[gorillapittpray]

Wednesday October 2nd, 2013
BLAZER WEEKLY

BLAZERS IN TOP 10
BLAZERS REACH #9 IN THE LATEST
AP POLL

(UAB'S DEFENSE IS A BIG PART IN THE BLAZERS TOP 10 RANKING)

BIRMINGHAM, AL -- As the Blazers try to get back to the National Championship they got great news, after a huge road win over Auburn last week the Blazers came in this week with #9 ranking.
UAB (5-0, 2-0 SEC), one of just 12 unbeaten teams in America, is off to their straight 5-0 start under Travis Rhatigan.
"For our players and our coaching staff the rankings won't change our mindset, but for our university, our fans and our alumni, there's no question it's important," Head Coach Travis Rhatigan said. "To me, being ranked means we have a lot of opportunity out there in front of us and that's what you want for your program as a head coach."
The Blazers have now been ranked in all three of Rhatigan's seasons at the helm of the program, reaching #2 last season and moving on to the National Championship where they lost to TCU.
Adam Dyks has been spectacular all season for UAB, throwing for 1,495 yards and 15 scores. The Coral Springs, Fl, native ranks 6th in the NCAA through UAB's first five games.
Not to be lost during Saturday's 24-7 win over Auburn was the play of the Blazers Defense. UAB's defenders held Auburn to just 1 of 9 on third downs and forced four interceptions, holding Auburn to under 250 total yards the lowest for them all season. Headlining the defense were defensive backs Harvey Nelson and Adam Love, who had two interceptions a piece.

RECRUITING:

Blazers nabbed their second recruit of the year when Brighton, Alabama native John Rhoden committed to the school

(DEFENSIVE TACKLE JOHN RHODEN FROM PLEASANT GROVE HIGH SCHOOL IN BRIGHTON, ALABAMA)

The Pleasant Grove star chose UAB over Troy and Auburn, whom UAB beat this year. At 6'2 275 Rhoden was ranked as the 4th best interior defensive linemen in the state. Rhoden was also ranked in Alabama's super 50 top football players in the state.
" I wanted to stay close to home, I like what UAB does with their defensive linemen and I hope I can come in and help them out as well as get a good education." Stated Rhoden on Channel 6 news covering the Birmingham area.
UAB also has a big weekend lined up up. Its home coming weekend and the Blazers will welcome 15 recruits on officials visits when they take on Texas A&M

SEC EAST Conference Standings - Updated: Sept 30, 2013
TEAM	REC
#9 UAB	5-0
#25 GEORGIA	4-1
FLORIDA	4-2
TENNESSEE	3-2
SOUTH CAROLINA	2-2
VANDERBILT	1-3
KENTUCKY	1-5

Head Coach Travis Rhaigan spoke to the media about the team and there upcoming game with Texas A&M

All in all I liked what we got accomplished this week at practice. We had a a scrimmage today where we took a couple of Tennessee looks and had about an 80-play go on offense, defense and special teams. It was sharp and kind of the end of the week football wise. I like the attitude and mindset of this team right now especially after that huge win for us last week. They look forward to our game with A&M this week. "The Aggies have lost only one game. They lost at home to Georgia, a very quality team. They have the offense, defense and special teams that appears to be quality and characteristic of a strong, highly ranked team. Offensively, they dont have outstanding stats individually but they average 39 points a game so they can score.

"Defensively, quality athletes. Up front they are very physical. They have a very mobile and quality secondary. They are right behind us in total defense. So we'll have to play smart. Dyks shoulder is fine its a little bruised but he practiced all week for us. Defensively the guys moral is high right now, Im excited for them. Its homecoming for us we but the guys are doing a great job of not getting distracted.

BIG TEST AT HOME
BLAZERS AND AGGIES SET DO TO BATTLE:
CBS will air the game at 8/7 central time
Game played at UAB's Legion Field

Matchup Preview | October 5, 2013
	@
#17 Texas A&M Aggies (3-1, Away)		#9 UAB Blazers (5-0, Home)
Injury Report LE. A. Wilson sea CB D Jones 6wk

The Blazers are 5-0 and are on a high after upsetting Auburn last week 24-17 on the road. Quarterback Adam Dyks and running back Matthew Scott lead this Blazer offense ranked 4th in the SEC and 11th overall in the country. They face a defense in Texas A&M ranked 4th in the SEC overall and third against the run.
Defensively for the Blazers who ranked 3rd overall in the SEC are led by middle linebacker Timi McCollum and a secondary that has played shut down defense the past few weeks thanks to the pressure of the defensive linemen up front. The Aggies will look to tailback Jordan Dukes to help lead the way offensively, Dukes leads the conference with a 7.0 rush average. Despite quarterback Tony Peterson's miscues the Aggies average 39.7 points per game. Corner Chris Henry will have his hands full guarding one of the four speedsters for UAB. He'll need the front seven to continue to provide pressure if the Aggies want to win this game