"Dragon Breath" A UAB Dynasty (NCAA12)

[gorillapittpray]

Quote: Originally Posted by KingNick865

Wyoming having a shot at the #1 prospect in the nation?

lol I know right??? I can even get in the top 5 with a 5 star and Im a power lol maybe he thinks he can turn the program around lol

[gorillapittpray]

Wed October 22nd 2014

BLAZERS EXCITED AS FIRST BCS RELEASED:
UAB OPENS UP AT NO. 3 AS THE SECOND HALF HEATS UP

Birmingham, Ala - When the season opened the Blazers weren't even in the top 30. "Maybe that affected the players a bit and caused them to work harder." Head coach Travis Rhatigan said. "But as a staff, we know what winning does especially in the SEC. It takes care of it self." The Blazers opened up behind two Big Ten schools in Iowa and Wisconsin who will face each other at season's end. But the players know one slip up can have you tumbling to no end. "There seems to be quite a few good teams out there, some one loss teams making strong cases too." Linebacker Timi McCollum said. If the Blazers hope to advance or atleast stay the course they not need another performance like they had a week ago against South Caroline.
In other news The Blazers got a devastating blow. Wide receiver Matt Ford re-injured his back and will be out the next 8-10 weeks. After a 21 yard leaping catch he landed awkwardly on his back. With a deep receiver core however the Blazers hope to not miss a beat.

RECRUITING NEWS:

(CAMPBELL HIGH SCHOOL'S TWO WAY STAR #77 JAMES THOMPSON (OL/DL)

• Blazers got their first commitment of the season when Smyrna, Ga athlete James Thompson gave his verbal earlier this week. The Campbell High School prospect who is rated a 3 star athlete played both Defensive Tackle and Offensive Tackle for the Spartans. At 6'4 301 pounds James will be looking to move piles no matter what side of the ball he's on. "We're pretty thin on the ofensive side of the ball so we'll give him looks there first and take it from there." Stated head coach Travis Rhatigan.

FOOTBALL TEAM TAKES MEASURES FOR KENTUCKY MATCH-UP

Matchup Preview | October 25, 2014
	@
Kentucky Wildcats (1-6, Away)		#3 UAB Blazers (6-0, Home)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB football team continued taking measures to prepare for Saturday’s contest against the Kentucky Wildcats as it practiced for roughly two hours on Wednesday morning in shorts and shells.
Head coach Travis Rhatigan was pleased with the team’s effort and feels the team has a better grasp of Kentucky's game plan after practice ended.
“ We had a lot more energy today and a lot more focus,” Rhatigan said. “It was our third day working on Kentucky so we had a lot better feel today.”
The Blazers will face several challenges against Wildcats, receiver Matt Ford will more than likely be out for the rest of the season. They also cant let up becuase of the 1-6 record by the wildcats.
“ Each season you go through a bit of adversity and how you handle it defines the team. I think this team is more than capable of handling that. We'll miss Ford” Rhatigan said. “But It’s going to be a big challenge."
Much has been talk about the defense and skillful offensive guys but none about the offensive line who currently has given up the least amount of sacks in the NCAA.
"Im impressed with them to this point, we had concern coming into the season but for the most part they've held their own." stated Rhatigan.
Most would look at the Blazers and see the strong play of quarterback Adam Dyks who reaps the benefits of good protection but running back Cody Gore has quietly put up good rushing numbers since taking over Matthew Scott's starting job after his injury. Gore is third in the SEC with 700 yards rushing and has 7 rushing touchdowns.
Kentucky is a team who has not been able to put up points. But the lone bright spot is their defense who has kept them in every game.
"Kentucky will blitz you until the cows come home" defensive end Courtney Harris does well as he is third in the conference with 6.5 sacks on the season.

