[gorillapittpray]

Thurs Oct 22nd, 2015

BLAZERS CONTINUE TO PREPARE FOR GEORGIA:
UAB IS PLAYING WELL RIGHT NOW BUT KNOW GEORGIA WILL BE READY TO PLAY:

Freshmen corner Matt Gatewood returns from suspension and has the tough task of covering Georgia's Jay Smith Saturday

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Blazers escaped all the pressures of losing two key players last week after blowing out Ole Miss 62-17, but dont tell head coach Travis Rhatigan that. "We have some very talented kids here and it showed last week, but you never ever want to put yourself in a tough situation losing kids for dumb mistakes." Rhatigan's Blazers have been at it all week in preparations for the #9 Bulldogs. "This is a team that knows us very well. We went there last year and stole a win out their grasp." Rhatigan mentioned. He was referring to last years instant classic that saw UAB get a 71-yard touchdown reception from Bill Cooley as time expired seconds after the Bulldogs seemingly kicked the game winning field goal with five seconds remaining. "If we;re not careful and dont play smart they could return the favor easily, this is a good team we're facing." The Blazers finish up practice today before having a short walk through tomorrow afternoon. ---> http://www.operationsports.com/forum...post2043178633 <---- RECAP




NINE BLAZERS NAMED AS AWARD FINALIST:

• Nine Blazers got the final nod and are now finalist for the NCAA's most prestigious awards. "Im proud of these young men who have dedicated this season to hard work and focus in defense of our National Championship. They earned every bit of these nominations for the awards." Head Coach Travis Rhatigan said. Below is a list along with the statistics of the players nominated for the awards:

BEDNARIK:

• CB Adam Love - 33 tackles 13 Ints, 13 pbu's 5 defensive TD's
• SS Dominique Rhodes - 67 tackles, 5 Ints, 1.0 sacks

NAGURSKI:

• MLB Timi McCollum - 52 tackles, 32 tackles for loss, 15.0 sacks
• SS Dominique Rhodes - 67 tackles, 5 Ints, 1.0 sacks

O'Brien:

• QB Adam Dyks - 249.2 rating, 2,904 yds, 37 touchdowns 11 Ints

Biletnikoff:

• WR Matt Ford - 1,134 rec yds, 14 td's rec, 36.6 ypc

Lombardi:

• DE Scott Gaither - 28 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks

Best LB:

• MLB Timi McCollum - 52 tackles, 32 tackles for loss, 15.0 sacks

Thorpe:

• CB Adam Love - 33 tackles 13 Ints, 13 pbu's 5 defensive TD's
• SS Dominique Rhodes - 67 tackles, 5 Ints, 1.0 sacks

GROZA:

• K Shane Jordan - 18-18, 55 Long, 60-60 xp

GUY:

• Markell Lee - 14 punts 10 inside the 20, long 54, Net 41.7

Retuner:

• WR Travis Barnes - 28.9 per return, 1 touchdown, 10.1 per punt ret

BLAZERS NAB NATIONS TOP CORNER:

• Birmingham, Ala - It will be a small class but it will also be a very talented class. The Blazers just received their 6th verbal commitment from #1 cornerback Wayne Smith a native of Hohenwald, Tennessee. Smith, who is rated the #22 overall player in the country had a soft commit to Alabama before his recruiting visit to UAB last weekend. "Watching them on TV is one thing, but watching them live in person with that fan base makes you want to be apart of something special like that, the visit was perfect, loved the town loved the pep rally and met with advisers which won over my parents." Smith said of his visit to Birmingham last weekend. " Wayne is a kid we had a late start on, just last month was when we first started giving him calls after recruiting another kid in his area We are excited to be able to get such a talented and bright kid." Smith chose UAB over Alabama and Oregon.

EAST	CONF	OVERALL
#1 UAB	7-0	10-0
#5 Florida	6-2	8-2
#9 Georgia	6-2	7-2
Tennessee	3-5	4-6
Vanderbilt	2-5	3-7
South Carolina	2-6	3-8
Clemson	1-6	2-8
WEST	CONF	OVERALL
#7 Auburn	6-2	7-3
#16 Alabama	5-2	8-2
#17 Ole Miss	4-3	7-3
#13 LSU	4-3	7-3
Arkansas	2-5	4-6
Mississippi State	2-5	4-6
Texas A&M	2-6	3-7

Matchup Preview | November 21, 2015
	@
#9 Georgia Bulldogs (7-2, Away)		#1 UAB Blazers (10-0, Home)
key players RB B. Norton 808 yards WR M. Ford 14 receiving TD WR J. Smith 23.0 ypc CB A. Love 13 Int DL A. Irvin 8 Sacks LB T. McCollum 15

| #9 Georgia at #1 UAB

PURCHASE TICKETS

(GAME NOTES)
BULLDOGS HOPE TO EXACT REVENGE AFTER LAST YEARS LAST SECOND LOSS TO BLAZERS
- UAB better have their guard up. The Bulldogs are a good team and nothing helps motivation out like revenge, a bad lost to Florida a few weeks ago has the nation forgetting about how good the #9 Bulldogs are. Defensively they are very sound and need to put pressure on UAB's Adam Dyks who has only been sack just 4 times all year, Andre Irvin will look to add to that he's third in the conference with 9 sacks. CB Brandon Bell is also a great cover corner that will hope to shut down a side and take away from Dyks Weapons. UAB defensively has struggled with the run but the secondary has been so good lately that it doesnt matter. Norton is a good back and will get his carries but quarterback Jonathon Jones needs to have a big day or at least a consistent day with no turnovers. Avoiding McCollum and company will be difficult but if he can do that look for Georgia to make it a game against the nations #1 team. For UAB they get both Gaither and Gatewood back this week, but lose free safety Josh Brown for at least another week with a sprained ankle so freshmen Korey Rodgers will need to play smart football. Offensively, the nations top scoring offense will need to protect Dyks against Georgia's fast pass rush if they can do that UAB should cruise to another vistory at home.

GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time	Saturday, November 21th, 2015 at 12:10 p.m. (ET)
Location	Birmingham, Ala.( Legion Field )
Television	CBS (National)
On The Web	Live in-game statistics and other coverage can be found at blazer weekly or ESPN3.COM