UAB Hosts Tulsa for Children’s Harbor Homecoming Game

BIRMINGHAM – Returning to action following its second and final bye week of the season, the UAB football team hosts Tulsa on Saturday for the eighth annual Children's Harbor Homecoming game. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. on ESPN+.

Saturday's game marks over 800 patients honored throughout the partnership between UAB and Children's Harbor. The Blazers have once again been matched with 100 patients from Children's Harbor and will wear the last name of the patient on the back of their jersey while the patients and their family members watch from inside Protective Stadium. Children's Harbor's mission is to strengthen families of seriously ill children through refuge, respite and resources.

Who: UAB (1-6, 0-4 AAC) vs. Tulsa (3-5, 1-3 AAC)
Where: Protective Stadium – Birmingham, Ala.
When: Saturday, Nov. 2 – 1:30 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
On The Call: Courtney Lyle (play-by-play), Leger Douzable (analyst), Smacker Miles (sideline)
Listen: WJOX 94.5 FM
On The Call: David Crane (play-by-play), Bryant Turner (analyst), Landrum Roberts (sideline)
Series: Tulsa leads, 4-0
Last Meeting: Sept. 29, 2012 – Tulsa, 49-42

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:

The Blazers look to end a six-game skid on Saturday and have to win their five remaining games to achieve bowl eligibility. The Blazers most recently suffered a tightly-contests 35-25 loss at South Florida two weeks ago.
Tulsa was looking at a fourth-consecutive loss last week as the Golden Hurricane trailed UTSA 35-7 at halftime, but put together a miraculous second half comeback for a 46-45 victory to earn its first AAC win of the season.
Tulsa quarterback Cooper Legas is the reigning AP National Player of the Week and AAC Player of the Week for engineering the comeback. Legas, who is the team's backup, came off the bench against UTSA and completed 16-of-31 passes for 333 yards and five touchdowns. The graduate transfer from Utah State helped Tulsa outscore UTSA 39-10 in the second half.
Saturday's contest could be a high-scoring affair as UAB is allowing 37.6 points per game while Tulsa gives up an average of 35.1 points per game. Overall, Tulsa ranks second to last in the AAC in total defense (only behind North Texas) and allows 438.5 yards per game which ranks the Golden Hurricane 119th nationally. UAB enters the game ranked 90th in total defense.
UAB quarterback Jalen Kitna will make his fourth consecutive start on Saturday and is coming off a performance two weeks ago in which he set a new school record for pass attempts (56). He completed 33 of those passes, which is tied for the second most in school history and his 384 passing yards were the 12th most in school history.
In three games, Kitna has thrown for 865 yards, four touchdowns and six interceptions. He is averaging 288.3 passing yards per game.
His main target has been sophomore Amare Thomas, who has 20 of his 34 catches in his last three games. Thomas is putting together a strong season with 34 receptions for 370 yards and six touchdowns.
Thomas is on the brink of moving into UAB's career top 10 for receptions and needs six catches this weekend for 10th place. In just 19 career games, Thomas already has 87 catches. Additionally, with nine career receiving touchdowns, his next touchdown grab will move him into 10th place on the career receiving touchdowns list.
Look for the UAB passing attack to have a big day against the nation's 131st ranked pass defense. Tulsa is allowing an average of 294.1 passing yards per game.
Defensively, Michael Moore has come on strong in his last three games, compiling 31 of his team-high 53 tackles during that span. Moore has had 11 tackles in each of his last two games and has moved up to seventh in the AAC in tackles per game.
Sophomore kicker Jonah Delange looks to keep his perfect season going as he eyes major national postseason awards. Delange has the most made field goals nationally amongst the remaining six kickers who have not missed, having made all 14 of his field goal attempts. He also ranks fourth nationally in field goals made per game at 2.0.

Following the Tulsa game, UAB remains at home and hosts UConn in its final non-conference game of the season. Kickoff on Nov. 9 is set for 1:30 p.m. on ESPN+.

Tickets to Saturday's game can be purchased by clicking here.

UAB Hosts Tulsa for Children’s Harbor Homecoming Game

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Players Mentioned

Jonah Delange

Jalen Kitna

Michael Moore

Amare Thomas

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics