UAB to Open 2023 Season on Thursday Against North Carolina A&T

Thursday, August 31

Protective Stadium

7 p.m. CT

UAB

North Carolina A&T

Buy Tickets

UAB vs. Alabama A&M Sept. 1, 2022 at Protective Stadium, Birmingham Alabama. (Jimmie Mitchell/UAB)

Photo by: Prizm Photography LLC

UAB to Open 2023 Season on Thursday Against North Carolina A&T

8/29/2023 9:42:00 AM | Football

UAB Game Notes vs. North Carolina A&T North Carolina A&T Game Notes vs. UAB Digital Game Program 2 for $23 Ticket Promotion 2023 Season Tickets

BIRMINGHAM – The UAB football team begins its American Athletic Conference and Trent Dilfer era this Thursday, Aug. 31, against North Carolina A&T. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

This is the first meeting between UAB and NC A&T, and the first collegiate game for each head coach as a pair of former NFL Pro Bowlers square off against each other with Dilfer leading the Blazers and Vincent Brown guiding the Aggies.

Who: UAB (0-0) vs. North Carolina A&T (0-0)
Where: Protective Stadium – Birmingham, Ala.
When: Thursday, Aug. 31 – 7 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
On The Call: Richard Cross (play-by-play), Taylor McHargue (analyst)
Listen: 94.5 WJOX
On The Call: David Crane (play-by-play), Bryant Turner (analyst), Landrum Roberts (sideline)
Series: First Meeting

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:

The Blazers look to continue their season-opening success, having won each of their last seven season openers dating back to 2014.
A win on Thursday would also be UAB's 30th in front of its home fans since returning to action in 2017. UAB has been dominant at home during that span, playing to an overall record of 29-4 in Birmingham.
North Carolina A&T is coming off a 7-4 season in 2022 and like UAB, is joining a new conference this season as members of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). This is the seventh straight season UAB has opened the season with an FCS opponent.
UAB will debut 51 new players this Thursday, which is the fourth most newcomers nationally. Despite that, the Blazers have some distinguished players on both sides of the ball who highlight the returners.
It starts with running back Jermaine Brown Jr., who has a chance to go down as one of the greatest players to don the Green and Gold with another big season in 2023. Brown has 3,476 career all-purpose yards, including 2,275 rushing yards. He needs 1,194 all-purpose yards to set the school record in that category and 725 rushing yards to become just the third player in school history to rush for 3,000 career yards.
Brown Jr. is coming off a career-best season in 2022 in which he had 1,543 all-purpose yards, 948 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. Brown Jr. was named to the 2023 Preseason Watch Lists for the Maxwell Award, Doak Walker Award and Hornung Award, and was on the Senior Bowl Watch List.
Quarterback Jacob Zeno takes the reins as the full-time signal caller. Zeno appeared in nine games last season in a limited role, but did start two games and threw for 524 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in those two starts. Against UTSA, Zeno threw for a career-high 332 yards.
Defensively, the McWilliams brothers lead the Blazers into the 2023 season. Defensive tackle Fish McWilliams earned the preseason accolades, being named to the Outland Trophy and Chuck Bednarik Award Watch Lists, while also being a preseason All-AAC First Team selection by Phil Steele and Pro Football Focus.
Mac McWilliams is one of the top shutdown corners in the AAC and was on his way to an All-Conference season a year ago before suffering a season-ending injury in game seven. He was leading C-USA in pass breakups prior to his injury and is poised for a breakout year in 2023.
A lot of new faces defensively to keep an eye on include outside linebackers Desmond Little and Michael Moore, corners BJ Mayes and AD Diamond, and safety Ray Thornton III. Additionally, returners looking to step into bigger roles include linebackers Jackson Bratton and Charlie Goode, safeties Damien Miller and Ike Rowell, and cornerback Colby Dempsey.

The UAB department of Athletics is running a ticket special for the North Carolina A&T game and fans can purchase two tickets for just $23 by clicking here.

Season and single game tickets remain on sale by clicking here. UAB has six home games this season, and along with North Carolina A&T on Thursday, the Blazers will host Louisiana (Sept. 16), USF (Oct. 7), Memphis (Oct. 21), Florida Atlantic (Nov. 4) and Temple (Nov. 18).

UAB plays road games at Georgia Southern (Sept. 9), at Georgia (Sept. 23), at Tulane (Sept. 30), at UTSA (Oct. 14), at Navy (Nov. 11) and at North Texas (Nov. 25).

For more information on the UAB football team, be sure to follow @UAB_FB on Twitter, Instagram and Threads.