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

Quoth the Nature Boy, Ric Flair, "WOOOOOOOOOO!"

If you're wondering what a Magic City ass whoopin' looks like, that was one.

Domination from start to finish.

Look, if you believe there's a hierarchy of college football in this state (and I do), UAB has to play its cards the best it can. That includes laying a beatdown on the other have-nots when you get them on the field. It means everyone walks out of Legion Field yesterday with zero question in their mind who the better team was.

Check, and check.

The missed field goal was our only first half possession in which we didn't score. We emptied the bench in the 4th quarter. It could have been worse.

You want stats? Here you go.

Total yards:
USA 190
UAB 514

Third down efficiency:
USA: 2 of 11
UAB: 9 of 13

Time of Possession (probably the most telling stat of the day):
USA: 19:57
UAB: 40:03

This is usually one of the more meaningless statistics out there, but it's as illustrative as any just how dominant a performance that was. We held the ball for two-thirds of the damn game! Like daddy always said, "It's hard to score when you don't have the ball." Speaking of which...

Playing keep away

That drive to open the second half was soul-killing. Just sucks the life right out of you. Get this: 15 plays. 82 yards. 8 minutes and 38 demoralizing seconds. Then force a three and out. We held the ball for almost 12 minutes in the third quarter.

You could have stuck a fork in South right then and gotten everyone in out of the heat early.

Spread the love

We completed passes to NINE different receivers yesterday, including 3 to tight ends for one touchdown.

Take it on the run

We rushed for 201 yards yesterday. I thought we might do well on the ground, after watching their game with Memphis.

Slap yer mamma

Those bacon-wrapped chicken breasts of blazerwkr's are proof of a loving God. As with the football team, the Mad Genius brought his A game.

You spell Blazers with a D

Smothering performance yesterday. Smothering. And we played a ton of guys. 20 people had at least 1 tackle yesterday. That is not a typo.

Band together

So, UAB picked yesterday to have its all-star band day (think high school kids getting to hang with the Marching Blazers all day and then take the field at halftime). Between the SotMC, the high school kids, and South's band, there were probably 500 people on the field. It's a great recruiting tool for the band and all those band parents help attendance. Playing Blazer legend and bro country heartthrob Sam Hunt's "House Party" was a nice touch.

UAB had a chance to put on a good show in front of a lot of new faces, and an NFL Network audience and it did so with a flourish.

The Good

Did I miss anything? A dominating performance and a great college football atmosphere. Fun, festive tailgate with a great group of folks. Five stars. Would do it again.

The Bad

The heat. Lord, it was hot. Yeah, it's a good day when the crystal clear day is the only thing you have to ***** about. Oh, wait...

The Ugly

The tailgating spots were a fiasco. I mentioned to a couple of people that it's best not to think of it as a grid, but a pie, sliced by a blind drunk. We got their early, which helps, I think, but then we watched with amusement and dismay as pretty much everyone around us tried to puzzle out the lines, plusses and cones.

So, what does this mean, Barbara?

On paper, not much maybe. Non-conference win over a not very good team over which we were favored by double-digits. That said, there were many intangibles floating about whose boxes we checked most satisfactorily. We scored perception points. As one of the aforementioned have-nots, trying to carve out a place for itself in the college football world, we laid an ass-whoopin' on a fellow have-not. An in-state have-not. We did it on a pretty day with a lot of people watching.

In furtherance of this perception, I now hope South wallops the **** out of Troy.

We are also one of 23 remaining undefeated FBS teams.

We are getting better.

Great day to be a Blazer.

That's all I got. For now. I think.

Man, #30, Jermaine Brown is quick. He came in in the 4th quarter. The guy has some burst. I wouldn't be surprised if he fills the Hayden role next year.

(09-22-2019 10:45 AM)WesternBlazer Wrote:  Man, #30, Jermaine Brown is quick. He came in in the 4th quarter. The guy has some burst. I wouldn't be surprised if he fills the Hayden role next year.

+1

Missed where he moved from WO, like the move even with the lack of depth at WR showing.

What lack of depth at Receiver?

We also had a drive after the missed field goal. The missed field goal and INT were the only two drives we didn’t score in the first half.

(09-22-2019 11:26 AM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  What lack of depth at Receiver?

Overall numbers

(09-22-2019 12:18 PM)Big Dee Wrote:  

(09-22-2019 11:26 AM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  What lack of depth at Receiver?

Overall numbers

Only 4 with a catch
2 guys waiting on their first reception

I liked what I saw out of Stanley & wish he'd get more carries as I think he's better inside runner than Brown has been plus has some speed to get the corner which we seem to use Haden for. Vincent looked to open the offense up a bit more but still stayed a little vanilla

(09-22-2019 12:21 PM)Big Dee Wrote:  

(09-22-2019 12:18 PM)Big Dee Wrote:  

(09-22-2019 11:26 AM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  What lack of depth at Receiver?

Overall numbers

Only 4 with a catch
2 guys waiting on their first reception

1 guy with a catch from 2017 that has completely vanished. The rest are walkons right? Davis top walkon.

Good summary. I find myself amazed by the recruiting and roster management.

You have to think that defensively we didnt get a few juco guys into school that we expected to play near the line of scrimmage. Then we loose our best defender, Brontae Harris, and maybe Jarrion Street (8 tackles game 1) for the season. Yet here we are in the early and easier portion of the schedule at an unprecedented 3-0 looking a lot like the 2018 defense with respect to aggressiveness and statistics.

We have several highly rated LBs that are not playing or rarely playing, and are starting what appears to be a walkon MLB from a lower division school, who is leading the team in tackles. We have a second wave of pass rush cadre that are closer to safety or basketball size than rush end size. But they get to the QB also. Two pure sophomores at corner, both of whom are showing we have reason to believe they will be as good as expected by their recruiting rankings. If you look at the youth and physical size of the two plus deep roster, one would KNOT expect this level of play. Sorry, couldnt resist.

I love it, but am also curious to see how we progress as the opponent difficulty and speed increases.

Offensive line is giving TJ3 unbelievable time. Not yet confident in the run game, but it was improved yesterday. Spencer ran better yesterday but he just does not look like himself. I love Spencer but I would like to see more of Stanley in the next game. I wonder when Wooden is going to make it back.

There are very few seniors playing. Next year could be a monster season if we can figure out the offensive line and fill a few defensive gaps.

We were in the shade for most of the game, and it didn’t feel bad at all.

(09-22-2019 01:40 PM)Ranger1386c Wrote:  We have a second wave of pass rush cadre that are closer to safety or basketball size than rush end size. But they get to the QB also.

I don't know if it's the scheme they are used in, the guys they choose to go after and coach up, or what, but those 6'8" - 6'9" DE/LBs have worked out very well for us. They've been difference makers and have won games for us.

In our system the SDE (the position Keely and JGW manned so well last year and that Jordan Smith has made his own this year) is responsible for making it very hard to throw to the flat as part of their pass rush, so we want tall rangy guys who are hard to throw over in that spot.