The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Travels to Louisiana Tech for Regular Season Finale
11/21/2022 12:15:00 PM | Football
BIRMINGHAM – The UAB football team faces a must-win game to achieve bowl eligibility this Saturday, Nov. 26, as the Blazers travel to Louisiana Tech for its regular season finale. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW:
COACH VINCENT:
Opening Statement:
"Tough loss Saturday night in Death Valley. If you go back and you look at really the first half, they drive down and score and go up 7-0 and we were able to come back with a good kickoff return, punch it in, tie it up, and they drive down and score again. Then we're able to get a good drive going and we're able to kick a field goal right there in the second quarter to make it 14-10. Then, they come back down, and they score again. It was at that point, when it was 21-10 and we've got another good drive going and its fourth and three right there in plus territory, it just felt like with the momentum of the game we needed to go for it. We wanted to be able to stay ahead with them right there and be able to match them score for score. If you go back and look at it, I think they had 29 snaps in the first half and then we had right at 15. Something that I thought was key in the first half was we needed to match them score for score and then we needed to get off the field on defense on third downs. A stat that really stuck out, they were 6-6 on third downs and we were 1-5 in the first half. I felt like that was a big deal in the game, being able to get those guys off and for us, to be able to stay on and match them in scoring opportunities. You go to the second half, and I felt like offensively we didn't get in a rhythm those first two drives. We didn't execute, we had some things open, we just did not execute at that moment. We come back to the third drive, and they've pulled ahead and were trying to close it and we get something going. We have a 15-play drive, and we stall down there in the red zone, and I felt like that was a big turning point for us to be able to get back in it in the second half. At the end of the day, our guys played extremely proud, you've got to give LSU a lot of credit. There's a reason they're the SEC western division champs, there's a reason they're probably top five in the country. They've got a really good football team, they're well coached, and now we're focused on moving ahead. Our focus is on La Tech. We've got a lot on the line. These seniors and this football team have an opportunity to get bowl eligible for the seventh straight year. If that happens, it would give us the opportunity to be the third team in UAB history to win a bowl game."
On motivating the team despite their struggles this season:
"I think you go back to really after the FAU game. We were down at FAU, and we came up short and got beat; that's when we had to have a lot of dominoes fall for us. We were almost out of it, basically out of it after the FAU game and there's a lot of pride here, there's a lot of passion, and there's been a lot of work done to get this program where it's at today. Our standard is to play for a championship, we break it down on a championship every year. There's a lot of coaches and a lot of players on this football team that set those standards and have elevated those standards to where they're at today. I don't think it was a hard sell, because this football team, yeah we were disappointed ad we were hurt because we know everything we put into it and to have the losses that we had by one possession at the end of each game is something that was difficult and disappointing, but the character, the care, the brotherhood of this football team, fought through the adversity and the disappointment after every game. They came back and they brought it every single day in practice, we played extremely hard every single game. I don't think it was a tough sell because of the character and the perseverance of this team. A lot of these guys, the majority of this football team set those standards and helped build this program to where it is and what it's become. We've won more games than anybody in Conference USA since the return. We're 29-4 at home in Birmingham. We've won the only two championships and the only two bowl games in school history. There's a lot to be proud of and that's something we're going to continue to do here. Without a doubt, this football team is driven, and this football team is focused on getting to a bowl game and getting bowl eligible."
On the game against La Tech and their quarterback situation:
"If you go back to UAB and La Tech, there's a lot of history between UAB and La Tech. There's a lot of tradition between us and those guys. Coach [Sonny Cumbie], he's a great coach. He's been successful everywhere he's been. This is his first season at La Tech, and you have change. There's philosophy differences and you've seen that they've played well at home. They're 3-1 at home and they've had some big wins. It's a very proud program and I think if you talk about their quarterback situation, [Landry Lyddy] is a true freshman. We recruited him a little it out of high school, so we're very aware of him. He's a very efficient, smart, accurate quarterback. He's started the last two games; their starter is out with a hand injury. We don't know, it's probably a game time decision for him. Lyddy is a guy that can distribute the ball. They've got great receivers; they've got experienced receivers. They've got guys that have played a lot of football at La Tech. Anytime that UAB and La Tech line up it's always a great challenge and a great game."
On their performance Saturday and the team's confidence moving forward:
"I think just the experience alone of going to Death Valley and playing in that atmosphere and playing a top five team and SEC west champ, that experience alone and that atmosphere alone, made our team grow. We got better and we were able to handle a lot of adversity. When it comes down to those games and you're playing one of the most elite teams in the country, your execution has got to be at an elite level and we had opportunities to make a lot more plays on both sides of the ball, in all three phases. You've got to be able to execute those and get those plays done to stay in that game and have an opportunity in the end. I do think it benefited our football team."
