2006 UAB Blazers

2006 UAB Blazers Season, Game Recaps, Scores and Reviews

Nov. 25
UCF 31 ... UAB 22
UCF got up early on two Mike Walker touchdown passes and a Jason Peters ten-yard touchdown run, but UAB bounced back wit three Swayze Waters field goal s and a 14-yard Joseph Webb touchdown run to get close. Then things got really close as Chris Felder picked up a fumble and took it 44 yards for a score, but the Webb two-point conversion attempt failed. UCF was able to stop the run and put it away on six-play, 80-yard drive finishing with a four-yard Kyle Israel scoring run.
Player of the game ... UCF WR Mike Walker caught seven passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns
Stat Leaders: UCF - Passing: Kyle Israel, 19-22, 270 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Jason Peters, 19-129, 1 TD  Receiving: Mike Walker, 7-133, 2 TD
UAB - Passing: Joseph Webb, 25-39, 289 yds
Rushing: Dan Burks, 8-45  Receiving: Willie Edwards, 5-100
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... The team still didn't have an identity even in the final game of the season. Losing the final six games in a variety of way, including the last two weeks on late comebacks after getting down early, the offense showed the ability to produce, it just couldn't do it out of the gate.. Joseph Webb appears to be the future of the team and the player to revolve the offense around, but he'll need rushing help, and better defense, to have a shot at making the Blazers a potential player.

2006 Schedule 2006 Record: 3-9
9/2	at Oklahoma L 24-17
9/9	East Carolina W 17-12
9/16	at Georgia L 34-0
9/23	Miss State L 16-10 OT
9/30	Troy W 21-3
10/7	Memphis W 35-29
10/14	at Rice L 34-33
10/21	Marshall L 31-24
10/31	at SMU L 22-9
11/10	UTEP L 36-17
11/18	at So. Miss L 26-20
11/25	at UCF L 31-22

2005 Schedule CFN Prediction: 8-3 2005 Record: 5-6 Preview 2005 predicted wins
9/3	at Tennessee L 17-10
9/10	at Troy W 27-7
9/17	Jacksonville St W 35-28
10/1	Rice W 45-26
10/8	SMU L 27-22
10/15	at Marshall L 20-19
10/21	Southern Miss L 37-28
11/1	at Memphis W 37-20
11/12	UCF L 27-21
11/19	at UTEP W 35-23
11/26	at East Carolina  L 31-23

Nov. 18
Southern Miss 26 ... UAB 20
Southern Miss got out to a 23-0 lead helped by a 48-yard Jasper Faulk interception return for a touchdown and two scores from Chris Johnson, but had to hang on for dear life as UAB scored 20 fourth quarter points on a one-yard Corey White run, and 19-yard Sylvester Mencer touchdown catch, and a 67-yard fumble return for a touchdown from Brandon Register. USM finally closed it out with a safety in the final minute.
Player of the game ... Southern Miss RB Damion Carter ran 27 times for 163 yards and caught two passes for 41 yards
UAB - Passing: Joseph Webb, 8-12, 137 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Joseph Webb, 13-33  Receiving: Willie Edwards, 3-80
Southern Miss - Passing: Stephen Reaves, 7-14, 125 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Damion Fletcher, 27-163  Receiving: Shawn Nelson, 3-59
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Give UAB credit for fighting back in the fourth quarter against Southern Miss when it could've just rolled over and taken a fifth straight loss in stride. Offensive consistency has been a problem all season long, and with Joseph Webb taking over at quarterback, there was yet another wrench thrown into the mix. Webb ran well and had to carry the entire attack late, but he was sacked five times. A win over UCF to close out the year is a must to finally end the disastrous losing streak in the disappointing season. To get the win, the offense has to start out hot and put points up on the board right away.

Nov. 10
UTEP 36 ... UAB 17
Jordan Palmer threw four touchdown passes with two to Johnnie Lee Higgins including a 79-yard play and a four-yard pass in the fourth quarter to pull away. Corey White caught a four-yard touchdown pass and ran for a nine-yard score for UAB, but the big-play Miner passing game proved to be too much to overcome. Higgins added an eight-yard touchdown run late in the first half and Palmer connected with Donald Buckram for an 80-yard touchdown in the third quarter. 
Player of the game ... UTEP QB Jordan Palmer completed 24 of 38 passes for 447 yards and four touchdowns
Stat Leaders: UAB - Passing: Sam Hunt, 12-21, 223 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Corey White, 7-41, 1 TD  Receiving: Willie Williams, 6-130
UTEP - Passing: Jordan Palmer, 24-38, 447 yds, 4 TD
Rushing: Marcus Thomas, 11-9  Receiving: Johnnie Lee Higgins, 9-173, 2 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... UAB's run defense did a great job against UTEP, but the pass defense wasn't even close. There was a decent pass rush on Jordan Palmer and there weren't enough long drives to keep the Miner offense off the field. It would've been nice if there was more of a running game to keep Sam Hunt or Chris Williams from having to carry the offense, but Corey White and Dan Bucks didn't get enough work. With the final two games on the road at Southern Miss and UCF, the four-game losing streak might finish up with an ugly six-game slide.