The game in Huntington, W.Va. will be carried on radio via Birmingham affiliate WJOX-FM 94.5.
Kickoff time for UAB and the Wildcats is set for 12:30. CT with the pregame show on the Blazers IMG Sports Network set for 10:30 a.m.
Saturday’s game will also be televised regionally by CBS.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR ON UAB

• Will UAB come out ready to play, Rhatigan coached teams come out flat against less quality opponents
• Which receiver will step up in the absence of Matt Ford, with Travis Jackson getting a lot of attention the door is open for another to make plays
• How will the defense bounce back after giving up the most points all season a week a go

WHAT TO WATCH FOR ON KENTUCKY

• Quarterback Josh Newman: He's thrown 8 int's and only 4 td's, has already been sacked 20 times, how will he handle pressure from the nations #1 defense
• With UAB's pressure defense RB Blake Miller should be able to get some space, the quick back has shown flashes this season
• Kentucky's defense: Courtney Harris will get doubled teamed, Corner Zach Brewer has 6 int's if they can get pressure he can make plays

[gorillapittpray]

THE CAMPUS GAZETTE
UAB UNIVERSITY NEWSPAPER
Saturday Oct 25, 2014

BLAZERS TO MUCH FOR WILDCATS

(V.JACKSON TAKES THIS ONE IN FOR A 59 YARD SCORE)
DYKS ACCOUNTS FOR FIVE TOUCHDOWNS IN ROUTE OF KENTUCKY 41-13

----------------------
ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Birmingham, Ala - Adam Dyks threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score to lead No. 3 UAB to a 41-13 victory over Kentucky Saturday afternoon.

Dyks was 11 of 22 for 332 yards, upping his season totals to 27 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, and he didn't play in the fourth quarter. He came into the game leading the nation in quarterback rating and sixth in passing yards.
Further boosting his chance at getting Heisman Trophy credentials, not know for scrambling he caught even his head coach off guard when he ran in a two yard touchdown off a botched play. "Im looking on like oh no, then he crosses the plain and Im like oh yea." Chuckled Rhatigan. His TD throws were caught by three different receivers and Bill Cooley hauled in two.
"Adam Dyks is one of the best quarterbacks in the nation" First year Kentucky coach Tyler Donaldson said. "What he is and what he worked himself into this season compared to last season is just frightening with where he can take his game I wish he was a senior already."

After a first drive interception that led to a Newman to Carroll first quarter touchdown putting Kentucky up 7-0. Dyks led UAB to scores on five straight drives in the first half, putting the Blazers (7-0) ahead 31-7. Kentucky (1-7) could not muster the same success they had on their 5 play 52 yard touchdown drive in the first quarter as Newman was harassed by the line-backing duo of Cortez Means and Timi McCollum. Not to mention the NCAA's sack leader Tom Cox who registered three more sacks.
--
(DEFENSE CONYINUES ITS STELLAR PLAY LED BY CORTEZ, MCCOLLUM AND COX)

In the second half, Dyks threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Bill Cooley to make it 38-13. He didn't throw at all on the next series, and was finally replaced by Luke Willis.
" It was a good day for us." Dyks said. "We got some things done, receivers got more game experience and we got the win."

Receivers Travis Jackson and Vince Jackson both went over the 100 yard mark showing off their track team speed with long touchdown receptions. With Matt Ford out, the receiving core quieted doubters showing how deep of a unit they have. Dan Sims added 60 yards on three catches.
"When you're out there, you have to take advantage of every play, and they do," Rhatigan said. "If you like green and gold, that should make you smile."
--
(JACKSON AND COOLEY STEPPED UP IN FORD'S ABSENCE WITH MONSTROUS CATCHES)

Kentucky's Josh Newman was 19 of 25 for 198 yards and two touchdowns. He had one pass picked off - by Blazer defensive back Harvey Nelson. Kentucky could not mount a run game as Blake Miller carried 16 times for 16 yards. As a team they were held to minus 20 yards because of the six sacks they gave up.

Carroll hauled in both touchdown receptions as he grabbed six passes for 61 yards.
The Blazers, who have enjoyed four straight home games will host their fifth straight next week against UL-Monroe (4-2) before going on back to back trips to #21 Georgia and Tennessee.

