The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Football Named Big Game National Team of the Week
12/1/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
DALLAS (FWAA) - Jordan Howard set a school record with 262 yards rushing, and J.J. Nelson continued to pace the nation in kickoff returns by bringing another back for a touchdown in the UAB Blazers' 45-24 win over Southern Miss. The win gave UAB (6-6) bowl-eligibility for the first time since 2004, and earned them the Big Game National Team of the Week award for games of the weekend of Nov. 29.
The weekly team award is selected by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).
The announcement came exclusively on SiriusXM Radio's "College Sports Today," hosted by Mark Packer and Dan Hawkins.
UAB rushed for 371 yards behind Howard's eighth 100-yard game of the season, which also made him as the school's all-time single-season rushing leader with 1,587 yards. Nelson led the nation in kickoff return average (38.3 yards per return) going into the game, and added to his numbers with a 99-yard return in the third quarter. The UAB defense contributed seven sacks.
"It is a big deal for us. It was part of our goals," first-year UAB head coach Bill Clark said of the Blazers becoming bowl eligible. "People thought we were crazy when we broke it down to conference champs and part of that was being bowl eligible. You get what you dream about. You get what you hope for and work for I'm very happy for these guys."
UAB was 2-10 a year ago, and lost to Southern Miss 62-27 in the final week. UAB's appearance in the 2004 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl is the only bowl game in program history.
Other Big Game National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Nov. 29 were Air Force, Stanford and Western Kentucky.
UAB is the first Conference USA team to be named the Big Game National Team of the Week this season, joining Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Mississippi State, Yale, Ole Miss, Baylor, West Virginia, LSU, Florida, Ohio State, Oregon State and Minnesota as teams who have received the national honor.
The Football Writers Association of America has named a national team of the week since the 2002 season. This is the first season The Big Game Football Factory has presented the award. Members of the FWAA All-America Committee decide the weekly honor. Each remaining Monday during the 2014 college football regular season, the FWAA will name a National Team of the Week.
The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit organization founded in 1941, consists of more than 1,400 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include gameday operations, major awards and its annual All-America team.
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).
