The Dragon Roars Again! A UAB Football Revival (NCAA 14)

[kswgrad2012]

Another thriller, but not in UAB's favor
Blazers lose heartbreaker after USF hail-mary works

October 25, 2015
by Ronald Harper

A week ago, the UAB Blazers were on the winning end of a hard-fought game that came right down to the end. This week they were in another nail-biter, but this time things didn't go their way. We begin late in the 1st Quarter, where after a series of three-and-outs, UAB got on the board first. QB Xerxes Ragnar tossed a 20-yard touchdown pass to WR Matthew Tenn. On the ensuing possession the Blazer D broke containment, and South Florida RB Marlon Mack broke loose for a 71-yard touchdown run. In the 2nd Quarter it was a 10-7 UAB lead, when Ragnar tossed his second TD of the game, this time to WR Nyiakki Height. South Florida, having struggled on offense for most of the first half, was able to put together a drive that culminated in a Steven Bench touchdown pass to WR A.J. Legree. With the use of time-outs, UAB was able to add a field goal as time expired, and the Blazers took a 20-14 lead into the break.

Things changed in the second half. USF found some holes in the Blazer defense, and made some halftime adjustments. Marlon Mack, who was stifled outside of a few big plays, began to pick up yards more consistently. This opened up the Bulls' passing attack, which Steven Bench took advantage of. Bench found TE Sean Price in the flat, and USF took their first lead of the game at 21-20. UAB scored on the ensuing possession, and then had a major snafu. Coach Willingham allows special teams coach Dale Morris to control the play-calling on extra point attempts. Morris surprised everyone by dialing up a 2-pt play, a fake field goal. The fake didn't work, and UAB's lead was only 26-21. Coach Willingham was visibly angry on the sideline, and had to be restrained by a few of his players. He was heard shouting expletives at Coach Morris. Thankfully for him, USF went for two on their next touchdown drive, and theirs didn't work either. After Xerxes Ragnar threw his third TD on the day, South Florida responded with a D'Ernest Johnson touchdown run. After the failed 2-pt attempts, the game sat at 27-26, in favor of the Bulls.

The bulk of the action came in the 4th Quarter. USF extended their lead, as the Blazers completely forgot how to play defense. The Bulls lived off of the big play all game, via the feet of Marlon Mack & the hands of A.J. Legree. The two led USF down the field, and fullback Kennard Swanson punched it in from 4 yards out, making the lead 34-26. UAB added a field goal to bring it to 5, but in doing so lost their trigger man for the remainder of the game. Xerxes Ragnar left the game with a concussion, after landing hard on the turf on a pass attempt. With Steve Quiggle still nursing a rib injury, the team turned to Bjatar Milan (the guy who almost won the game at Kansas). Milan looked rusty coming into the game, which became evident when he tossed a pick-six to Bulls defender Lamar Robbins. After starting off in a 17-7 hole, USF scored 34 of the game's next 46 points. The lead was now 41-29, and UAB needed a quick comeback, with only 2:34 left in the game.

Milan got his act together, and led UAB on their seventh scoring drive of the game, tossing a 21-yarder to reserve WR Will Perdue. The Blazers needed to get the ball back down 41-36, and turned to senior Matt Edens for the onside kick.

It worked.

The bench was hyped up, and Milan led the troops again, this time with a shot at the lead. Having abandoned the run game a while ago, the Blazers turned to a dink-and-dunk passing attack to move the ball. UAB hurried up into the redzone, and Milan found Josh Cee in the left corner of the endzone, giving his team the lead again at 42-41. The 2-pt attempt failed. The Bulls were stunned, and the Blazers thought they had won the game.

Not so fast!

South Florida got the ball with 20 seconds to go, and managed to get to midfield. With 0:06 left on the clock, and only needing a field goal, Coach Willingham expected the Bulls to complete a pass over the middle & call a time-out (USF had one left). To the surprise of everyone in the stadium, USF elected to try the Hail Mary. Steven Bench dropped back, heaved it downfield, and two receivers blew by the zone coverage. One of them caught the ball, and fell into the endzone. Who was it?

None other than A.J. Legree.

The junior burned UAB's secondary all game, and came through when his team needed him most. Because of EA Sports gaming rules, the Bulls had to kick the extra point after scoring the game-winner. Coach Willie Taggart decided to rub it in, and went for the 2-pt attempt. So much for sportsmanship. The Bulls converted the 2-pointer, and walked off the field as 49-42 victors in what will likely be one of the games of the year in the FBS. Coach Willingham said after the game that he didn't expect South Florida to go for the Hail Mary.

Quote:

Willingham: "I knew their kicker had struggled a bit coming into the game, but he's got a decent leg. I honestly thought they'd put him in position to kick the game-winner. Had I known they would try the Hail Mary, I would've sent the defense out in Prevent. I sent them out in a Cover 3 instead, and it's my fault we lost the game."

When asked about the 2-pt snafu in the 2nd Quarter...

Quote:

Willingham: "I'll be calling Special Teams from now on. You can bank on that."