BOX SCORE:

UAB 41 - KENTUCKY 13
(DYKS IS JUST OFF THE HEISMAN RADAR)

Photos | Season Stats | Game Book | Quotes | Notes

	1	2	3	4	F
#3 UAB (7-0, 5-0)	7	24	7	3	41
KENTUCKY (1-7, 0-5)	7	0	6	0	13

Quick Stats	UAB	UK
Total Yards	477	178
Passing Yards	398	198
Rushing Yards	79	-20
First Downs	10	11
Turnovers	1	2
Penalties - Yards	6-67	7-73
3rd Down Conversions	3-7	4-11
4th Down Conversions	0-1	0-1
Sacks	6	0
Time of Possession	13:32	10:28

Statistical Leaders - UAB
Passing	C-A	Yards	TD/Int	Long
A. Dyks	11-21	332	4/1	67
L.Willis	3-4	66	0/0	37
Rushing	Rushes	Yards	TD	Long
C. Gore	10	77	0	37
Receiving	Rec	Yards	TD	Long
V. Jackson	4	146	1	59
T. Jackson	3	103	1	67
B. Cooley	3	82	2	45
Defensive	Tackles	Sacks	TFL	TO
T. McCollum	11	1	6	0
D. Rhodes	6	0	0	0
T. Cox	5	3.0	3	1 FF

Statistical Leaders - Kentucky
Passing	C-A	Yards	TD/Int	Long
J. Newman	19-25	198	2/1	40
Rushing	Rushes	Yards	TD	Long
B. Miller	16	16	0	7
Receiving	Rec	Yards	TD	Long
R. Carroll	6	61	2	40
J. Owens	5	37	0	14
Defensive	Tackles	Sacks	TFL	TO
B. Mays	6	0	0	1 INT
B. Hurd	4	0	0	0

[gorillapittpray]

October 25th, 2014

(FSU RECEIVER CJ SNYDER OPENS THE GAME UP WITH A 42 YARD TOUCHDOWN CATCH)

A STEP AHEAD:
SEMINOLE'S END PITTSBURGH'S UNDEFEATED SEASON
IN THE COLLEGE GAMEDAY GAME OF THE WEEK:

• Tallahassee, FL - J. Bryant threw three first half touchdowns as Florida State built a 20-0 halftime lead and the Seminoles held of a late Pittsburgh push to stay atop the ACC Atlantic division with a 27-14 win. J. Perry recorded two sacks on Pittsburgh's B. Cowan as the Florida State defense continued to be dominate. Cowan three three interceptions in Pittsburgh's first lost of the season.

TOP HEADLINES:

• Humbled: Despite Davis heroics, the Hawkeyes are stunned by the Huskers
• Jenkins and Georgia Tech run all over the Canes
• Second half push Keeps Longhorns undefeated
• Williams saves the day as Boston College squeaks past Hokies
• Huskies no match for #4 Cal
• Bowling Green ups record to 6-0
• Irish fall to rival Michigan State 45-35
• FCS Southeast beats a division one for first time in school history knocking off Idaho 17-14
• Navy rolls SC improves to 7-1
• Aggies fail the test, lose to Auburn
• defensive battle see's LSU beat Mississippi State
• Marshall explodes on Arkansas State 50-3
  

College Football Top 25 Scoreboard:
#1 Iowa falls Nebraska 24-13
#3 UAB over Kentucky 41-13
#4 Cal over Washington 31-17
#5 Texas over Texas Tech 34-17
#6 TCU over Kansas 48-21
#7 Oregon over Arizona 52-21
#8 Oklahoma State over Tulsa 49-16
#10 Illinois over Indiana 28-9
#11 Auburn over Texas A&M 31-10
#12 Michigan State over Notre Dame 45-35
#13 Utah over UCLA 41-17
#14 Pittsburgh fall Florida State 27-14
#15 Miami fall Georgia Tech 38-14
#16 Stanford over Washington State 24-14
#17 LSU over Mississippi State 13-6
#18 Michigan over Minnesota 34-17
#21 Virginia Tech fall Boston College 22-19
#22 North Carolina fall Fresno State 38-21
#24 Penn State over Ohio State 27-18
#25 Nevada over San Diego State 24-6

