"Dragon Breath" A UAB Dynasty (NCAA12)

[gorillapittpray]

BLAZER WEEKLY

MIAMI BOUND!
BLAZERS HEADING TO SOUTH BEACH TO TAKE ON #1 TCU FOR THE BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP


BRMINGHAM, ALABAMA -- After winning the 2012 CUSA Championship and matching the school record with its second 13-win season, No. 2 UAB (13-0) will play the No. 1 TCU Horned Frogs (12-0) in the Citi BCS National Championship Game on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013 (7 p.m. Central/ABC), at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Fl.
Two of the best up and coming schools in the country will face off for a rare meeting as the two teams have never played each other.

TICKETS
UAB is sold out of its allotment of tickets for the 2012 Citi BCS National Championship Game. Fans interested in purchasing tickets may visit TicketsNow.com (a resale marketplace from Ticketmaster) to purchase seats from other fans.


TRAVEL PACKAGES
Travel packages are also available. Join other Blazer Football fans and support your team by joining us on the official UAB Fan Travel bowl trip. Travel packages include various hotel accommodations, airfare, official UAB party admission, ground transportation and much more. Visit Blazer weekly.com or call (877) 555-1234 to make reservations today.

[JLWebb]

Man... Nevada got cheated on a BCS Bowl (in my opinion).

That Fiesta Bowl matchup will be interesting and of course the BCS Title game with UAB vs. TCU will be crazy.

Looking forward to the results.

[waytofailself]

Congrats on the massive hardware haul, and more importantly I'm happy to see fortune smiled upon you and put you in the National Championship game. TCU's gonna be tough, think your defense is up to the task?

[gorillapittpray]

BLAZER WEEKLY

PLAYERS REACT TO HEADING TO THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
SEVERAL BLAZERS GAVE THEIR THOUGHTS ON HEADING TO THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TO PLAY #1 TCU

QB Wayne Smith
On playing in the BCS National Championship game: I’m just so thankful for the opportunity. I really feel confident going into this game, I think our team does too. It was good to overcome a game like that against Houston, the ups and the downs, where not very many things go your way and you find a way to win. I think that really boosts your team. We’re excited. I’m really thankful for the opportunity to be in this championship game. It really hasn’t soaked in yet. It’s going to be a lot of fun. We’ve got a month’s preparation and we’re really looking forward to it.

On TCU: Both sides of the ball, they’re a tremendous team. There’s a reason they’re in the National Championship. We’ve got our hands full, but at the same time, we’re really excited to be there. We’re going to go back to work and be the best we can be.

On the amount of work the team put in to get to this point: I feel like we’ve worked so hard to get to this point. We’ve had to have a few lucky breaks here and there but you look at the game last week, nothing went our way. We didn’t have a single thing go our way, hardly, all day long. We were still able to find a way to win. It’s going to be a fun ride. This last month is going to be very enjoyable. We’re really excited.

On if the team has less momentum after the close call against Houston: We’re 13-0, they’re 12-0. I don’t think you can think about anything other than this game. I think for us, we have a lot of confidence going into this game. Being able to fight through a close game like that, you don’t play as well as you would like, you don’t get any breaks and you still find a way to win in the end, that is something that this team has really done a good job of all year long.

On being the underdog: We’re going into this game just like we’ve gone into every game this year. They’ve got our complete attention. We know we’re going to have to be our best to come out on top. We’re going to have to come out and really be sharp. We’ve got a month. We’re going to enjoy this time, enjoy that we’re Conference USA champs and then really try to get our bodies healthy, try to get prepared, really go back to work. We’re going in here with the full intention of being the best we can be.

On the final drive against Houston: My emotions were so high. I have all the faith in the world in Adam (Miller). I’ve never seen him miss a field goal hardly. In practice we stand around and scream and yell in his face and he’s pretty clutch, and last night he proved that. I knew if I could get him down there around the 30, that’s his range and he would be solid from there. When our defense got us the ball back i thought “It’s go time.” I told the guys to believe and it’s just one at a time. Moses hauled in that long catch and we completed another ball, got a first down and we were pretty close. We just found a way.

