The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Brown Discusses Upcoming USF Game With Media
11/17/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 17, 2003
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- UAB head coach Watson Brown and selected football players talked with the local media about the Blazers' game with the USF Bulls this Saturday at 6 p.m. (CT) at Raymond James Stadium. The game will be televised locally on Charter/Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS) and will also be carried as part of the ESPN Plus package.
The Blazers and USF both need a victory to keep their bowl game hopes alive. UAB sits at 4-6 on the season and needs to win its last two games, while the Bulls, at 6-4, need two more wins over Division I-A programs to become eligible.
"South Florida is in the same situation we are in," Brown said. "Neither team can lose if they want to go to a bowl game, so one of us will get eliminated on Saturday. We both want to get to the last game of the season with the opportunity to make it to a bowl game. There is a lot at stake on Saturday for us and for South Florida as well."
UAB had last weekend off after falling to Tulane, 38-24, in its final home game of the 2003 season. The Blazers were once again bitten by the turnover bug, fumbling twice inside the Green Wave five-yard line. UAB tallied a season-high 499 yards of offense as freshman running back Corey White ran for 138 yards and junior wide receiver Roddy White caught five passes for 147 yards and two TDs.
"The off week was good for us," said Brown. "The new quarterbacks haven't had any time off. They started a few weeks ago against Georgia and have been in a whirlwind situation ever since. We had some time this week to do some fundamental things with them and hopefully they'll be better for the South Florida game. We also had some injured guys that needed some time off as well. They didn't practice last week, so hopefully it will make us better this week."
Redshirt freshman Chris Williams has started the last three games for the Blazers at quarterback for the injured Darrell Hackney. Curtis Falany saw the first action of his UAB career against Tulane, completing a 61-yard touchdown pass to White to bring UAB to within 31-24 with 5:55 left in the game. Either player could get the start against USF.
"I don't know who is going to start the game," Brown said. "I think they will both play and we might even use Lance Rhodes. We're going to do whatever we can to win and whoever has the hot hand will play. I don't think it's a question of which one goes into the game first, it's a question of who plays the most and that depends on who is playing the best." Player Quotes Quarterback Chris Williams
On the off week and how it was helpful for the team
"As a whole, the team feels it was a really good week off. We learned a lot of new things."
On what happened in the Tulane loss
"It was a really bad game for us. I wasn't happy with my performance and the coaches weren't happy with how we played., Hopefully we'll be able to work on some things after we look at the film again today."
On some of the things that the USF defense brings to the table
"I've looked at South Florida a lot and I know that they are going to bring the blitz and they have a very good front four. They love to play man coverage, so hopefully our receivers will be able to have a good night."
On how UAB's receivers love to have man coverage played against them
"We have three receivers that would love to see one-on-one coverage. We have Roddy (White), (Bradly) Chavez and Nick Coon and I know that they would love to see the man coverage."
On the speed of UAB's receivers
"During the game, it definitely makes my job a lot easier. I know that they can go run under a lot of passes and it just helps me out a whole lot."
On how he feels heading into this game
"I feel very confident and hopefully I will do a good job of showing it this weekend. It will be a good game and I know that I will have fun playing."
Running back Corey White
On getting a lot of carries against Tulane after spending much of the season at fullback
"It was good, because I really wanted to be able to carry the ball more. I knew that I could help the team and now we just have to get ready for South Florida. I'm going to do everything possible to help the team win."
On if they have done anything different in practice to try and limit the turnovers
"Not really. The only thing that our running backs coach (Ross Robinson) has been telling us before every game is to protect the ball. If we can get that right for the last two games, then we'll do alright."
On getting ready to play when you know you have to win the last two games
"We're just going to continue to play hard. That's all we can do right now. We know that we have to win both of these last two games, but we just need to focus and take it one by one."
On being able to make a statement by beating USF on the road in Tampa
"We just have to come to play. Everybody is going to have to play together and we're just going to have to cut down on our mistakes. If we can do that, then I think that we will be able to come out with a victory."
On if he initially thought that he would see this much playing time as a freshman
"I knew that I would be able to play, but I just wasn't sure of which position. Coach (Watson) Brown and I had a talk and we made an agreement that I would play fullback some if it was in the best interest of the team. By doing that, it helped me to learn how the game goes, so now when I'm playing tailback, I know where to go and how to hit the hole. It's been good, because I know where I'm going before I even get the ball. It has also helped me to learn the defenses faster than if I was on the sideline."
Linebacker Zac Woodfin
On the thinking of the team right now with two must-win games left
"The team is very confident. We all feel as if TCU is going to win out and crash the BCS and that will open up five bowl spots for the rest of us, so this week is do-or-die at South Florida. We are going to need six wins period in order to become bowl eligible and that is what we're looking at. We are going to go down there this weekend and play for everything."
On if it is frustrating for the defense when the offense turns the ball over so often
"Sure, it is frustrating, but that's just a part of football and this is a team sport and whenever our offense does have a turnover, we're not going to get down. We're not going to get mad at the offense or anything, because we need to stay really tight as a team and just try to get the ball back to them."
On what was achieved during this last off week
"I think that we just used it to settle down as a team. We didn't do as much physical work as we did during our first off week, because it is so late in the season and coach Brown is trying to keep everyone healthy. We just settled down and looked at what we did wrong in the Tulane game and now we know that we have to come out and play with everything we have for these last two games."