[gorillapittpray]

Mon October 27th, 2014

GOLD RUSH:
THE CAL BEARS MOVED UP TO NO.2 IN THIS WEEKS
BCS RANKINGS

• So far so good, despite the 16 interceptions Bears quarterback J. Rogers has thrown the Bears are undefeated and look to run away with the Pac-12. Just like Oregon they have athletes at every position. With two gimmies left before the final two games on the road at #6 Oregon and #13 Stanford the Bears hope to fly in with momentum. "We're not trying to over look, UCLA and Oregon State." Cal quarterback J. Rogers said. "But we all know whats at stake when we head to Oregon in three weeks." Oregon has ran the table in the Pac-12 winning two of three championships, but Cal is now a contender.

AROUND THE NCAA:

• Defense has led Wisconsin to a top BCS ranking
• Blazers are where they want to be says Rhatigan
• SEC West on the line: Auburn at LSU
• World's biggest cocktail party has meaning this year
• UL Monroe ready for upset of #3 UAB
• Notre Dame needs win at Navy (7-1) to save season
• Arkansas State looks to bounce back at Southern Miss
• Undefeated Bowling Green looking for respect
• MWC North on the line when Boise travels to Air Force

BCS TALK:

• After the first week the BCS has already under gone major changes. Iowa's upset loss of Nebraska dropped them out of the top 15. Wisconsin moved to No. 1 and Cal bunny hopped defending national runner up UAB. Texas and TCU who will face each other on November 15th round out the top five. Here are this week's BCS standings

		BCS
RK	TEAM	AVG	PVS	Record
1	Wisconsin	1.0000	2	7-0
2	Cal	.9419	4	8-0
3	UAB	.9333	3	7-0
4	Texas	.8476	5	7-0
5	TCU	.7901	6	7-1
6	Oregon	.7687	7	6-1
7	Oklahoma State	.7408	8	6-1
8	Illinois	.6827	10	6-1
9	Oklahoma	.6553	9	6-1
10	Michigan State	.6374	12	6-1
11	Auburn	.5190	11	7-1
12	Utah	.4977	13	7-1
13	Georgia Tech	.4794	19	6-1
14	Florida State	.4603	20	7-1
15	LSU	.4218	17	6-1
16	Stanford	.4119	16	7-1
17	Michigan	.3883	18	6-1
18	Iowa	.3869	1	6-1
19	Pittsburgh	.3504	14	6-1
20	Georgia	.2606	23	5-2
21	Miami	.1918	15	7-2
22	Nevada	.1305	25	7-1
23	Penn State	.1233	24	7-1
24	Bowling Green	.0876	--	6-0
25	Virginia Tech	.0584	21	5-2

RECRUITING NEWS: ESPN TOP 10 PROSPECTS

Player	Grade	Pos	School
1. Travis Wallace		HB	OU, Wyo, Bama
2. Jacob Sanders		WR	ALABAMA
3. Antonio Cole		HB	UF, Bama, Ore
4. Joel Morton		ATH	Ore, Iow, SC
5. James Brown		ATH	BOISE ST
6. Patrick Hodges		WR	ALABAMA
7. Bobby Snyder		HB	OKLAHOMA
8. William Clark		WR	TEXAS
9. Josh Brown		ATH	Bama, TCU, OU
10. Courtney Goss		WR	NOTRE DAME

HEADLINES:

• 3 top 10 ten players find homes
• Irish excited about commitment from Goss
• Longhorns nab their man, Next Roy Williams?
• Despite off year James Brown hopes to help Boise back to National Prominence
• Blazers welcome four on visits this weekend
• Fresno State's 7 four star recruits has their class in the top 10
• Bama still atop the recruiting charts of many athletes
• Okie State nabs big name quarterback
• Nations fastest receiver chooses Hokies
• Kansas receiver down to three (WI, Ore, OU)

This week the Heisman Highlight takes a look at Georgia Tech's running back Lawrence Jenkings. Last he week rushed for 167 yards in a dominating fashion over the Miami Hurricanes. He's helped the Yellow Jackets to a 6-1 record and a 13th ranking in the BCS Last season he rushed for 935 yards and 5 touchdowns and is on pace to blow away those numbers.

