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Fast turn around..........what do we know about the Blazers?

All I see is that they have an 18 game home winning streak. We need to break that streak.

Really good D. Should be an old school defensive battle. I'm encouraged by our O-line creating lanes in the running game on Saturday and getting to the second level a time or two. UAB will probably have a better front 7.

I can't really glean anything about their Offense. The UAB poster said they have a power-I type philosophy, so that will keep our CBs on islands for the most part all game. If they can hold their own and not get burnt to many times, it should keep us in the game.

Hoping the fourth quarter (minus that option pitch) carries over for Breylin and company. That will give us a punchers chance.

UAB 27 - UCA 17

Here is the UAB Depth Chart that was released today.


I'd be happy to answer any questions y'all have about the team. If any of you are making the trip and want info on the area I can help with that too.

I really enjoyed watching y'all play Saturday and am looking forward to the game.

What style of Offense & Defense is UAB currently running under Bill Clark? Exciting to see what he has done to bring back the UAB program. Not sure if he will stay for long, but this is great for the city of Birmingham!

Defensively we give a lot of different looks. You could say we are a base 3-3-5 but really our "base" look is different depending on who we play each week and during the game you will see us in everything from a two down lineman look to a five down linemen look. We play mostly press man and mix in zone just enough to confuse things. We can usually get pressure with 3 or four but will blitz often jut to cause havoc. It was the 8th best overall defense in the country last year and is expected to be better this year.

Offensively it sometimes seems like we only have five plays.
Inside zone
Inside/outside power
Stretch zone
Play action off any of the above
3rd and long, chuck it and pray.

When it works we basically score in one of two ways: A soul crushing 10-15 play drive that leaves your defense on the field for most of a quarter OR a 50+ yard bomb over the top.

When it doesn't work we like to joke that we run the run-run-pray-punt offense.
If you go to youtube you can watch highlights of our games and see it working (Akron, South Alabama, most of our CUSA games) and games where it didnt (USM, WKU, Tennessee, FAU)

First, thanks for the depth chart and info.............

Second, if the run game emphasis works that would be fine with me if I were a UAB fan........you may recall what Darrell Royal said about passing......I cannot imagine Bears not throwing 30-35 times.......I am also glad to hear that WKU gave your offense problems last year.......

Third, UAB certainly has the size to be successful at FBS level.........some SEC teams would like their size......

Fourth, two 6'7 DEs gives me pause..........both are sophs but the big wingspans can cause QBs problems in passing lanes.........

Should be good ballgame.......we have to be better in turnover margin and have to have better punting (new transfer punter first D1 game and playing on national TV).........and, of course, Breylin needs to at least have a full game more like 2nd half vs APU....26/49 is not what he normally does and certainly not his capability.....

You definitely have a team good enough to win the game if the breaks go your way.
Y'all are light years better than Alabama St, and they had a chance to win in the 4th quarter against us last year. Obviously the results from our games against WKU last year give you hope too. I think the biggest advantage in your favor is having had a game to get the kinks out. As slow as you started in the first half Saturday, I could see our offense starting just as flat this week.

I dont think you will be able to run the ball. Austin Peay was without its two best DT's Saturday and once their 2nd string guys ran out of gas there were huge lanes to run through.

I do think your receivers are good enough to make tough catches in coverage and if your QB can get in a rhythm and your line can protect him long enough, there will be plays to be made in the passing game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euB43slXeBY

I appreciate you being humble enough and giving a fair representation of what could happen. I think the key for UAB is to shut down the passing game. Without our passing game UCA is toast. However, not sure why, but I feel this could be in the 20's or so for UCA and 30's for UAB. A big factor as well is UCA defense on how they play against UAB. Should be a good game though!

UCA got 177 yards rushing last game.

I think if we've improved on our running game of 32 yards per game (which is hard to tell after one game) then we should be alright. Not say a win but better off than last year.

Here's what I don't understand..and I imagine neither do the coaches.

WE START SLOW...We've done that for the past few years. Why? I have no idea.

None of these games we've played in where we've won after starting slow would be close. Maybe it's a mindset. Maybe it's a curse. Maybe it's a rut. Who knows.

But if we start a little faster maybe some of these games wouldn't be nailbiters like they are.

Slow starts are so common for Bears that it is almost like it is an element of the game plan.........try not to show much beyond plain vanilla to minimize adjustments opponent can make....... play good defense, take what the defense gives you with a limited playbook, flip field with punts and punt returns, avoid TOs and try to get a couple, try to get a good read on what the defense is going to do, avoid wearing out early in hot weather ....then come out in H2 and go bombs away with that game's offensive plan...maybe the focus is on wearing the other guys down and use our speed and depth in H2......

Or maybe we are not warming up well enough and it takes the first half to really get the muscles ready to go full out......I know the parallel is not perfect but many distance runners (say 10k and marathon) basically use first half of race to get ready to blast the last half.....

Hard to believe it is just something random as it happen so often......

The first possession of the H2 really smacked APU unexpectedly.....that was the best series of running I have seen from Crossley.....who expected us to run the ball like that to start H2?

Hoping we get out better vs UAB and not rely on late Q4 heroics..........Go Bears!!

FROM -- https://athlonsports.com/college-footba ... picks-2020

Final Analysis

Central Arkansas was able to knock off some of the rust of a long offseason, and the Bears were able to get to Birmingham right away after playing last week in Montgomery, Ala. It’s a short week against a superior opponent, but UCA has tried to make the best of a difficult situation.

After surviving a scare from FCS Alabama State in the opener last year, UAB put together a very good season led by one of the best defenses in the country. Thanks to the return of a veteran group of playmakers on both sides of the football, the Blazers are among the favorites to win Conference USA. If Johnston is more consistent and the offense takes a step forward, it could be a special season.

PREDICTION -- UAB 42 / UCA 10

I THINK IT SHOULD BE CLOSE BUT NOT ENTIRELY SURE... BUT THIS WILL BE UAB FIRST GAME OF SEASON, SO AT LEAST WE HAD OUR GAME LAST WEEK TO GET RID OF FIRST GAME MISTAKES AND JITTERS.

https://collegefootballnews.com/2020/08 ... me-preview


CFN HAS GAME 30-16 UAB OVER THE BEARS

Some game stories from the Birmingham paper:
https://www.al.com/uab/2020/09/uab-open ... ansas.html

https://www.al.com/uab/2020/09/blazer-b ... chups.html

https://www.al.com/uab/2020/09/position ... ansas.html

https://www.al.com/uab/2020/09/stage-ha ... tball.html

Rarely ever bet against the Bears.....we have a game and Blazers have not.......we play Sunbelt and CUSA teams pretty well.....offense should have gotten sharper this week.......playing at historic Legion Field.......not sure how I get to the below but.......

UCA 20
UAB 18

Go Bears!!