THURSDAY JANUARY 9TH, 2014
ON DECK:
#1 IOWA HAWKEYES AND #2 UAB BLAZERS PREPARE FOR WAR
| Matchup Preview | January 9, 2013 |
 | @ |  |
#2 UAB Blazers
(13-0, Away) |
| #1 Iowa Hawkeyes
(13-0, Home) |
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PASADENA, CA - It's The Day, and if you are a Hawkeye fan or a Blazer fan, you know exactly what that means. It's the final game of the year and for the first time Iowa will play for a BCS National Championship. The UAB players and fan base are cocky and confident. They should be. But if Iowa plays like they are capable, the Blazer faithful might just realize what kind of program is being built in Iowa City.
MEET THE TEAMS:
IOWA: The Hawkeye's bring in a very solid 13-0 record. With wins over Georgia, Illinois twice and Wisconsin they undoubtedly belong here, meaning the road was not easy. Iowa offensively is led by running back Jose Ashley, the Heisman trophy winner. He does more than just run the football for the Hawkeye's, he catches passes out the back field and more importantly he's a threat in the return game. Tight end Brian Brooks does a great job complimenting the run game with his pass catching ability he will be a key for the offense.
Defensively Iowa has one of the toughest defense in the country. Ranked 7th in the land Iowa only gives up 209.2 yards per game. All American linebacker Antone Newton leads the team and the Big Ten with 105 tackles (42 solo) In fact all three of Iowa's starting linebackers are in the top five tackles in the conference. They dont take the ball away but they dont give up big plays either.
UAB: The Blazers bring into this game the top scoring offense in the country at 42.8 points a game. But as of late it's been their running game getting most of the attention. The Blazers will bring a two headed monster attack from their backfield to the game as both Matthew Scott and Marcus Rutledge will see time and get carries. What makes this offense scary however is that teams have to account for a very good receiving core led by Ian Wilson, Wilson has caught 17 touchdwons earning a spoot on the All America team.
Defensively for the Blazers this is one of the finest units in the country. They had four Blazers named to the All American teams. Linebacker Timi McCollum gets all the credit but this may be the best defensive line in all of college football. Tom Cox, Kareem Kirby, Marcus Leak and Brandon Richardson all have at least 7 sacks.
KEYS TO THE GAME:
For Iowa they need to mix it up on offense, UAB has the #1 ranked rush defense in the country. Iowa will need to find away to back off this unit so they can run the football. On defense they need to apply pressure on freshmen quarterback Adam Dyks, despite him having a good year he has thrown 18 interceptions. Pressure on him could change the whole outcome of the game.
For UAB they need to smart on defense, This unit is very aggressive and could get caught trying to stop Iowa's run game. The secondary are superb athletes and UAB should have them disguise coverage and confuse Iowa into making a mistake.
Offensively UAB has struggle their past two games in the air, they will need the pass game to work if they want to be successful against a smart Iowa defense.