The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Football Week 3 Transcript: at North Texas
9/13/2021 1:20:00 PM | Football
BIRMINGHAM – Heading into its first Conference USA game of the season at North Texas, Head Coach Bill Clark addressed the media on Monday morning at his weekly press conference.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW:
Opening Statement:
"Good Morning, obviously coming off a tough loss it goes without saying our guys are disappointed. I know we have to play better than that. Give them (Georgia) credit, they played well. Early this morning, we were watching the good, bad, and the ugly. That is one of the toughest things we go through as coaches. Of course, coming off a loss, we have to revisit it and we have to grow from it. We are going to put it in the rearview mirror and not forget it. Looking ahead when we play conference games, they are like super bowls. They are super bowls for the opponent, and they are super bowls for us. North Texas had greatly improved last year. I think Coach Littrell does a great job. I think they had about 100 snaps on offense and are very up tempo. They spread the ball around. They have a new quarterback who has a big arm. They do a really a good job with their physical running game. Their defense is much improved. We saw in their special teams. We've got to put this one behind and more forward and just learn from our mistakes."
On playing a Divisional opponent…
"Yeah its tough, we'll start with that first. I think we said who is Jacksonville State? You know that is a game that we had to get up for. We knew they were tough. Obviously, they found a way to beat Florida State at their place. I think for us the biggest thing is to understand what this conference game means to the opponent. It is a big deal. We break it down on "CHAMPS!" every day. I think it is what we are working for is conference championships. We are going to have to be at our very best."
On what is different about UNT this year…
"Offensively they are high tempo and they run a lot of tempo plays. Their biggest improvement already is their defense. They've had some times that they were good on defense and probably weren't quite as good as maybe they wanted to be the last few years. I see them coming back. You know they made a change at their defensive coordinator spot, I know him. They're going to be better there and they're always tough."
On preparing for UNT high tempo offense…
"I think one of the things we do and we have been doing for years is we put two huddles going at us just as fast as we can go. I think that is the only way you can simulate them is just practice. You got those two huddles coming at you. Your guys are just waiting for it. It is tough, and I don't care how much you do it. They move fast, and they are going to spread you horizontally. If you look at their splits with their receivers, they are at the bottom of the numbers. So, that really opens up running lanes and you have a quarterback who can make those throws. They have a transfer from North Carolina with a big arm. He can run so it is going to be a big challenge. Last year statistically, they were one of the top teams in the country in the numbers categories."
Cornerback Starling Thomas V:
On coming off a tough loss…
"We just go into practice like we would any other week. It just seems like we have to get better. We can't give up those kind of yards. So we take fault for that and we just hold each other accountable. It's all we can for that. We just got to keep moving on from that and try to win our next conference game."
On the importance of the first conference game…
"We've got to win this game. They are in our division. We want to make sure that we continue to make a statement that we are the best team in the conference and we are trying to get to the championship again."
Center Andrew Smith Jr.:
On the importance of the first conference game…
"Every game is important to us. We don't like to lose whether its Georgia or the worst team in football history. We want to win each and every game."
On the offensive line allowing three sacks…
"The confidence is always there but at the same time we have to work on getting better. We do not want to allow any sacks. We always want to run the ball and build a wall for Tyler, or who is ever back there so we can get the ball down the field."
THREE THINGS TO KNOW:
- Including the last three games of last year, this Saturday marks UAB's sixth consecutive road game. UAB ended the 2020 season with games at Louisiana Tech (10/31), at Rice (12/12) and at Marshall (12/18). The Blazers opened the 2021 season in Montgomery vs. Jacksonville State and last week were on the road at Georgia.
- UAB jumps into C-USA divisional play where they have been nothing short of dominant since returning to action in 2017. UAB owns a record of 18-3 vs. the C-USA West Division and is the three-time reigning C-USA West division champion.
- Each of the last three games between UAB and North Texas have been very closely contested matchups. Two of the three have been one-possession games, while the other game was a 29-21 UAB victory in which the Blazers outscored North Texas 19-0 in the second half to erase an 11-point halftime deficit back in 2018. UAB leads the overall series 4-1 and has one each of the last two games.
Opening Statement:
"Good Morning, obviously coming off a tough loss it goes without saying our guys are disappointed. I know we have to play better than that. Give them (Georgia) credit, they played well. Early this morning, we were watching the good, bad, and the ugly. That is one of the toughest things we go through as coaches. Of course, coming off a loss, we have to revisit it and we have to grow from it. We are going to put it in the rearview mirror and not forget it. Looking ahead when we play conference games, they are like super bowls. They are super bowls for the opponent, and they are super bowls for us. North Texas had greatly improved last year. I think Coach Littrell does a great job. I think they had about 100 snaps on offense and are very up tempo. They spread the ball around. They have a new quarterback who has a big arm. They do a really a good job with their physical running game. Their defense is much improved. We saw in their special teams. We've got to put this one behind and more forward and just learn from our mistakes."
On playing a Divisional opponent…
"Yeah its tough, we'll start with that first. I think we said who is Jacksonville State? You know that is a game that we had to get up for. We knew they were tough. Obviously, they found a way to beat Florida State at their place. I think for us the biggest thing is to understand what this conference game means to the opponent. It is a big deal. We break it down on "CHAMPS!" every day. I think it is what we are working for is conference championships. We are going to have to be at our very best."
On what is different about UNT this year…
"Offensively they are high tempo and they run a lot of tempo plays. Their biggest improvement already is their defense. They've had some times that they were good on defense and probably weren't quite as good as maybe they wanted to be the last few years. I see them coming back. You know they made a change at their defensive coordinator spot, I know him. They're going to be better there and they're always tough."
On preparing for UNT high tempo offense…
"I think one of the things we do and we have been doing for years is we put two huddles going at us just as fast as we can go. I think that is the only way you can simulate them is just practice. You got those two huddles coming at you. Your guys are just waiting for it. It is tough, and I don't care how much you do it. They move fast, and they are going to spread you horizontally. If you look at their splits with their receivers, they are at the bottom of the numbers. So, that really opens up running lanes and you have a quarterback who can make those throws. They have a transfer from North Carolina with a big arm. He can run so it is going to be a big challenge. Last year statistically, they were one of the top teams in the country in the numbers categories."
Cornerback Starling Thomas V:
On coming off a tough loss…
"We just go into practice like we would any other week. It just seems like we have to get better. We can't give up those kind of yards. So we take fault for that and we just hold each other accountable. It's all we can for that. We just got to keep moving on from that and try to win our next conference game."
On the importance of the first conference game…
"We've got to win this game. They are in our division. We want to make sure that we continue to make a statement that we are the best team in the conference and we are trying to get to the championship again."
Center Andrew Smith Jr.:
On the importance of the first conference game…
"Every game is important to us. We don't like to lose whether its Georgia or the worst team in football history. We want to win each and every game."
On the offensive line allowing three sacks…
"The confidence is always there but at the same time we have to work on getting better. We do not want to allow any sacks. We always want to run the ball and build a wall for Tyler, or who is ever back there so we can get the ball down the field."
Players Mentioned
OL
/ Football
CB
/ FootballUAB Baseball | The Quick Cut: at Alabama
Thursday, April 23
UAB Beach Volleyball | The Quick Cut: Blazer Beach Bash
Saturday, April 18
UAB Softball | The Quick Cut: Memphis Series
Thursday, April 09
UAB vs ECU Post Game Press Conference
Sunday, March 08