Oct. 31
SMU 22 ... UAB 9
SMU's offense scored on a three-yard Vincent Chase catch in the second quarter and a 39-yard James Mapps run in the fourth, but it was the defense that starred holding UAB to three Swayze Waters field goals and allowing just 222 yards of total offense. UAB had chances, but couldn't get into the end zone. Down 15-8 with under three minutes to play, the Blazers saw its final drive get snuffed out by an 11-yard Tony Hawkins interception return for a score.
Player of the game ... SMU QB Justin Willis completed 18 of 23 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown with an interception and ran five times for 27 yards
Stat Leaders: UAB - Passing: Chris Williams, 18-36, 133 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Dan Burks, 17-58  Receiving: Rashad Slaughter, 10-62
SMU - Passing: Justin Willis, 18-23, 148 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: James Mapps, 5-48, 1 TD  Receiving: Reynaldo Pellerin, 6-35
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... UAB was able to move the ball a little bit on SMU, but it wasn't able to take advantage of all its chances. The running game wasn't nearly effective enough, while Chris Williams didn't get anything going deep with the passing attack. Eventually, Williams has to star hitting on something deep to open things up for the running game. SMU brought everyone up and dared to get torched. It didn't happen. Finding more points is a must with UTEP coming up next.

Oct. 21
Marshall 31 ... UAB 24
Marshall RB Ahmad Bradshaw ran for 242 yards with touchdown dashes of 26 and 67 yards, and was able to run out the clock with runs of 11 and ten yards. UAB stayed alive helped by a 45-yard Marculus Elliott touchdown run, a scoring run from Chris Williams and a 34-yard scoring pass to Jordan Ervin, but was never able to get the lead.
Player of the game ... Marshall RB Ahmad Bradshaw ran 25 times for 242 yards and two touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Marshall - Passing: Bernard Morris, 5-7, 100 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Ahmad Bradshaw, 25-242, 2 TD  Receiving: Matt Morris, 2-59, 1 TD
UAB - Passing: Chris Williams, 18-30, 205 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Marculus Elliott, 14-129, 1 TD  Receiving: Willie Edwards, 4-59
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... The offense had a nice game against Marshall with Chris Williams running and passing reasonably well and Marculus Elliott coming up with some good runs, but the run defense couldn't handle Ahmad Bradshaw and the offense didn't get enough chances in the second half. Now it'll take a tremendous effort to get a bowl bid with three road dates in the final four against SMU, Southern Miss and UCF along with a home game against UTEP. The offense doesn't appear to have enough firepower to keep up with those four.

Oct. 14
Rice 34 ... UAB 33
Rice got a nine-yard touchdown pass to Jarrett Dillard with three seconds to play for a thrilling win. UAB took the lead with less than four minutes to play on a 49-yard Steven Brown touchdown catch, but Rice drove back getting in a position to win the game only to apparently blow it when Kris Guyton intercepted a Chase Clement pass with 23 seconds remaining, but he fumbled the ball on the return and the Owls recovered on the UAB 19 with 28 seconds to play. Chris Williams threw four touchdown passes for the Blazers in the see-saw game, but Rice always had an answer as Clement ran for two scores and threw for three to Dillard.
Player of the game ... Rice QB Chase Clement completed 21 of 33 passes for 191 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions and ran 17 times for 141 yards and two touchdowns..
Stat Leaders: Rice - Passing: Chase Clement, 21-33, 191 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Chase Clement, 17-141, 2 TD. Receiving: Jarett Dillard, 9-111, 3 TD
UAB - Passing: Chris Williams, 15-28, 288, 4 TD
Rushing: Dan Burks, 18-121, 1 TD  Receiving: Willie Edwards, 4-112, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... UAB was this close to being on the way to a huge season with an overtime loss to Mississippi State and a fumble off an interception from beating Rice. Losing to the Owls is a crusher to title hopes with road games still to go against SMU, Southern Miss and UCF, but there are positives with Chris Williams bombing away well and getting the deep ball going throughout the game. He did what he needed to do to win the game, but the defense didn't come through.

