[gorillapittpray]

AUG 21ST, 2013 WEDS
BLAZER WEEKLY

LEADING THE WAY

(FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: #26 ANTHONY MCFARLAND, #33 JACOB BROWN, #6 HARVEY NELSON, #30 DARRELL JONES)

BLAZERS HOPE FRESHMEN ARE READY FOR
TROY AND THEIR PASSING ATTACK

BIRMINGHAM, AL -- It has been well documented that the Blazers will be led by Freshmen in the secondary with the exception of sophomore Adam Love. With the average age of 19 this could very well be the youngest secondary in the country. They have the task of taking on preseason Heisman quarterback Matt Moore in their first game. Moore threw for over 400 yards on the Blazers in a loss last season. For the season Moore threw for 4,305 yards with 44 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions.

"Im excited for my guys." Rhatigan said. "They get to go out and show the country on national television that they can play big time college football."
The game will be aired on ABC and has been selected as a national broadcast for their 3:30 time slot. The game is being played in Troy, Alabama.
"You get nervous, but then you tell yourself its time to go." Darrell Jones said. Jones earned the other starting cornerback job during fall camp.
"We get to go up against the supposed best passer in all of college football, I cant wait."

recap of last years game: http://www.operationsports.com/forum...post2042704382


Travis Rhatigan spoke to the media today about joining the SEC and this weekends game against Troy.

Opening Statement: Glad to be back to this point, its been a long week so far. Our guys look good at practice and you can tell theyre ready to hit someone else.
Im excited about joining the SEC, it gets us into kids homes. When they turn the tv on, on Saturdays and see UAB vs the Florida's the Auburn's the Bama's and hopefully winning, theyre gonna wanna be apart of that.
On to this week. We played against Matt Moore for two years running now, the kid is very smart and gets the ball out quick to his playmakers. Lets remember Troy ended the season ranked with a 10-2 record a year ago and brings back some key parts of that team. They have a big time receiving core like us. I remember Jarvis Green very well and I told our guys we need to pay attention to him he's fast and runs great routes. Piece may be the fasted but Armstrong is good as he had over 1,100 last year. Im interested to see how our conditioning is in the heat with their fast paced no huddle. Offensively we're gonna start Dyks. This will be the first time I started a true freshmen but He came in poised and brought leadership to this huddle and commanded respect from our vets here and because of that he's earned our trust and the players. Its gonna be fun we'll see you there.

TIME FOR KICKOFF

Matchup Preview | August 24, 2013
	@
UAB Blazers (0-0, Away)		Troy Trojans (0-0, Home)
Game Notes The Blazers travel to Troy to take on Troy. A battle between Heisman candidates in Matt Moore of Troy and Matthew Scott of UAB. UAB turned a close 31-27 game into a 50-31 blowout. Troy will be ready along with the Home crowd For UAB they still have one of the best offenses in the country but only if freshmen Adam ****s can handle the star power with it. He returns four receivers and a new offensive line. The Key will be for him to manage the game and not over do it. His receivers will get open, Scott will make big runs but dont over do it by trying to be the star of the show. For Troy, quarterback Matt Moore is licking his chops. He gets to face a secondary that will start four freshmen. He threw for over 400 yards a season ago against a veteran secondary of UAB and they return Pierce and Green. Green had over 140 yards in last years game and made big play after big play. To counter UAB will look for newcomer Tom Cox to provide pressure along with Kareem Kirby. That will be key, if UAB can get to Moore and cause pressure early then the Blazers can move coverage and play around around. Prediction: Troy doesn't have a defense that can stop UAB but does UAB have a D to stop Troy? Im going with UAB, two much offense and I expect the UAB defense to come and play. UAB 35 Troy 31