The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB and Louisiana Square Off Friday Night at Legion Field
10/19/2020 3:39:00 PM | Football
BIRMINGHAM – Playing its final non-conference game of the regular season, the UAB football team hosts Louisiana on Friday night in a highly anticipated matchup between two of the top teams from Conference USA and the Sun Belt.
The game is set to kick at 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. UAB will put the nation's third longest active home winning streak on the line as the Blazers look to win their 22nd straight game at Legion Field.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW:
- Both UAB (4-1) and Louisiana (3-1) are receiving votes in the AP and Coaches Top 25 polls. Like UAB, The Ragin' Cajuns are also back-to-back West divisional champs in the Sun Belt, and have a 31-14 road victory over No. 17 Iowa State on their resume this season.
- The game features two of the top five active career leading rushers in the NCAA. UAB's Spencer Brown ranks second nationally in career rushing yards with 3,594, while Louisiana senior running back Trey Ragas ranks fifth with 3,034 yards. As a unit, UAB is averaging 186.8 rushing yards per game, while Louisiana is averaging 185.5.
- UAB is offering a promo sale for Friday's game featuring two tickets for $22 in honor of the Blazers pursuing their 22nd straight home win. Click here and use the promo code TREAT to redeem a discounted ticket.
Head Coach Bill Clark
Opening Statement . . .
"To recap Saturdays game, obviously it was a big win at home against a solid WKU team. I thought it was a very solid WKU team. I thought all three phases played really well. As with anything, we have things to clean up. Start with special teams. I was really pleased with our special teams. We had a blocked punt for a touchdown. We had really good kickoff coverage. We had the three field goals by (Matt) Quinn. Just top-to-bottom, without a doubt, it was our best special teams performance of the year. I am really proud of them, which is indicative of team success when your special teams plays well. Defensively, it was a great night. We held them to 1-of-12 on third downs. We are not even happy with one touchdown. There are things we have to correct from the 14 points, but after that, they played really well. Four takeaways was huge. We put a lot of emphasis on that and I am proud of that. Offensively, we did a lot of good things. Right there at the end, we had some penalties, some false starts, that we have to clean up. We did have one fumble that was a big one. They are all big. We are disappointed in that one. The interception, which I probably helped cause by telling him to just turn it loose and throw it. It was a big game. Here we go on a shorter week against Louisiana, coach Napier and those guys. What a well-coached team. They are very physical. Kind of like us, they are really good in all three phases. They lost a tough game to Coastal Carolina last Wednesday, so they have a few days on us there. We are looking for a big challenge as these guys come in here on Friday night."
On Louisiana's looks in all three phases . . .
"First, they are very multiple with their shifts, trades and motions. Every snap, you are getting somebody shifting and trading. They will start out empty and go back in. They are unbalanced. They really do a good job disguising what they are doing offensively. They have a really good rushing attack. They have a three-headed monster at running back. They have a couple guys that will play in the NFL, no doubt. The O-line is a strength of their offense. They are really physical. They come off the ball. Then you have the quarterback, who is by all accounts a super smart player. He makes really good decisions and has been playing a while. Offensively, there are tons of challenges. Defensively, they are very solid. They are a four-down team. They have a really, really good defense. And then you have special teams. During the Iowa State, they had a kickoff and punt return for a touchdown to win that game. That was special teams. We are going to have our work cut out for us. This is what you would expect in a big non-conference game right here in the middle of the season. They have a really good team."
On adding the Louisiana game to the schedule late . . .
"When Central Arkansas called and Louisiana called, I did not know what that said about us that they were hunting us up. I think they kind of searched this game out. That always tells you that they feel good about who they are and their program. No doubt what their mindset is coming in. For us, it falls in the middle of conference play. Which, every goal we have is to win the conference championship and win the West to get to the conference championship. That is goal No. 1, but this is the next game. Our home streak and all those things are on the line. We want to get prepared to play well."
On the running game's matchup against Louisiana . . .
"That is always relative to matchups. Different teams match up well. You may play a team that ran it and whatever. I think they have a good defense. Statistically, maybe they have given up a few more rushing yards. We have the way we do things and how we want to attack. We will just see how it plays out."
Offensive Lineman Colby Ragland
On playing on Friday Night . . .
"It is just a little different. It is a quick turnaround, especially having a game on Saturday and then knowing you have another game on Friday. There is a sense of urgency. There are fewer days you have to prepare. You have to be on top of things. Usually, where you have three or four days to prepare, it is a day shorter. Time is of the essence and we have to get stuff done."
On having two different starting quarterbacks through the first five games . . .
"The main thing with us is that we always preach next man up. The reason that you really don't see a difference is the way that everybody prepares. We go at it every day as if you never know what is going to happen. A lot of things happen in football that are out of our control. We make sure that whether you are a second-string, third-string, fourth-string or whatever, everybody has to be ready to play. Of course, we do miss Tyler (Johnston III). We love Bryson. We love both our quarterbacks. For us, it's easy. No matter who it is, we have to protect. We know if we do that and get our ground game running, we will have shots open down the field. We are going to have the next man up."
On the play of UAB's backfield . . .
"Be on the lookout. We have Spencer Brown. We have a lot of great backs. The fact that DeWayne (McBride) is coming in as a freshman and running the ball the way he is and the way he attacks each day at practice, the way he pass protects, he does it all. We have Spencer Brown, we have Skull (Jermaine Brown Jr.), we have Lucious (Stanley). We have a lot of great backs. To see this kid come in straight out of high school doing what he is able to do, it is amazing."
On facing Louisiana on Friday . . .
"It is a great opportunity. We know they have been in the championship the last couple years against Appalachian State. We know they are a great football team. We know we are a great football team. It is a great opportunity to go out there and show the world what UAB is made of."
Outside Linebacker Jordan Smith
On recording his first career interception against WKU . . .
"It was good. It was a good rush. We ran a stunt up front. I turned around to the ball and looked up and the ball was in my face. I just caught it."
On the defense's weekly game plan . . .
"Our goal is to keep everyone under 250 yards. If we can keep whoever we play against under 250 yards, we will be a top defense. We can set our offense up. If we give up less than 250 yards, our offense has a lot to work with. That's how we look at it going into each week."
On having discipline against Louisiana's Offense . . .
"It goes with our preparation. It is something that we have to do. If we don't do it, we will lose the game. We have to work toward it at practice and make sure that shifts and formations don't really bother us so we can just line up and play."
