The unofficial online home for fans of the UAB Blazers. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

There will be pain and lots of it.

(08-26-2013 06:52 PM)Bham Blazer Wrote:  Why all of the negativity? Last year was a transition year, which are usually tough. We've upgraded our coaching staff and roster. I feel good about this team until proven wrong!

Because we won 3 games? Because we fell behind quickly in numerous games? Because we lost to Tulane(again) and Memphis and Troy? Until I actually see it on the field, I don't know why I should believe this is the year for UAB. I think Troy is a winnable game, but we are pretty strong underdogs in Vegas, and it is far from a guarantee that we win it.

I will always root for UAB, but outside of the FCS schools, I'm not penciling any game in as a win until we actually start winning games in real life.

What the 8/31 game is about is whether our improving team is better than their improving team on that particular day.

Even those of us who have never coached a down of FB know that any team we play will try to stop our RBs and force our QBs to beat them by throwing the ball. That method of strategy has been successful in 9 of the last 12 games. Has UAB improved enough this season to get beyond that obstacle? We are about to find out in 4 days.

"Strong underdogs"? What's the line? 5?

They give you 3 for playing at home.

(08-27-2013 02:25 PM)BAMANBLAZERFAN Wrote:  What the 8/31 game is about is whether our improving team is better than their improving team on that particular day.

Even those of us who have never coached a down of FB know that any team we play will try to stop our RBs and force our QBs to beat them by throwing the ball. That method of strategy has been successful in 9 of the last 12 games. Has UAB improved enough this season to get beyond that obstacle? We are about to find out in 4 days.

We're improving. Have you looked at their offensive and defensive lines? They're rebuilding.

(08-27-2013 02:25 PM)Smaug Wrote:  "Strong underdogs"? What's the line? 5?

They give you 3 for playing at home.

I saw it at 5-6 originally, but according to Yahoo it is between 3 and 3.5 now. And 5 is a pretty strong line to me. It isn't anybody's fault the game is at Troy, and that factors into the line.

They give you 6 for playing at home. If I were an outsider I would think the number is pretty close. I would have Troy favored by 7 or 8.

I honestly think UAB is the better TEAM and will prove it Saturday night. I could be and often am wrong. Take care of the ball and make some stops and we will be fine. Turn the ball over and play Schumann defense and we will get beat.

I thought he meant that we were strong underdogs in that it is a consensus pick almost amount all the odds makers that we will lose.

(08-27-2013 02:34 PM)blazers9911 Wrote:  

(08-27-2013 02:25 PM)Smaug Wrote:  "Strong underdogs"? What's the line? 5?

They give you 3 for playing at home.

I saw it at 5-6 originally, but according to Yahoo it is between 3 and 3.5 now. And 5 is a pretty strong line to me. It isn't anybody's fault the game is at Troy, and that factors into the line.

I'm seeing UAB as a 3.5 point underdog from multiple sources.

(08-27-2013 02:47 PM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  They give you 6 for playing at home. If I were an outsider I would think the number is pretty close. I would have Troy favored by 7 or 8.

I honestly think UAB is the better TEAM and will prove it Saturday night. I could be and often am wrong. Take care of the ball and make some stops and we will be fine. Turn the ball over and play Schumann defense and we will get beat.

I believe the generally rule is 3 for a home team in football, and 6 for a home team in basketball. These aren't set in stone, but they are pretty close.

(08-27-2013 02:48 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  I thought he meant that we were strong underdogs in that it is a consensus pick almost amount all the odds makers that we will lose.

Troy is -170 on the moneyline. That is pretty strong to me. I know that 3-6 points doesn't seem like a ton, but it's a significantly stronger underdog than a team that's +1. We aren't 4 TD underdogs or anything, I was never trying to indicate that.

I love sports article headlines.

I bet Troy is also looking to stop the pass in the opener against UAB, as well as stop UAB from scoring. Troy is also likely looking to have more points at the end of the game. Conversely, UAB is looking to move the ball and score many points.

I hear we are looking to wear white........................../)...................

I look at the 3-6pt lines as 1 play is all it takes one way or the other to lose/win. Another way to look at it from viewing other betting type places is by % chance of a win scenarios. Most are saying Troy has just over a 50% chance to win. To me that is very close to going either way

Interesting to me that Troy seems to be keying on stopping the run. Not much has been mentioned by Troy coaches or players about the UAB passing game which was one of the most prolific in America a year ago. Either they don't think they CAN stop the passing game or they are trying to play a little mind game.

Don't get me wrong, Reaves is a tremendous talent and I think McGee will want to assert ourselves in the run game. But McGee has specifically made an effort to build this program on speed and skills players.

If Troy truly is spending most of their efforts on trying to defend the run game, I think it's going to be a long day for their defense.

I'd like to see us win a game by throwing the ball before I made such a prediction.

I say we pound the rock. So what if they're expecting it? It doesn't mean they can stop it.

(08-26-2013 04:55 PM)Smaug Wrote:  

(08-26-2013 04:52 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  We sure are doing a lot of talking for a three win team. I hope our three win team backs it up.

We're playing a 5 win team with a new defensive coordinator, and that new defensive coordinator is Wayne Bolt.

Granted, that doesn't make me as confident as I might be if say, it were Eric Schumann, but there it is.

Come on now! I work with Eric Schumann!!! He's actually a pretty nice guy. I've had several VERY interesting conversations with him.

(08-27-2013 10:00 PM)BandGrad Wrote:  

(08-26-2013 04:55 PM)Smaug Wrote:  

(08-26-2013 04:52 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  We sure are doing a lot of talking for a three win team. I hope our three win team backs it up.

We're playing a 5 win team with a new defensive coordinator, and that new defensive coordinator is Wayne Bolt.

Granted, that doesn't make me as confident as I might be if say, it were Eric Schumann, but there it is.

Come on now! I work with Eric Schumann!!! He's actually a pretty nice guy. I've had several VERY interesting conversations with him.

I'm a very nice guy...I bet I'd be one of the worst defensive coordinators in division 1 football. Stating one fact doesn't make the other less true