WR James Moses
On making it to the National Championship: It’s such a relief, especially also because you have a few weeks where you don’t play to get refocused and get a little time to relax. We’re definitely excited, and happy to be the Conference USA Champions.

On playing TCU: We didn’t know what was going to happen. We’re excited about playing TCU. We’d have been just as excited to play in any other bowl but deep down we were rooting for Utah after our game. It didn’t matter to us. As long as we’re a BCS Bowl we’re excited.

On making a case for Wayne Smith for the Heisman Trophy: I think Wayne is the best player out there. He’s led us to tough environments like Auburn, Viginia Tech and Central Florida. He always finds a way to get the job done. He always finds a way to win. Sometimes it might be running the ball, sometimes it’s throwing. I definitely feel like he shouldve went to New York.

On the season: I think this team always finds way to get the job done. Last week, the defense stepped up and played huge. No matter what the case may be, I think we’ll always feel like we’re going to win and somehow find a way to get it done.

On what he expects from TCU: It’s going to be a huge challenge for us. We have a lot of respect for TCU. They’ve got a great program and great tradition. We’re excited about the opportunity to play them.

On if last week was the most excited he’s been after a game: I think so. I got hit probably as hard as I got hit all night after the game. I was celebrating with Adam (Miller) and all of a sudden I got trucked and I was on the ground underneath the dog pile. It was fun. We had a good time, and it’s good to get some rest last night and enjoy it.

On earning a place in the National Championship: I think we’ve found a way to get the job done, and I think our strength of schedule is pretty good. Playing those tough out of conference games helped, you’re going to get beat down towards the end of the year. It’s a slug fest every week. We’ve made it through the gauntlet. I think we found a way to get it done every week. We’re excited.

S Mark Parrish
On the opportunity to play for a National Championship: You look forward to it coming out of high school. You want to play for a championship team. It feels unreal right now. I have to get adjusted to it real quick.

On if he’s seen Chris Herron: He’s a good back. We’ve got to gang tackle. Once he gets started he’s hard to stop. It’s going to be a physical game.

On TCU’s ball control offense: Virginia Tech kind of did that. They iced the ball. They run it a lot. They try to play action and throw it deep. They try to keep your offense off as long as they can. We’re going to try to get Wayne out there. Once he gets going it’s hard to stop.

On what makes this team special: I think our team has had a lot of trying times with the offense and defense struggling at points. What makes this team great is that somebody steps up always in a big situation. This time, the defense did. I think we played lights out. The offense struggled a little bit. The kicking game helped us out a lot. It goes hand in hand, week in and week out.

On what he was thinking at the end of the game: I was praying, hoping that he would make it. I was like, “This can’t be happening. Not again.” I had a feeling. Wayne is a great quarterback. I knew he was going to get us down there. It was the simple fact if we were going to make the field good. When I heard it was good I just ran and jumped on the ground. It was one of the best moments in my life.

On if being thought of as the underdog motivates a team: If you can’t get up for this game, you don’t need to be here. It’s a big game. It’s a big stage. Most of us have never been here before. It’s going to be a great, physical game. Both teams have great defenses and two offenses that can score. It’s going to be a good game.

DE Jerry Bowser
On playing for the National Championship: It’s hard to put it into words but we get our shot and now we get to practice and prepare ourselves and hope we do a great job.

On two Non traditional powers playing for the championship: It’s two great powerhouses of football that have had recent success. It’s important on so many levels. So much new tradition is going into this game. It’s going to be a great game.

On if the team is surprised to not be playing Oregon: It was no surprise. Oregon’s a great team. They had a great battle for the PAC 12 and whoever came out the victor is the victor. We knew if they won we probably wouldnt be in this game.

