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Blazers shake up C-USA

Posted on Oct 12, 2009 in Sports

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Still have potential for great season

I have always been a diehard SEC football fan. I was raised in a split household were the Saturdays of fall were devoted to the Georgia Bulldogs and South Carolina Gamecocks.

But nowadays, I am a Tennessee Volunteer fan that sits bewildered that the Volunteers have the same record as the UAB Blazers. I’m not comparing notes or suggesting which team that I prefer; however, it puts my football views in retrospect.

Maybe our Blazer football players are trying to tell the half-hearted Blazer fan base that this is the year that will change this program and they are demanding a little more respect.

It is the middle of the football season, and many Blazer football fans are wondering: where did this new and improved Blazer football team come from?

The AP poll has had its fair share of surprises, but the C-USA, much like the fans, are surprised that the Blazers have won two games, and the season is far from over.

Blazer football fan Brannette Marshall said about the Blazers’ season, “[The football team has] shown much improvement over the last two years. They are a young team, but they have potential.”

Junior Ryan McLaughlin is impressed by the Blazer turnaround this season as well.

“To see guys you know going out there and giving it their all, it makes you happy,” said McLaughlin. “Despite being 2-3, there’s something different about them this year, they seem more confident… as a unit and not as individuals. One play sets the difference between being 3-2 and undefeated in the conference, that’s big.”

In preseason talk, our Blazer football team sat dead last in the C-USA east, and second to last in the entire conference. But our team seemingly gets the last laugh as they are now second in the C-USA east and third in the conference at this moment.

The Blazers are behind East Carolina, who shocked the NCAA last year with wins over Virginia Tech and Tulsa, which is arguably the best team this conference has to offer. However, the Blazers beat Tulane last year and lost to East Carolina by three. So there’s hope that if the Blazers continue to win within conference and have a few wins in nonconference play, taking the conference title as well as a berth to a bowl are not far-fetched goals.

But for now, Neil Calloway’s team is 2-3 at the midpoint in the season, one field goal away from being 3-2. Two of the three losses were at the hands of the well-known programs of Texas A&M and Troy. The other loss came against conference foe SMU. And for the three C-USA teams the Blazers have played, they beat Rice and, more surprisingly, Southern Miss. That’s right, the same Southern Miss that posted 70 points on the Blazers in 2008.

UAB didn’t face Rice last season, but the Owls were 10-3 in 2008 and had a bowl victory over West Virginia, so the Blazers demolishing of the Owls in the home-opener was a statement of change in-and-of itself.

Coming into the season, the Blazers did have a recipe for success. Joe Webb, senior quarterback had been getting national recognition, landing on the Watch list for Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award alongside quarterbacks like the Tim Tebow of Florida and Colt McCoy of Texas.

Also, the Blazers had 10 returning starters to the offense, including senior center Jake Sietz, named to the Rimington Award Watch list and Coaches’ preseason All-Conference team, and junior tight end Jeffrey Anderson, who was also named on the preseason All-Conference team and the Mackey Award Watch List.

As for the defense, the Blazers had a key ingredient, which was age. And with age comes maturity. There are many stand-out players this season including sophomore defensive tackle Elliot Henigan, the dynamic duo of senior Brandon Carlisle and Marquis Coleman at the cornerback position, and junior linebacker Keon Harris.

The defense has stepped up to the plate after many Blazer fans blamed losses on this camp’s inability to finish strong. Though the defense is still ranked 10th in the conference, the offense’s ability to score, though they have struggled a little this season, puts them 4th in the conference. But do the facts and figures really matter that much? Well not if the Blazers continue to sweep through the conference.

The season is far from over for the Blazers. They are coming off a well-deserved bye-week to face the Ole Miss Rebels and that Jevan Snead and Dexter McCluster offense in Oxford, Mississippi.

Ole Miss might not have lived up to the high expectations of the preseason, but they are in the SEC and if our defense doesn’t come ready to play, Snead and the Rebel offense could score 50+.

However, in favor the Blazers, if the Rebels slack off too much, our team has the ability to pull off the upset. After the Rebels, the Blazers head to Marshall. The Blazers beat Marshall by 2 points last year, so they could advance to 3-1 in conference play if they have a repeat of last year. After that the Blazers play 3 of their five games away, but let’s let the team get past week eight before talks of the final stretch begin.

There’s a lot of football left to be played, but this year’s Blazer team has definitely shaken up the C-USA and provided a breath of fresh air over the program.

Email: kmwoodr1@uab.edu