The Blazers hit the road back to Birmingham with a 2-5 record. They'll have the week off, before heading to San Antonio to face the Roadrunners of UTSA. Steve Quiggle will be evaluated by team doctors this week, and there's a chance he could play next week if needed. Ragnar's concussion isn't expected to sideline him for too long, if at all.

UAB Blazers at South Florida Bulls
Oct 24, 2015 1 2 3 4 OT F UAB (2-5) 7 13 6 16 - 42 USF (3-4, 1-3 American) 7 7 13 22 - 49 Top Performers PASS: Xerxes Ragnar (QB, UAB) - 32/41, 342 yds, 3 TD RUSH: Marlon Mack (HB, USF) - 15 rush, 204 yds, TD REC: A.J. Legree (WR, USF) - 6 rec, 142 yds, 2 TD	Team Stats Comparison UAB USF First Downs 30 14 3rd Down Efficiency 8/14 (57%) 3/7 (42%) 4th Down Efficiency 1/2 (50%) 1/1 (100%) Total Yards 601 440 Passing Yards 472 177 Rushing Yards 129 263 Penalties-Penalty Yards 4-43 1-15 Turnovers 1 1 Time of Possession 28:47 11:13
UAB Blazers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Xerxes Ragnar 32/41 342 3 0 Bjatar Milan 10/16 130 2 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Biggie Stevenson 17 59 3.4 0 Xerxes Ragnar 10 61 6.1 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Josh Cee 9 96 10.6 1 Matthew Tenn 6 75 12.5 1 Nyiakki Height 6 61 10.1 1 Dequindre Adams 6 59 9.8 1 Lawrence Jack 5 64 12.8 0 M.K. Harsh 4 42 10.5 0 Will Perdue 2 22 11.0 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Octavious Ellis 6 0.0 0 0 Jay Coles 5 (1) 0.0 0 0 Josh Lovell 5 0.0 1 0 CeeJay Parrish 3 (2) 2.0 0 0 Sam McConnell 3 0.0 0 0 Nate Riner 3 0.0 0 0 Garrett DeBeers 2 (1) 1.0 0 0 South Florida Bulls PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Steven Bench 12/19 177 3 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Marlon Mack 15 204 13.6 1 D'Ernest Johnson 2 37 18.5 1 Kennard Swanson 2 4 2.0 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD A.J. Legree 6 142 23.6 2 Sean Price 4 29 7.2 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Jalen Spencer 13 (1) 0.0 0 0 Tajee Fullwood 11 0.0 0 0 Nigel Harris 7 (2) 0.0 0 0 Johnny Ward 6 0.0 0 0 Kendall Sawyer 6 0.0 0 0 James Hamilton 5 (1) 0.0 0 0 Lamar Robbins 5 0.0 1 1 Tashon Whitehurst 5 0.0 0 0

[kswgrad2012]

A Look Around The Nation
Week 9, 2015

Week 8's Top Results

Results

Miami-FL 35, #4 North Carolina 17

#14 Baylor 30, Iowa State 17

Illinois 6, #25 Wisconsin 13

Texas 31, #7 Michigan State 19

#19 LSU 35, #17 Ole Miss 28

#11 Alabama 24, #16 Arkansas 21

#6 Ohio State 28, Rutgers 35

#15 USC 49, #8 Notre Dame 21

#1 UCLA 19, Stanford 14

#9 Florida State 30, Clemson 14

Week 9's Top Games

Results

#22 Michigan State (4-2) @ Rutgers (4-3)

#13 Ohio State (4-2) @ Penn State (4-3)

Duke (3-3) @ #20 Virginia Tech (6-1)

#11 Notre Dame (5-2) @ Air Force (4-3)

Virginia (5-2) @ #17 Georgia Tech (4-2)

#24 Houston (5-0) @ Navy (4-1)

Boston College (4-2) @ #15 Miami-FL (4-2)

#18 Kansas State (5-1) @ West Virginia (5-2)

#1 Mississippi State (6-0) @ Kentucky (3-3)

Tennessee (3-4) @ #4 Alabama (5-1)

NC State (4-2) @ #3 Florida State (6-1)

#6 USC (5-2) @ Utah (4-3)

#2 UCLA (6-0) @ #7 Oregon (6-2) ("ESPN Game of the Week")

[kswgrad2012]

Blazer Recruiting Insider
UAB lands fullback, locked out of safety battle

October 28, 2015
by Elliot Castille

There's been some news since the last Recruiting Insider we posted on BlazerNation. Let's do a quick run-down.

Chris Moore commits
The Blazers landed the fullback their hearts desired. JUCO Chris Moore of Andover, KS signed his Letter of Intent to UAB this Tuesday, after having a brief conversation with coach Kaelyn Willingham. It came down to 5 schools (the others being members of the Big 12 & Pac-12), but Willingham was able to snag Moore from the Midwest. The 6'2", 250-lb bruiser fits what Coach looks for in a fullback: big, athletic guys who can run as well as they can block. Expect Moore to line up as a ball-carrier in some formations, and as a lead-blocker in others, as the Blazers transform into the Spread Option offense Willingham prefers to run; he will likely share carries with current sophomore tailback Biggie Stevenson. Moore is the first recruit to commit to UAB this season.

