The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Faces Undefeated and 15th-ranked UTSA Saturday in San Antonio
11/15/2021 3:27:00 PM | Football
BIRMINGHAM – The Conference USA West Division is on the line this Saturday as UAB travels to San Antonio to face undefeated and 15th-ranked UTSA at the Alamodome. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW:
Opening Statement:
"What a great game on Saturday. I told the players this morning that this is something that you can enjoy, and it was something that we all did enjoy after the game. Now it is moving on to a great opponent. Let's go back to the Marshall game. I think it was two teams that really knew what was at stake. The vibe from our team, the comradery it couldn't get much better. I was so proud of how they played together. I see all of these things at the hotel, I see them at pregame, I see them at halftime and how we practice all week. Obviously, it was a big deal Marshall celebrating their 51st anniversary of the plane crash and all of the things that they put into that. So just from a historical standpoint – I'm an old history major – what a neat time to be there and see that unfold. They had a lot to play for, and that is what the game looked like. I thought it was a well-played game, not a lot of penalties, they let us play. Top to bottom, offense, defense, special teams, very solid. To find a way and win at the end and this guy (Grayson Cash) making a big play was huge.
"Looking ahead, what UTSA has done was unbelievable. They've had an unbelievable season. Coach Traylor has done an incredible job. We have been seeing this thing building. We've been looking at the players and I think we've been seeing them for three years. These guys have helped grow with their program and now here they are in their senior year and some of them super seniors. They are really good across the board. Offensively they are very dynamic, they've got the great running back, they have a quarterback now that can do it all. They are big upfront. They put points up on everybody. Defensively, really impressed with them. They are physical, they tackle, they are big, they run well. I know the special teams coordinator, I coached with him, he does a great job. Across the board they are a great team. The atmosphere, I know this is a big deal to them. Obviously having played in the Alamodome before, it's loud even with not that many people – it just is. I'm sure they will have it packed out. We know that we are going to have to do a good job with snap counts. As we told our kids, our dream is to be playing for a championship at this time of the year. Obviously, we will have one more if we can get through this one but we are not looking ahead yet. So proud of them from last week and now looking ahead to UTSA and it should be a great one."
On peaking at the right time…
"I think we are. Everything that we do is to peak at this time of the year. We've had more injuries than we ever had and some of that is just because of the schedule we have played. It is what it is there, and our guys have fought through it. Last week was top to bottom the best game we have played. It was how they played and how we played together was special. Obviously, UTSA is playing good ball too, so we will see what happens. I think that was our best game of the year."
On Grayson Cash…
"I'm just so proud of this guy. To see him evolve. I told this story when he had the interception returned for a touchdown a few weeks ago. He was an offensive player when we got him and we needed him on defense. He was glad to do it. To see him and the evolution from the beginning to last year when started tackling well. He had always defended the pass well, but he started tackling well. He had a really good nose for the ball. We were laughing at how he fell on the ground – that is what we teach him to do when we intercept it to win the game – he fell. He's going to say that he did that on purpose, I don't know if he tripped on the grass or what. He's done a great job for us and really a credit to his community in Trussville where he comes from. We are really proud of him.
On what it would be like to beat a Top-15 team on the road…
"I think those are all of those motivators. I'm sure for them, I see what they say and talk about 'To be the Champ you have to beat the Champ.' and playing at home so they've got their motivators and we've got ours. Anytime that we've played an undefeated team – it doesn't get any bigger for us then the conference championship – that is what we work for, that is what this is. Them being undefeated and ranked makes it even bigger, but it just tells you how good they are – because they are – so we know we got our work cut out and we've got to do a great job in practice this week."
Safety Grayson Cash
On making big plays…
"It all starts in practice. We preach making the plays in practice so in the game it is just natural to you. So, I would just say staying hard on us in practice to make plays so that on Saturday it just comes easy."
On the magnitude of the game coming up…
"This game has always been on our radar and now it is finally here. They are undefeated, unbeaten and we know what we have ahead of us and we are ready for it. We've been saying every week is a championship week and we have another one this week so we will be ready to go."
On the UTSA offense…
"UTSA has a couple of really good players on offense. Their offense has been putting up a lot of points. It comes back to being a full-team defense we have to stop the run and stop the pass. We are going to have to work together for the scheme that they put in front of us. We are going to need a full team game to stop those players."
On special teams…
"It is a hug part of the game. We spend a lot of time on it at practice. Coach makes a big emphasis on it throughout the week. Coach Thomas, Coach Shrader, Coach Riley they put together a great plan every week for who we are playing and it has worked out a bunch of times for us this year. We are going to continue to make plays on special teams and that is always a big part for us."