• 2nd in NCAA with 1,014
• Tied for No.1 in NCAA with 14 touchdowns
• Leads ACC with 6.2 yards per carry
• has touchdown runs of (67, 63, 58 and 55 yards)

TOP GAMES FOR WEEK 11


Florida (5-2, 3-2) at #20 Georgia (5-2, 4-1)
For the Gators a 5-0 start had them talking possible conference championship, but back to back losses to LSU and Auburn have them in a must win to save the season. For Georgia they need to win out, a top 10 start to this season now has them on the verge of dropping out of the rankings. With UAB and Auburn still on the schedule a win against Florida will most certainly give them momentum heading into those games.


Ohio State (3-4, 2-1) at Wisconsin (7-0, 3-0)
Despite a not so good looking overall record the a win for the Buckeyes would have them in tied fpr first place with Penn State. Urban Meyer has taken over the Buckeyes are 3-2 and have had a chance to win in every game. The challenge is tough as they face the No.1 team in the country at Camp Randall a tough place to play. Wisconsin has quietly built a Big Ten monster, led by the two back tandem of Nicholson and Garrett the Badgers are tough to stop. Defense has been the key for the badgers as well the tandem of Vickers and Lewis on the Dline causes problems for opposing teams. If Ohio State can limit the mistakes they may have a chance.





College Gameday Game of the Week


#11 Auburn (7-1, 4-1) at #14 LSU (6-1, 4-0)
The Tigers have been in Big games all year going 3-1 in Nationally televised games. The Tigers are primed for a win but know it will be tough at Death Valley. LSU is in prime position to finally secure a SEC West title with Alabama having a down year, they usually handle Auburn but know this is very well the Division championship. Auburn's Eddie White will need a huge game to help open up the pass. Receiver J. Rhodes has emerged as Auburn's receiving threat but he'll have to be on the same page with Darby.
LSU is a mirror image of Auburn, great running game and a big play receiver so they know its gonna come down to who makes the most stops. The edge would go to LSU but the defense is banged up as both starting SS and MLB are out. If Auburn wants to win this divsion out right this weekend is their best chance.

OTHER GAMES OF NOTE:
UL Monroe (4-2) at #3 UAB (7-0)
Notre Dame (5-3) at Navy (7-1)
Arkansas State (4-2) at Southern Miss (4-2)
Houston (4-4) at #7 Oklahoma State (6-1)
Buffalo (4-2) at Northern Illinois (5-3)
Boise State (6-3) at Air Force (6-1)

[Kcordloh]

Stinks Cal leaped you, but I am sure you'll get back to #1/2 with an SEC Title.
Looking good, hopefully you make it and try #3 is the successful one!

[gorillapittpray]

Wed, October 29th 2014


BREAKIN' FREE:
UAB'S RECEIVING CORE IS DEEP AND TALENTED

• Birmingham, Ala - When Matt Ford went down with a possible season ending back injury a week ago the country felt UAB lost its biggest playmaker. But no one on the team felt that way." We knew someone had to step up." Red Shirt Freshmen Bill Cooley said. Cooley hauled in two of Dyks four touchdown passes a week ago. The Blazers have a very deep receiving thanks to the recruiting of the Blazer staff. "Yea Me and Ford came in together." RS- Sophomore Travis Jackson said. Jackson leads the team with 725 yards and 9 touchdowns. "And then the next year Cooley, Callahan and Sims committed. Now this season Travis Barnes and Don Goodman are here and are red shirting." The Blazers will only reload and never rebuild senior Vincent Jackson said. He came in with the Schools all time leading receiver in Ian Wilson. With perhaps the nations best young quarterback throwing them the ball expect to here a lot more about these receivers.