On UAB’ run defense facing TCU RB Chris Herron: That’s very exciting. Any time you get a challenge to go up against one of the best, the proof is in the pudding. We’re very excited about that.

On the journey the team took to get where they are today: It took a lot of work to get where we are. We just stayed on track, kept focus, kept our goals right, fixed things that needed fixing, kept improving. We’ve got a lot we need to improve on after this last game. We’re just happy to be where we wanted to be at the end of the year.

On making a bowl game for the second straight season: I’m just happy we’re going to the National Championship. I don’t care if it’s in Alaska. It’s just great to be the National Championship.

On stopping TCU’s offense: That’s a great challenge to play somebody who’s always challenging your strength. It’s kind of a man-to-man challenge. Chris Herron’s a great running back. He breaks tackles. He catches, run screens, he does so much for them. He causes so many problems for the defense.

On putting the Houston win behind them: Tonight’s the last night we’re going to enjoy anything from that game. Now it’s time to focus on what we need to accomplish, our goals and how we’re going to stop TCU, what we’re going to do to contain them and start working our game plan.

[gorillapittpray]

Quote: Originally Posted by JLWebb

Man... Nevada got cheated on a BCS Bowl (in my opinion). That Fiesta Bowl matchup will be interesting and of course the BCS Title game with UAB vs. TCU will be crazy. Looking forward to the results.

Most definitely they got cheated, They beat Boise this year and Boise got to the BCS with two losses smh!!!

[gorillapittpray]

Quote: Originally Posted by waytofailself

Congrats on the massive hardware haul, and more importantly I'm happy to see fortune smiled upon you and put you in the National Championship game. TCU's gonna be tough, think your defense is up to the task?

Man I dont know, my last three games have been tough games, looking forward to it tho, after I do one or two more stories ima play it tonight!!!

[gorillapittpray]

BLAZER WEEKLY

BLAZERS LAND IN MIAMI
BLAZERS RESUME PREPARATION FOR BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AS THEY ARRIVED IN MIAMI ON JANUARY 2ND.

HEAD COACH TRAVIS RHATIGAN SPOKE TO THE MEDIA AFTER ARRIVING IN MIAMI


First, let me wish everyone a happy new year. Let’s hope that 2013 is the best year in United States history, and we also hope for UAB football.

We are excited. The guys have been sitting around with the coaches watching bowl games for the last couple of days, and we just cannot wait to get started with practice tomorrow and be in the game week and be excited about it. You go home and take a month and two days from the time you play Houston until you get ready to play this game, so it is a different strategy in coaching. Our staff worked really, really hard, like TCU I'm sure, to make sure that we go through different phases. We had the real tough physical phase when we first started, ones-against-ones, nearly like a preseason practice right when finals were over. Then we brought them back for three days and did pretty much the same with still ones-on-ones, but we did it more against TCU’s looks and put in the game plans at that time. As for this week, tomorrow will be real physical in practice and then like a game week, we will start cutting back until game time.
Some house cleaning issues, receiver Ralph Rawls has been cleared to play but we're not sure if we'll let him after missing the last seven games.

[gorillapittpray]

CLASSIC SHOWDOWN!!!
AS COACH TRAVIS RHATIGAN VOICES CONCERNS ABOUT HIS PLAYERS ABILITY TO FOCUS ON FOOTBALL, PLAYERS MAKE IT CLEAR THEY'RE IN MIAMI TO WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP

With one day left until UAB's biggest game in school history, Head coach Travis Rhatigan has voiced concerns of his teams ability to focus despite the senior leadership they possess. In a interview earlier this week, it Rhatigan talked about how the game may be to big for his players in a even bigger setting with millions of distractions here in South Beach. Senior Captain Tom Slaughter didnt seem to think the team would be distracted however.
"We've came to far to let a few dance clubs and extra cameras deter us away from our goals, we're here to win a championship."
UAB is on the verge of the schools first ever National Championship but face a very good TCU team. Only 24 hours until kickoff and the crowning of a new National champion.