Offensive Line Colby Ragland
On running backs succeeding and fueling the offensive line…
"It's been amazing. DeWayne McBride has had nine touchdowns in the past few games, which is amazing. It's been a tribute to him to just see how he has attacked it. I've been seeing a difference side of him and everyone else as well on the offense. Now we are playing for each other. Knowing that I can help with the rest of the o-line to open up just the little crease, we know what he is capable of and what he is going to do with it."
On moving around the offensive line and making the transitions…
"Moving to the right side was new to me. This is the first time in my career playing on the right side. The biggest thing is getting your brain to flip everything else around. It is the same thing, but in a different order – your opposite leg, your opposite hand and stuff like that. But, my coaches have done a great job helping me out with that, preparing me. I can't tell you how many extra pass sets I've done over the past few weeks just to get comfortable with making the move. The biggest thing is being able to be comfortable while being uncomfortable or being in an uncomfortable situation. I feel comfortable now, but I am still looking to get better anyway that I can to help this team."
On big drives at the end of the game…
"The biggest thing is knowing if we take care of the ball and go one play at a time, then we can sustain drives. You saw what our defense did the whole game. As long as we can give those guys time to where they can rest and recover and keep them off the field as long as possible, we know that they are going to create big plays on defense and vice versa then they can get a three-and-out which I think they held them to 1-out-of-12, which is huge. We spent most of the time with the ball in our hands. It is feeding off of each other. So if we do our job by sustaining drives and getting points, then it motivates them at the same time then they have our back just like we have theirs."
On playing an undefeated team on the road…
"I think that it will be huge. Like Cash said, it will be a steppingstone, but at the same time when you look back at everything this program has done since The Return in 2017, you could say that one of the few things that we have not done yet is beat a ranked team. So that would be awesome and do a lot for this program. Like Cash said, it is an in-conference opponent, it's a championship game essentially for the West Division, they are unbeaten. I don't know of how many other motivating factors that either side needs other than that this is going to be a huge game."
THREE THINGS TO KNOW:
- UAB can secure its fourth-consecutive Conference USA West Division title with a win at UTSA followed by a victory at home next week against UTEP. Saturday is a must-win for the Blazers to keep their title hopes alive as a UTSA victory would give the Roadrunners their program's first ever C-USA West Division title.
- Saturday's contest features two of the league's top running backs in UAB's DeWayne McBride and UTSA Sincere McCormick. McBride has compiled 550 of his 945 total rushing yards in the last four games and nine of his 10 total touchdowns during that span. McCormick is the league's leading rusher (1,150) and is the reigning Conference USA Player of the Year.
- On the other side of the ball, UAB boasts the nation's 15th-ranked defense, while UTSA enters the game ranked No. 20. Both featured running backs will be up against stout rush defenses with UTSA ranking No. 6 nationally against the run (89.9/game) and UAB entering the game at No. 16 (109.9).
Opening Statement:
"What a great game on Saturday. I told the players this morning that this is something that you can enjoy, and it was something that we all did enjoy after the game. Now it is moving on to a great opponent. Let's go back to the Marshall game. I think it was two teams that really knew what was at stake. The vibe from our team, the comradery it couldn't get much better. I was so proud of how they played together. I see all of these things at the hotel, I see them at pregame, I see them at halftime and how we practice all week. Obviously, it was a big deal Marshall celebrating their 51st anniversary of the plane crash and all of the things that they put into that. So just from a historical standpoint – I'm an old history major – what a neat time to be there and see that unfold. They had a lot to play for, and that is what the game looked like. I thought it was a well-played game, not a lot of penalties, they let us play. Top to bottom, offense, defense, special teams, very solid. To find a way and win at the end and this guy (Grayson Cash) making a big play was huge.
"Looking ahead, what UTSA has done was unbelievable. They've had an unbelievable season. Coach Traylor has done an incredible job. We have been seeing this thing building. We've been looking at the players and I think we've been seeing them for three years. These guys have helped grow with their program and now here they are in their senior year and some of them super seniors. They are really good across the board. Offensively they are very dynamic, they've got the great running back, they have a quarterback now that can do it all. They are big upfront. They put points up on everybody. Defensively, really impressed with them. They are physical, they tackle, they are big, they run well. I know the special teams coordinator, I coached with him, he does a great job. Across the board they are a great team. The atmosphere, I know this is a big deal to them. Obviously having played in the Alamodome before, it's loud even with not that many people – it just is. I'm sure they will have it packed out. We know that we are going to have to do a good job with snap counts. As we told our kids, our dream is to be playing for a championship at this time of the year. Obviously, we will have one more if we can get through this one but we are not looking ahead yet. So proud of them from last week and now looking ahead to UTSA and it should be a great one."