DEFENSIVE LINEMAN FISH MCWILLIAMS
On the possibility of becoming bowl eligible:
"It would be tremendous to get bowl eligible. I just felt like this team, we've fought hard all season and stayed with each other. That's what I feel like we'll be able to do Saturday. We're a family, a brotherhood as Coach Vincent said, and we're going to continue to bring it no matter what. This Saturday we're going to come out and do the same thing we've been doing all season- just play hard and fight to the end."
On what has kept this team together through adversity:
"Coach Vincent, just his philosophy of what he brings as a head coach throughout fall camp, just saying we're a pack, we're a family, we're a brotherhood so we've got to stay together no matter what happens. He's just drilled that into us, and you can see that, we believe that no matter what. That all has to do with Coach Vincent."
On playing La Tech:
"This game is huge. Anytime we play La tech, it seems like the game always comes down to the small details, the small things. It's a hard game throughout, a tight game. I think it was 2019 or 2018, it was at [Legion Field], a wide receiver had the ball slip right through his chest. There's been some great games. If you go back to 2020 at La Tech, that overtime game, how that happened. Even last year, they played hard at [Protective Stadium]. I just know that La Tech is always going to bring it and we're going to bring it. It's just going to be a great game."
OFFENSIVE LINEMAN SIDNEY WELLS
On what this program means to him:
"It's always going to hold a special place in my heart. Growing up, this was a childhood dream. I always dreamed of playing college football, I always dreamed of being able to make a mark. I was able to win a conference championship. It's going to be really instilled in my heart for as long as I'll be able to remember it."
On the importance of becoming bowl eligible:
"It's very important. As an offensive line, we know that we've been talking about, [Matthew Trehern], [Kadeem Telfort], and I, creating more memories, memories that are going to last. It's very important for us to get an extra game because we know our time is coming to an end."
On the rivalry between UAB and La Tech:
"Every time we play at La Tech, it's always been a battle, regardless of the records, regardless of who has the better record or not, it's always been a battle, and it's always going to be a battle. I guess that's what history does, it just repeats itself. It's very important."
THREE THINGS TO KNOW:
- The Blazers (5-6, 3-4 C-USA) look to achieve bowl eligibility for a seventh consecutive season with a win on Saturday. UAB was 6-6 in 2014 and has been bowl eligible every season since returning to action in 2017. Since 2017, UAB has won 48 total games, which is the most of any team in Conference USA. The Blazers face a Louisiana Tech team (3-8, 2-5 C-USA) that they have defeated four of the last five matchups.
- DeWayne McBride enters Saturday's game needing 147 rushing yards to set the single season school rushing record. In 10 games this season, McBride has rushed for 1,441 yards and 18 touchdowns, both of which are second nationally. He is chasing Jordan Howard's record of 1,587 yards which was established in 2014. McBride's 18 rushing touchdowns are already a new school record.
- Noah Wilder looks to finish as Conference USA's leading tackler. He enters the game currently second in Conference USA with an average of 9.27 tackles per game, which is slightly behind KD Davis of North Texas (9.55 tackles per game). Wilder has a career-high 102 tackles this season and needs seven more to crack the top 10 for single season tackles at UAB. With 330 career tackles, Wilder ranks third all-time at UAB.
COACH VINCENT:
Opening Statement:
"Tough loss Saturday night in Death Valley. If you go back and you look at really the first half, they drive down and score and go up 7-0 and we were able to come back with a good kickoff return, punch it in, tie it up, and they drive down and score again. Then we're able to get a good drive going and we're able to kick a field goal right there in the second quarter to make it 14-10. Then, they come back down, and they score again. It was at that point, when it was 21-10 and we've got another good drive going and its fourth and three right there in plus territory, it just felt like with the momentum of the game we needed to go for it. We wanted to be able to stay ahead with them right there and be able to match them score for score. If you go back and look at it, I think they had 29 snaps in the first half and then we had right at 15. Something that I thought was key in the first half was we needed to match them score for score and then we needed to get off the field on defense on third downs. A stat that really stuck out, they were 6-6 on third downs and we were 1-5 in the first half. I felt like that was a big deal in the game, being able to get those guys off and for us, to be able to stay on and match them in scoring opportunities. You go to the second half, and I felt like offensively we didn't get in a rhythm those first two drives. We didn't execute, we had some things open, we just did not execute at that moment. We come back to the third drive, and they've pulled ahead and were trying to close it and we get something going. We have a 15-play drive, and we stall down there in the red zone, and I felt like that was a big turning point for us to be able to get back in it in the second half. At the end of the day, our guys played extremely proud, you've got to give LSU a lot of credit. There's a reason they're the SEC western division champs, there's a reason they're probably top five in the country. They've got a really good football team, they're well coached, and now we're focused on moving ahead. Our focus is on La Tech. We've got a lot on the line. These seniors and this football team have an opportunity to get bowl eligible for the seventh straight year. If that happens, it would give us the opportunity to be the third team in UAB history to win a bowl game."