Recruiting news:

• Blazers grabbed their second commitment Monday afternoon when All State defensive tackle Joel Brock gave his verbal. The 6'2 271 pound power lifter out of Mississippi's Pearl High School sited the recent success the Blazers defensive line has had as a contributing factor. According ESPN. Com he was the seventh best player in the state of Mississippi this season. and the top overall defensive linemen. He was ranked 25th best defensive tackle in the country. He was on campus when UAB blew out #11 Auburn and said he knew he would eventually commit after that game.

STANDINGS	CONFERENCE	OVERALL
SEC - East	W-L	W-L
#3 UAB	5-0	7-0
#21 Georgia	4-1	5-2
Florida	3-2	5-2
South Carolina	2-4	3-5
Tennessee	1-3	2-5
Vanderbilt	1-4	2-6
Kentucky	0-5	1-7

BLAZERS LOOK FORWARD TO ITS MATCH-UP WITH UL MONROE

Matchup Preview | November 1, 2014
	@
Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks (4-2, Away)		UAB Blazers (7-0, Home)

Birmingham, Ala - UAB will end its four game home stand when the they play host to UL-Monroe at Legion Field. UAB is coming off a 41-16 win a week ago against Kentucky and is currently ranked No. 3 in the BCS.
Kickoff is set for 12pm. CT with the contest to be televised regionally by CBS Sports Network.
The Blazers (7-0, 5-0 SEC) is excited about their passing game right now and feel like they can score at any moment. "Why not be excited, my excited is relayed to them and they get more confident." Head coach Travis Rhatigan said. He also coaches the nations top defensive unit led by defensive end Tom Cox and his 17.5 sacks.
ULM (4-2, 0-0 Sun Belt) is coming off a 31-3 win over FCS Southeast, a week before they went to Arkansas State and scored the upset. "We're pretty excited about going to Birmingham to see what the fuss is." Warhawk head coach Alan McBride said. "But all joking aside they have built a great program there. But we're not going for the experience we're going there to win a football game." The Warhawks went 10-3 in McBrides first year and are rumored to be joining conference-USA next year. Running a spread like offense led by quarterback Bryce Lowe who is in for the injured Brant Taylor has played a rather same game throwing 8 touchdowns and only one interception. Robert Powell and Randy Stewart will hope to provide some spark on the receiving end. ULM hopes the defense can keep up with UAB's high powered offense. " I think if we can go in there and get a few early stops thatll give us the momentum to stay in the game." McBride said. "It wont be easy however but I have faith in our guys." .


UCF at UAB
Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011
7:00 p.m. CT (CSS)
Legion Field • Birmingham, Ala.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV: CSS - Mike Morgan (pbp), Chuck Oliver (color), Craig Ackerman (sidelines)
RADIO: Blazer IMG Sports Network - Barry McKnight (pbp), John Whitcomb (color) and Sam Miller (sidelines) have the call. The broadcast can be heard on WUHT-FM 107.7 in Birmingham.


WHAT TO WATCH FOR ON UAB:

• UAB's Offensive line, UL Monroe brings in a feisty D-Line led by #94 Andy Matthew and his 5.0 sacks.
• UL Monroe to the casual fan looks like a push over, will UAB over look the Warhawks
• Running back Cody Gore, if ULM gears for the pass expect him to get more touches

WHAT TO WATCH FOR ON ULM:

• Is the game too big for the Warhawks
• Facing the No. 1 defense quarterback Bryce Lowe needs to take care of the ball
• Not a very experienced secondary, how will they bounce back if they give up the big play
• RB Terry Richardson, he will be key in controlling this aggressive defense

[gorillapittpray]

Quote: Originally Posted by Kcordloh

Stinks Cal leaped you, but I am sure you'll get back to #1/2 with an SEC Title. Looking good, hopefully you make it and try #3 is the successful one!

yea they jumped me, the Pac 10 and Big Ten are carrying a lot of the weight this year expecially with Bama and Arkansas being down.

I think Oregon will beat Cal

The only teams that Ive watched this season that actually look good have been Wisconsin Florida State and LSU. Ill be watching the LSU Auburn game after I play my game tomorrow morning.