On peaking at the right time…
"I think we are. Everything that we do is to peak at this time of the year. We've had more injuries than we ever had and some of that is just because of the schedule we have played. It is what it is there, and our guys have fought through it. Last week was top to bottom the best game we have played. It was how they played and how we played together was special. Obviously, UTSA is playing good ball too, so we will see what happens. I think that was our best game of the year."
On Grayson Cash…
"I'm just so proud of this guy. To see him evolve. I told this story when he had the interception returned for a touchdown a few weeks ago. He was an offensive player when we got him and we needed him on defense. He was glad to do it. To see him and the evolution from the beginning to last year when started tackling well. He had always defended the pass well, but he started tackling well. He had a really good nose for the ball. We were laughing at how he fell on the ground – that is what we teach him to do when we intercept it to win the game – he fell. He's going to say that he did that on purpose, I don't know if he tripped on the grass or what. He's done a great job for us and really a credit to his community in Trussville where he comes from. We are really proud of him.
On what it would be like to beat a Top-15 team on the road…
"I think those are all of those motivators. I'm sure for them, I see what they say and talk about 'To be the Champ you have to beat the Champ.' and playing at home so they've got their motivators and we've got ours. Anytime that we've played an undefeated team – it doesn't get any bigger for us then the conference championship – that is what we work for, that is what this is. Them being undefeated and ranked makes it even bigger, but it just tells you how good they are – because they are – so we know we got our work cut out and we've got to do a great job in practice this week."
Safety Grayson Cash
On making big plays…
"It all starts in practice. We preach making the plays in practice so in the game it is just natural to you. So, I would just say staying hard on us in practice to make plays so that on Saturday it just comes easy."
On the magnitude of the game coming up…
"This game has always been on our radar and now it is finally here. They are undefeated, unbeaten and we know what we have ahead of us and we are ready for it. We've been saying every week is a championship week and we have another one this week so we will be ready to go."
On the UTSA offense…
"UTSA has a couple of really good players on offense. Their offense has been putting up a lot of points. It comes back to being a full-team defense we have to stop the run and stop the pass. We are going to have to work together for the scheme that they put in front of us. We are going to need a full team game to stop those players."
On special teams…
"It is a hug part of the game. We spend a lot of time on it at practice. Coach makes a big emphasis on it throughout the week. Coach Thomas, Coach Shrader, Coach Riley they put together a great plan every week for who we are playing and it has worked out a bunch of times for us this year. We are going to continue to make plays on special teams and that is always a big part for us."
Offensive Line Colby Ragland
On running backs succeeding and fueling the offensive line…
"It's been amazing. DeWayne McBride has had nine touchdowns in the past few games, which is amazing. It's been a tribute to him to just see how he has attacked it. I've been seeing a difference side of him and everyone else as well on the offense. Now we are playing for each other. Knowing that I can help with the rest of the o-line to open up just the little crease, we know what he is capable of and what he is going to do with it."
On moving around the offensive line and making the transitions…
"Moving to the right side was new to me. This is the first time in my career playing on the right side. The biggest thing is getting your brain to flip everything else around. It is the same thing, but in a different order – your opposite leg, your opposite hand and stuff like that. But, my coaches have done a great job helping me out with that, preparing me. I can't tell you how many extra pass sets I've done over the past few weeks just to get comfortable with making the move. The biggest thing is being able to be comfortable while being uncomfortable or being in an uncomfortable situation. I feel comfortable now, but I am still looking to get better anyway that I can to help this team."
On big drives at the end of the game…
"The biggest thing is knowing if we take care of the ball and go one play at a time, then we can sustain drives. You saw what our defense did the whole game. As long as we can give those guys time to where they can rest and recover and keep them off the field as long as possible, we know that they are going to create big plays on defense and vice versa then they can get a three-and-out which I think they held them to 1-out-of-12, which is huge. We spent most of the time with the ball in our hands. It is feeding off of each other. So if we do our job by sustaining drives and getting points, then it motivates them at the same time then they have our back just like we have theirs."
On playing an undefeated team on the road…
"I think that it will be huge. Like Cash said, it will be a steppingstone, but at the same time when you look back at everything this program has done since The Return in 2017, you could say that one of the few things that we have not done yet is beat a ranked team. So that would be awesome and do a lot for this program. Like Cash said, it is an in-conference opponent, it's a championship game essentially for the West Division, they are unbeaten. I don't know of how many other motivating factors that either side needs other than that this is going to be a huge game."
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