A big game in Birmingham

Free 30-Days | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

Contact Us | Refer-a-friend Promo

Fresh off a bye week the UTSA Roadrunners are on the road this weekend to take on a UAB Blazers team that may not have the winning record of past years but still represents a tough opponent for the Roadrunners.

There will be a lot on the line in Birmingham on Saturday afternoon. UAB will be playing to stay in the running for bowl eligibility and to pull UTSA back toward the pack of Conference USA in the race for one of the two spots in the conference championship game. UTSA is looking to continue on a path to hosting duties for the conference championship and get its first win ever in Birmingham.

More on the game below but first a look at how the schools compare.

Both UTSA and UAB were officially established in June of 1969. UTSA was born on June 5, 1969. UAB had existed as an extension of the main Alabama campus starting in 1936 but became a four-year institution known as the University of Alabama at Birmingham on June 16, 1969.

UAB began playing sports in 1978. UTSA started in 1981. In 1991 the Blazers football team began. UTSA football began 20 years later in 2011.

UAB football played at the Division III level for the 1991 and 92 seasons. From 1993-95 the Blazers played as FCS Independents. In 1996 UAB moved its football program up to the Division I FBS level as an independent from 1996-98. In 1999 UAB joined Conference USA. In two years UAB will be trading in its C-USA membership for American Athletic Conference membership with UTSA and four others.

UTSA and UAB first became conference mates in 2013 but only played once (A UTSA win in San Antonio) before UAB decided to end its football program after the 2014 season. The demise of the UAB football program was short-lived as the Birmingham community rallied to save football. By the summer of 2015 the Blazers football team was back and in 2017 they played their first game since the end of the 2014 season.

Historically UAB has been an ok football team. The Blazers have an all-time record of 165-177-2. Since the start of the 2011 season UAB is 61-58. Since their rebirth in 2017 the Blazers are 47-24.

UAB leads the all-time series with UTSA, 4-2. UTSA won the inaugural meeting back in 2013 in the Alamodome. UAB won four in a row from 2017-2020 including both previous games in Birmingham in 2018 and 2020. The Roadrunners finally snapped that streak last season with a last second touchdown.

Now the Roadrunners are looking to snap the losing streak in Birmingham. It should be noted those previous two losses came at UAB's old stadium, Legion Field. This will be the Roadrunners first trip to Protective Stadium which opened last season.

UTSA and UAB both entered this season picked to finish among the top teams Conference USA. UTSA has kept hold of its spot atop the conference so far with a 4-0 conference record and 6-2 overall.

UAB has not had the season they would have hoped for under first year head coach Bryant Vincent. The Blazers have been up and down this season, sporting a 4-4 record overall and 2-3 in Conference USA.

Don't let the 4-4 record fool you. UAB is still a good team and it will be a tough game for UTSA. There is a reason this game is a pick-em at the sportsbooks in Las Vegas. Be prepared for another one-score game.

Through the first eight games UTSA is averaging 35.6 points per game and opponents are averaging 29.4 points per game. UAB counters with an offense averaging 30.1 points per game and a defense that holds opponents to 18.5 points per game.

For the second game in a row UTSA will face a team that likes to run the ball. UAB's offense is averaging 247.4 yards per game rushing and 190.1 yards per game passing. The Roadrunner offense has also started to get more from the running game in recent weeks but it is the passing game that UAB will have to deal with. UTSA is averaging 159.4 yards per game rushing and 330.4 yards per game passing.

UTSA's defense is coming off limiting North Texas's rushing attack to 22 yards per game. That effort allowed UTSA's rushing yards against average to drop to 150.4 yards per game. Opponents of UTSA are averaging 269 yards per game passing.

Opponents of UAB are averaging 171.5 yards per game passing and 156.8 yards per game rushing. The Blazers pass defense is ninth in the nation for passing yards allowed per game.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Frank Harris and the Roadrunner offense continue to put up numbers as the season has gone along. Harris is ninth in the country for passing yards with 2,538 yards on 206 completions out of 299 attempts. Harris has thrown 17 touchdowns through the air.

UAB's quarterback situation is a little more unknown. Starting quarterback Dylan Hopkins was injured in the Western Kentucky game and missed last week's game at FAU. Hopkins is likely to be a game-time decision. Before his injury Hopkins had completed 84 of his 125 pass attempts for 1233 yards and seven touchdowns.

If Hopkins can't go the Blazers will call on Jacob Zeno. Zeno has completed 27 of 54 pass attempts for 288 yards and three touchdowns.

One position the Blazers don't have to worry about is running back. There is only one running back in the entire country that has run for more yards this season than DeWayne McBride and that is Illinois running back Chase Brown. McBride has 1,146 yards on 164 carries and has scored 12 touchdowns.

UTSA's running game has been more of a committee approach this season. Brendan Brady leads the Roadrunners with 517 yards and seven touchdowns on 124 carries. Harris has 319 yards and five touchdowns on 71 carries. Kevorian Barnes has taken his place in the committee in recent weeks. Barnes has 36 carries for 202 yards and two touchdowns.

Harris's climb to the top 10 passers in the country has been helped by the Roadrunners trio of JT Clark, Joshua Cephus and Zakhari Franklin as well as a tight ends group led by Oscar Cardenas. Clark leads the Roadrunners with 732 yards and eight touchdowns on 50 catches. Cephus leads with 61 catches and has 692 yards and three touchdowns. Franklin has caught 55 passes for 675 yards and seven touchdowns. Cardenas has 13 catches for 174 yards but has yet to score a touchdown this season. Perhaps that changes this weekend.

UAB's receivers might not have put up the numbers of the Roadrunners receiving corps but they will still be a challenge for the Roadrunner defense. Trea Shropshire leads the team with 449 yards and two touchdowns on 18 catches. Tejhaun Palmer has 18 catches for 276 yards and a touchdown. TJ Jones has 23 catches for 189 yards and a touchdown.

It will be a challenge for both defenses on Saturday to slow down these offenses. The scoreboard at Protective Stadium might be lighting up often on Saturday.

This one looks like a game that could come down to who has the ball last. Since Jeff Traylor landed at UTSA the Roadrunners have played more one-score games than not. Saturday will be Traylor's 35th game as UTSA head coach. In his previous 34, 22 have been one possession games. UTSA is 16-6 in those 22 games.

UTSA is 0-2 all-time in Birmingham but both of those losses came in UAB's old stadium. The Roadrunners will get their first experience at Protective Stadium where UAB has won six straight and is 7-2 since the stadium opened last season. That is another thing that UTSA has become known for under Traylor is snapping losing streaks on the road. Two years ago it was the first win in Hattiesburg, last year was the first win in Ruston. Is this the year for the first win in Birmingham.

There will be two things for UTSA to do to put themselves in position to win. First is they need the run defense they had against North Texas to show up against UAB. The second is that Harris and the receiving triumvirate need to solve the Blazers pass defense. Getting a turnover or two would also help the Roadrunners.

This is as close to a coin toss game as the Roadrunners have had since September. There might be no better time than now to get that first win in Birmingham. I can see the Roadrunners doing just that.

My Pick: UTSA 31 UAB 28

FORUMS: UTSA Boulevard | Roadrunner Way