On motivating the team despite their struggles this season:
"I think you go back to really after the FAU game. We were down at FAU, and we came up short and got beat; that's when we had to have a lot of dominoes fall for us. We were almost out of it, basically out of it after the FAU game and there's a lot of pride here, there's a lot of passion, and there's been a lot of work done to get this program where it's at today. Our standard is to play for a championship, we break it down on a championship every year. There's a lot of coaches and a lot of players on this football team that set those standards and have elevated those standards to where they're at today. I don't think it was a hard sell, because this football team, yeah we were disappointed ad we were hurt because we know everything we put into it and to have the losses that we had by one possession at the end of each game is something that was difficult and disappointing, but the character, the care, the brotherhood of this football team, fought through the adversity and the disappointment after every game. They came back and they brought it every single day in practice, we played extremely hard every single game. I don't think it was a tough sell because of the character and the perseverance of this team. A lot of these guys, the majority of this football team set those standards and helped build this program to where it is and what it's become. We've won more games than anybody in Conference USA since the return. We're 29-4 at home in Birmingham. We've won the only two championships and the only two bowl games in school history. There's a lot to be proud of and that's something we're going to continue to do here. Without a doubt, this football team is driven, and this football team is focused on getting to a bowl game and getting bowl eligible."
On the game against La Tech and their quarterback situation:
"If you go back to UAB and La Tech, there's a lot of history between UAB and La Tech. There's a lot of tradition between us and those guys. Coach [Sonny Cumbie], he's a great coach. He's been successful everywhere he's been. This is his first season at La Tech, and you have change. There's philosophy differences and you've seen that they've played well at home. They're 3-1 at home and they've had some big wins. It's a very proud program and I think if you talk about their quarterback situation, [Landry Lyddy] is a true freshman. We recruited him a little it out of high school, so we're very aware of him. He's a very efficient, smart, accurate quarterback. He's started the last two games; their starter is out with a hand injury. We don't know, it's probably a game time decision for him. Lyddy is a guy that can distribute the ball. They've got great receivers; they've got experienced receivers. They've got guys that have played a lot of football at La Tech. Anytime that UAB and La Tech line up it's always a great challenge and a great game."
On their performance Saturday and the team's confidence moving forward:
"I think just the experience alone of going to Death Valley and playing in that atmosphere and playing a top five team and SEC west champ, that experience alone and that atmosphere alone, made our team grow. We got better and we were able to handle a lot of adversity. When it comes down to those games and you're playing one of the most elite teams in the country, your execution has got to be at an elite level and we had opportunities to make a lot more plays on both sides of the ball, in all three phases. You've got to be able to execute those and get those plays done to stay in that game and have an opportunity in the end. I do think it benefited our football team."
DEFENSIVE LINEMAN FISH MCWILLIAMS
On the possibility of becoming bowl eligible:
"It would be tremendous to get bowl eligible. I just felt like this team, we've fought hard all season and stayed with each other. That's what I feel like we'll be able to do Saturday. We're a family, a brotherhood as Coach Vincent said, and we're going to continue to bring it no matter what. This Saturday we're going to come out and do the same thing we've been doing all season- just play hard and fight to the end."
On what has kept this team together through adversity:
"Coach Vincent, just his philosophy of what he brings as a head coach throughout fall camp, just saying we're a pack, we're a family, we're a brotherhood so we've got to stay together no matter what happens. He's just drilled that into us, and you can see that, we believe that no matter what. That all has to do with Coach Vincent."
On playing La Tech:
"This game is huge. Anytime we play La tech, it seems like the game always comes down to the small details, the small things. It's a hard game throughout, a tight game. I think it was 2019 or 2018, it was at [Legion Field], a wide receiver had the ball slip right through his chest. There's been some great games. If you go back to 2020 at La Tech, that overtime game, how that happened. Even last year, they played hard at [Protective Stadium]. I just know that La Tech is always going to bring it and we're going to bring it. It's just going to be a great game."
OFFENSIVE LINEMAN SIDNEY WELLS
On what this program means to him:
"It's always going to hold a special place in my heart. Growing up, this was a childhood dream. I always dreamed of playing college football, I always dreamed of being able to make a mark. I was able to win a conference championship. It's going to be really instilled in my heart for as long as I'll be able to remember it."
On the importance of becoming bowl eligible:
"It's very important. As an offensive line, we know that we've been talking about, [Matthew Trehern], [Kadeem Telfort], and I, creating more memories, memories that are going to last. It's very important for us to get an extra game because we know our time is coming to an end."
On the rivalry between UAB and La Tech:
"Every time we play at La Tech, it's always been a battle, regardless of the records, regardless of who has the better record or not, it's always been a battle, and it's always going to be a battle. I guess that's what history does, it just repeats itself. It's very important."
Players Mentioned
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