The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Closes 2008 Season Saturday at UCF
11/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 28, 2008
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- The UAB football team will look to finish its 2008 season on a winning note Saturday when the Blazers take on the UCF Knights in Orlando. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET at Bright House Networks Stadium.
The Blazers (3-8, 2-5 Conference USA) are coming off a narrow 17-13 defeat at the hands of C-USA East Division champ East Carolina last Saturday at Legion Field.
The Knights (4-7, 3-4) have won their last two games -- both on the road (over Marshall and Memphis) -- after losing four games in a row. UCF is 11th in C-USA in scoring offense this season, averaging 18.1 points per game, but the Knights have scored at a 29 points per game clip their two recent wins.
UAB's offense will have a similar challenge Saturday that it did last week against East Carolina when it faced a staunch Pirate defense. UCF ranks second to the Pirates in C-USA statistics in scoring defense and total defense.
"Looking at them on film, they remind me a lot of East Carolina," said UAB head coach Neil Callaway. "They are a very, very good defensive football team. It will be a big challenge for us offensively."
Blazer quarterback Joe Webb was held to 116 yards passing but ran for 75 in the loss to ECU last Saturday. The junior signal-caller needs just 59 yards against UCF to reach 1,000 yards rushing for the season. If he reaches that mark, Webb would become just the second UAB player in history to run for 1,000 yards or more.
UAB will also be trying to defeat UCF for the first time. The Knights have a 5-0 advantage in the series with a 3-0 mark against the Blazers since UCF became a member of C-USA. The Knights won by a 4-31 score last season in Birmingham.
Saturday's game in Orlando has added significance in that it will be the final game in the Green & Gold for 14 UAB seniors.
"It's the last game for this senior class," said Callaway. "We'd talked about trying to win the last three. Obviously, we can't do that now. Now we have to try to win the last one. I'm sure all of our guys, because of the oneness and character that they've developed over the last couple of years, will all be trying as hard as they can."
Saturday's game will be carried on the Blazers ISP Sports Network. It can be heard locally on WWMM 100.5 FM radio in Birmingham.
