punter, from last season.
**Senior running back D.J. Vinson registered a UAB record five rushing touchdowns against Alabama A&M, also tying the Conference USA single-game mark.
**The Blazers' sophomore running back Jordan Howard rushed for 881 yards last season as a true freshman as he split time with Darrin Reaves who left UAB a year early and is now a member of the Carolina Panthers. Howard's rushing total was the second-best nationally among freshmen in 2013.
**J.J. Nelson has averaged 20.4 yards per reception on his 96 catches during his career.
**Nelson now ranks No. 7 on the Blazers' all-time reception list with his 96 catches.
**QB Cody Clements is now ranked No. 8 in the country in completion percentage at 69.3 percent after hitting 22-of-25 (88 percent) for 300 yards and a pair of touchdowns Saturday against WKU.
**UAB is ranked No. 3 in C-USA in total offense (498.4) and is No. 6 in total defense (388.0).
**UAB's Bill Clark is in his 11th overall season as a head coach (9 years at Prattville HS, 1 year at Jacksonville State and in first year at UAB). In those 11 years, he has only suffered 17 total losses.
**WR Maudrecus Humphrey registered a season best for receptions (8) and receiving yards (93) against WKU last Saturday.
THE COACHES
Bill Clark (Jacksonville State, `90) is in his first season as the head coach at UAB. Clark came to UAB after spending one year at Jacksonville State where he led the Gamecocks to an 11-4 record and a berth in the NCAA FCS playoffs. JSU concluded the year ranked No. 10 in the final FCS poll and recorded its most wins since the 1992 season.
Dan McCarney (Iowa, '75) is in his fourth season as the head coach at North Texas. McCarney has compiled a record of 20-22 at North Texas and 76-107 overall (16 seasons) as a head coach. McCarney was the head coach at Iowa State from 1995-2006. Before going to North Texas, McCarney served as assistant head coach at defensive line coach at Florida from 2008-10.
ALL-TIME SERIES RECORD VS. NORTH TEXAS
**UAB and North Texas will be meeting for the second time when they kick off Saturday at Legion Field. The Blazers won the previous meeting, 19-14, in 1995 in Denton, Texas. That was UAB's final season competing at the NCAA Division I-AA level.
24TH SEASON OF UAB FOOTBALL; 19TH AT 1-A LEVEL
**UAB has a young football program compared to most of its opposition. The Blazers went through their first intercollegiate football season in 1991 as a member of NCAA Division III.
**The Blazers moved to Division I-AA two seasons later in 1993, remaining at that level three years before making the transition to Division I-A during 1996 season.
**The 2014 season represents the 24th season of football for UAB.
HOWARD WAS NO. 2-RANKED NCAA FRESHMAN IN 2013
**Running back Jordan Howard rushed for 881 yards last season as a true freshman in 2013 as he split backfield duty with the departed Darrin Reaves, now with the Carolina Panthers. Howard averaged 6.1 yards on 145 carries for the Blazers. His rushing total in 2013 ranked No. 2 nationally among NCAA FBS freshmen, only behind Arkansas' Alex Collins who ran for 1,026 yards.
**Howard is off to a great start in 2014 as he has rushed for 564 yards in five games. Howard has rushed for more than 300 yards in three games thus far this season, including a career-best 183 last Saturday against WKU. He ranks No. 3 in Conference USA in rushing yards per game with 112.8.
LONG BOOTS PAIR OF FIELD GOALS TO OPEN 2014
**Senior Ty Long, on his way to becoming UAB's all-time kicker for field goals, has gotten his senior season off to a good start.
**Long was successful on both of field goal attempts against the Trojans, connecting from 34 and 49 yards in the victory. He hit from 44 and 46 against the Bulldogs. The Roswell, Ga. native now has 50 career field goals and trails Nick Hayes (57 from 2001-04) by only seven.
**Also impressive is that in five games thus far, aside from his 4x6 on field goals, may be that Long has 17 touchbacks. Long's two field goal misses have come from distances of 56 and 48 yards.
BLAZERS RUSHING TOTAL HIGHEST IN 48 GAMES
**UAB rushed for 338 yards in the season-opening 48-10 win over Troy and the rushing total was the Blazers' highest ground production in 48 games.
**The last time that a UAB team rushed for as many yards as the season opener was on Sept. 2, 2010 when the Blazers ran for 345 vs. Florida Atlantic.
**The Blazers also had a pair of 100-yard rushers in the win over Troy. Jordan Howard rushed for 179 yards while senior D.J. Vinson tallied 106 yards.
NELSON, BACKMAN, MULLINS NAMED TO PRESEASON WATCH LISTS
**UAB seniors JJ Nelson, Kennard Backman and Hunter Mullins were all named to watch lists for their respective positions.
**Nelson, a wide receiver from nearby Midfield, Ala., was named this summer on a pair of lists -- the Paul Hornung Award and the Biletnikoff Award. The Hornung Award is presented annually to the nation's most versatile player while the Biletnikoff Award goes to the top receiver.
**Backman, a three-year starter at tight end, is listed on the John Mackey Award Watch List. The Mackey Award recognizes the country's outstanding tight end each season.
**Mullins, from Tallassee, Ala., is on the Ray Guy Award list for the second consecutive year. The Ray Guy Award is given each season to the nation's top collegiate punter. Mullins is UAB's career record holder in average yards per punt.
NELSON = EXPLOSION PLAYS
**There's no doubt that when UAB wide receiver JJ Nelson is on the field, he's a threat to break a big play.
**Nelson has averaged 20.4 yards per reception in his career with 1,957 yards on 96 catches. He ranks among UAB's all-time leaders in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
** Nelson has 21 touchdowns (17 receiving, 1 rushing, 3 on returns) in his three-year career and 14 of those have covered distances of 40 yards or more.
CLEMENTS COMING OFF GREAT PERFORMANCE
**UAB quarterback Cody Clements connected on 22-of-25 passes for 300 yards and a pair of touchdowns in last Saturday's win over Western Kentucky in Bowling Green, Ky. The 88 percent performance by the junior from Whittier, Calif.. improved Clements' season percentage to 69.3 percent, which ranks No. 8 in the nation in the latest NCAA statistics report.
