The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Returns to Legion Field on Saturday to Host UTSA
10/29/2018 5:09:00 PM | Football, Blazer Boosters
BIRMINGHAM – Opening a two-game homestand, the UAB football team hosts UTSA this Saturday night, Nov. 3, at Legion Field. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. on beIN Sports.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW:
Opening Statement:
"Going back to last week, we talked about another championship game for us. It was the next conference game. We had a lot of respect for Coach Dimel and UTEP and what they were doing, especially in their last two ball games. It turned out to be exactly what we thought it was going to be. It was a dogfight from the start to the finish. We probably had a couple of times that we could've put the game away and didn't. Give those guys credit for fighting like they did. As the game went on, we could tell something was wrong with A.J. (Erdely) and kind of knew that coming in. We held him out from throwing all week. He was good enough to play but couldn't really be his old self. Tyler Johnston had been getting ready all week and we were able to bring him in in the fourth quarter. A.J. was no worse. He just didn't have the velocity on the ball that he wanted or we wanted. I'm really proud of Tyler and how he came in and played. He had a big drive at the end to close the game out. It was our third shutout. I'm really proud of our defense. It was a great job by them, as they have done all year. Special teams was good once again. I'm disappointed that we had a field goal blocked, but we will correct that. It's another step in the process. We're trying to stay in first place and focus on the next game. Looking ahead to UTSA and getting back home this Saturday: they're coming off an open date, which always scares me. When you have a well-coached team who is rested up and focused on you, that's always a concern. We will be glad to get back home. It's just the next game and we're excited about that."
On quarterback Tyler Johnston III relieving AJ Erdely in the fourth quarter:
"From somebody who has had to win with his third-string quarterback before, you're only a play away. To have as good of a backup as we do, and we have other good backups, that's been the plan the whole time. That's one of the things that we do: we like to run our quarterbacks. We started running Tyler to take pressure off (Erdely) and to get Tyler ready. Going back to Tulane, he's really done well. For him to get to come in and manage the whole offense and make throws, it was good to see. I know he was happy to get that opportunity as well."
On the defense's shutout performance:
"I've said it for a long time. Defense takes all 11 guys. We don't have a guy with 100-something tackles. We have a ton of guys with a lot of tackles. We're playing really good team defense. That starts with pursuit and tackling. We're getting a lot of good pressure on the quarterback. Sometimes, we've got great coverage which leads to a sack. Sometimes, the great pressure leads to better coverage. We got put into a couple positions the other night. We had a turnover, which we aren't used to having. We had an interception. They had to hold them out right there. The game was never fully in check until the very end. I was really proud of them. Once again, with Coach Dimel, you have a guy who really know what he's doing offensively. Multiple looks, zone-read and play action: they just go play after play. In today's game, that just speaks volumes in itself."
On the defense taking pressure off the offense:
"It's about just knowing that the defense is going to come out and play. It is day-to-day and week-to-week. There are two different mindsets. I did start out on offense, but it's just a different stress level when you're on the defensive side. Any play, they can score. They can put 70 on you. It's almost a paranoia on defense. What are they going to do new? What have you not seen? They're always one play away. Offensively, we know we have a defense that plays well. It makes us better in practice. We try to define our team with a level of toughness, almost a defensive mindset. That doesn't mean that we don't throw the ball and do other things offensively. It's a physicality, which is kind of that defensive mindset. That's got to give our offense confidence."
Linebacker Fitzgerald Mofor
On UAB's defensive statistics:
"To us, the biggest stat that matters is the final score. The stats are really cool and something to work off of, but at the end of the day the stat that matters is the scoreboard.
On playing with confidence:
"We play with a lot of confidence because we're playing fast. The coaches put us in a position to make a lot of plays and play great team defense."
On the defense taking pressure off the offense:
"We all trust each other very well. We're playing as a team. At the end of the day, they know we're going to do our job. We know they're going to do their job and score points."
THREE THINGS TO KNOW:
- UAB set a Conference USA record with its third shutout of the season last week with a 19-0 victory at UTEP. The Blazers are the only team in the country with multiple shutouts this season. UAB has not allowed a point in six-straight quarters, and in five C-USA games have held their opponents scoreless in 16 of 20 quarters. The Blazers are tied for the national lead in sacks per game (31 total, 3.88/game).