Blazers lose out on FS Jerry Miranda
UAB was in a fierce bidding war for the rights to FS Jerry Miranda. The high school senior announced he was trimming his list of schools down to three, and UAB unfortunately did not make the cut. The 3 schools left in the running are (in order) Tulane, East Carolina & Miami (FL). With the loss, expect Coach Willingham to turn his attention to other key members of the secondary, particularly cornerback. The Blazers are currently courting three other defensive backs, the most impressive being William Horner of Rainsville, AL. According to Horner's father, UAB has a sizable lead on the competition right now, though his recruitment hasn't been long.

Blazers load up on D-line recruitment
With the defensive line struggling to make their mark on the 2015 Blazers team, Coach Willingham has focused on upgrading that portion of the defense. They are currently in the midst of recruiting 9 players on the defensive line, including 6 players at defensive tackle. They lost out on one of their top targets early in the recruiting season, but think they have found something in DT Tim Jennings. The Yukon, OK native is a force up front, and would be a tough match-up for any opposing lineman. He's athletic enough to be a pass-rush specialist, but sound enough technique-wise to be a dominant run-stopper. They've also increased their lead on DE Brent Hughes of Riverdale, GA, though that lead is not big at this point.

[thesportsguru11]

Very nice turnaround from the early season struggles to rattle off a pair of wins and nearly a third!

Really tough loss to USF, but as you progress those are the types of games that will become easier. I always think back to the Rich Rodriguez plan of lose big, then lose close, win close and finally win big.

Additionally, I'm really impressed with the play in your passing game against USF, to be able to have a pair of QB's who can come in at any time and play well is something I'd love to have! 5 receivers with 5 or more catches is also very impressive.

Hopefully you guys can finish the second half of the season strong!

[Cheese2121]

Definitely a tough loss there against USF but the team is showing improvement. You have made a lot of strides even just this season.

[kswgrad2012]

Quote: Originally Posted by thesportsguru11

Very nice turnaround from the early season struggles to rattle off a pair of wins and nearly a third! Really tough loss to USF, but as you progress those are the types of games that will become easier. I always think back to the Rich Rodriguez plan of lose big, then lose close, win close and finally win big. Additionally, I'm really impressed with the play in your passing game against USF, to be able to have a pair of QB's who can come in at any time and play well is something I'd love to have! 5 receivers with 5 or more catches is also very impressive. Hopefully you guys can finish the second half of the season strong!

The offense is starting to look good. I'm looking forward to next year, when we have more pieces in place.

The defense? Still a work-in-progress...

The USF game was wild. We stifled them in the first half; I thought we'd run away with it. But then they came roaring back, on the legs of Marlon Mack. Their receivers had hands of stone in the 1st half, and hands of Stick'Em in the 2nd. It ended up being the game I thought it would be, though I didn't expect to lose like that.

Our receivers have been really weird this year. Every game a different player breaks out. One receiver will have 6 catches one game, and 2 catches the next. Thank god for Xerxes Ragnar. Between him, Quiggle, the red-shirted Pat Johnson, and soon-to-commit Harvey Page, it should be one heck of a QB battle next season.

Quote: Originally Posted by Cheese2121

Definitely a tough loss there against USF but the team is showing improvement. You have made a lot of strides even just this season.

The team's improving ahead of schedule. Well, the offense at least. Defense still needs work. Next year should be interesting.

[kswgrad2012]

UMass to leave MAC at end of season
Travel, basketball concerns were primary reasons

October 29, 2015
by Ross Bartholomew

The University of Massachusetts-Amherst and the Mid-American Conference have been in a year-long dispute over UMass' membership in the conference. When the Minutemen joined the conference in 2012, the original plan was for UMass basketball to join the league at some point, after the football team did. However, UMass prefers its basketball teams remain in the prestigious Atlantic 10 Conference, a league considered a huge step up competition-wise over the MAC. The conference gave the school an ultimatum: bring in your basketball, or leave the conference altogether.

UMass chose to leave.

The school also cited travel issues in their decision, as most of their conference mates are hundreds of miles away, and UMass doesn't have the money to send their Olympic teams that far. With all this, the school will end their relationship with the MAC at the end of the 2015 football season. Their basketball teams will remain in the A-10, but football is now in limbo. The school is in the midst of a stadium deal with Gillette Stadium that has put a strain on the fan base. It takes up to 2 hours for fans to travel to most home games. The football team used to compete on campus, but the on-campus stadium was deemed "too small for FBS competition" by the NCAA. Add on top of this the fact that college football doesn't have a strong presence in the Northeast, and it has been a struggle for UMass football. They could take the Independent route, but that likely isn't sustainable. They could join another conference, but no one seems to be interested in them right now. They could drop back down to the FCS Subdivision, but the school has been adamantly against making that move. It should be an interesting next few months for UMass football.

In the meantime, the MAC isn't expected to add anyone to replace them. With the loss of the Minutemen, the conference now sits at 12 members, with even 6-team divisions. No changes are expected.

[Cheese2121]

Should be interesting to see what direction UMass takes in the coming seasons. Always liked them as a program.