- The Blazers return to the friendly confines of Legion Field where they have an unblemished 10-0 record since the start of 2017. The 10-straight wins are currently the fourth longest active home winning streak in the country.
- Spencer Brown has 691 yards and 11 touchdowns this season and continues to lead Conference USA's No. 1 rushing attack. Brown tallied his fourth 100-yard rushing game at UTEP and moved into sixth place on UAB's career rushing list. In 21 career games, Brown has 2,020 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns.
Opening Statement:
"Going back to last week, we talked about another championship game for us. It was the next conference game. We had a lot of respect for Coach Dimel and UTEP and what they were doing, especially in their last two ball games. It turned out to be exactly what we thought it was going to be. It was a dogfight from the start to the finish. We probably had a couple of times that we could've put the game away and didn't. Give those guys credit for fighting like they did. As the game went on, we could tell something was wrong with A.J. (Erdely) and kind of knew that coming in. We held him out from throwing all week. He was good enough to play but couldn't really be his old self. Tyler Johnston had been getting ready all week and we were able to bring him in in the fourth quarter. A.J. was no worse. He just didn't have the velocity on the ball that he wanted or we wanted. I'm really proud of Tyler and how he came in and played. He had a big drive at the end to close the game out. It was our third shutout. I'm really proud of our defense. It was a great job by them, as they have done all year. Special teams was good once again. I'm disappointed that we had a field goal blocked, but we will correct that. It's another step in the process. We're trying to stay in first place and focus on the next game. Looking ahead to UTSA and getting back home this Saturday: they're coming off an open date, which always scares me. When you have a well-coached team who is rested up and focused on you, that's always a concern. We will be glad to get back home. It's just the next game and we're excited about that."
On quarterback Tyler Johnston III relieving AJ Erdely in the fourth quarter:
"From somebody who has had to win with his third-string quarterback before, you're only a play away. To have as good of a backup as we do, and we have other good backups, that's been the plan the whole time. That's one of the things that we do: we like to run our quarterbacks. We started running Tyler to take pressure off (Erdely) and to get Tyler ready. Going back to Tulane, he's really done well. For him to get to come in and manage the whole offense and make throws, it was good to see. I know he was happy to get that opportunity as well."
On the defense's shutout performance:
"I've said it for a long time. Defense takes all 11 guys. We don't have a guy with 100-something tackles. We have a ton of guys with a lot of tackles. We're playing really good team defense. That starts with pursuit and tackling. We're getting a lot of good pressure on the quarterback. Sometimes, we've got great coverage which leads to a sack. Sometimes, the great pressure leads to better coverage. We got put into a couple positions the other night. We had a turnover, which we aren't used to having. We had an interception. They had to hold them out right there. The game was never fully in check until the very end. I was really proud of them. Once again, with Coach Dimel, you have a guy who really know what he's doing offensively. Multiple looks, zone-read and play action: they just go play after play. In today's game, that just speaks volumes in itself."
On the defense taking pressure off the offense:
"It's about just knowing that the defense is going to come out and play. It is day-to-day and week-to-week. There are two different mindsets. I did start out on offense, but it's just a different stress level when you're on the defensive side. Any play, they can score. They can put 70 on you. It's almost a paranoia on defense. What are they going to do new? What have you not seen? They're always one play away. Offensively, we know we have a defense that plays well. It makes us better in practice. We try to define our team with a level of toughness, almost a defensive mindset. That doesn't mean that we don't throw the ball and do other things offensively. It's a physicality, which is kind of that defensive mindset. That's got to give our offense confidence."
Linebacker Fitzgerald Mofor
On UAB's defensive statistics:
"To us, the biggest stat that matters is the final score. The stats are really cool and something to work off of, but at the end of the day the stat that matters is the scoreboard.
On playing with confidence:
"We play with a lot of confidence because we're playing fast. The coaches put us in a position to make a lot of plays and play great team defense."
On the defense taking pressure off the offense:
"We all trust each other very well. We're playing as a team. At the end of the day, they know we're going to do our job. We know they're going to do their job and score points."
Players Mentioned
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