Oct. 7
UAB 35 ... Memphis 29
Corey White ran for three touchdowns including two in the third quarter with a two-yard dash giving UAB its first lead of the game. Memphis only managed a field goal in the fourth quarter to pull within six, but couldn't get closer with a final drive snuffed out with an interception. Memphis QB Martin Hankins had a huge day throwing three touchdown passes including an 82-yard strike to Ryan Scott on the first play from scrimmage.
Player of the game ... UAB RB Corey White ran 28 times for 129 yards and three touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Memphis - Passing: Martin Hankins, 22-30, 303 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Joseph Doss, 18-62. Receiving: Ryan Scott, 6-120, 1 TD
UAB - Passing: Chris Williams, 12-20, 134 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Corey White, 28-129, 3 TD  Receiving: Willie Edwards, 5-70, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... The pass defense couldn't handle the Martin Hankins and the Memphis air show, but the defensive front did a strong job of keeping the running game in check. After a brilliant game from Sam Hunt in the win over Troy, Chris Williams was back at quarterback and played well, but didn't do anything for the running attack. Corey White was brilliant getting room to move thanks to a nice game from the offensive line. At 2-0 in Conference USA and with winnable games against Rice, Marshall and SMU, there can't be any slip ups.

Sept. 30
UAB 21 ... Troy 3
UAB held Troy to 58 rushing yards and only allowed a 35-yard Greg Whibbs field goal in the easy win. The Blazer offense got two touchdowns late in the first quarter on a 22-yard Sam Hunt touchdown run and a three-yard Trey Chaney dash, and put the game away on a Sam Hunt 29-yard touchdown pass to Sylvester Mencer in the third. The two teams combined for ten sacks.
Player of the game ... UAB QB Sam Hunt completed 11 of 16 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown with an interception and ran 21 times for 69 yards and a score.
Stat Leaders: Troy - Passing: Omar Haugabook, 18-31, 144 yds
Rushing: Justin Bray, 5-36. Receiving: Gary Banks, 6-35
UAB - Passing: Sam Hunt, 11-16, 145 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Sam Hunt, 21-69, 1 TD  Receiving: Sylvester Mencer, 5-96, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... While the defense did a great job getting back on track with the dominant win over Troy, there has to be some concern that Sam Hunt was the entire offense. He was great mixing up the pass and the run coming through win an efficient day, but more has to come from the running backs and there has to be more big plays down field from the passing attack to be consistent in Conference USA play. Even so, after the overtime loss to Mississippi State, this win over the Trojans has to be a confidence boost.

Sept. 23
Mississippi State 16 ... UAB 10 OT
Mississippi State won in overtime on a 21-yard touchdown run from Omarr Conner after Adron Chambers had halted the UAB possession with an interception. Mississippi State got into the end zone in the fourth quarter for a 10-7 lead on an Anthony Dixon one-yard scoring run after Conner scrambled down to the one on fourth and two from the three. UAB got a nine-yard touchdown run from Chris Williams to start the scoring and forced overtime on a 37-yard Parker Mullins field goal, but the offense sputtered and coughed all game long finishing with just 210 yards of total offense.
Player of the game ... Mississippi State QB Omarr Conner completed 14 of 23 passes for 115 yards and ran eight times for 45 yards and a game-winning touchdown.
Stat Leaders: Mississippi State - Passing: Omarr Conner, 14-23, 115 yds
Rushing: Anthony Dixon, 19-81, 1 TD. Receiving: Arnil Stallworth, 4-30
UAB - Passing: Chris Williams, 9-20, 2 INT
Rushing: Dan Burks, 13-45  Receiving: Sylvester Mencer, 5-58
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... UAB just can't catch any breaks, but it's also not making any of its own good fortune. Mississippi State, particularly QB Omarr Conner, made the plays to win, while UAB QB Chris Williams couldn't come up with the one game-changing play to get the momentum on the Blazers' side. Now there's no margin for error. The team can still get to a bowl game, but it has to start winning in a big hurry with games against Troy, Memphis, Rice, Marshall, and SMU all winnable over the next five weeks. To get the sweep, Dan Burks and the running game has to be better, and there has to be more consistency to the passing game.

Sept. 16
Georgia 34 ... UAB 0
Georgia took advantage of several short fields with no scoring drive longer than 55 yards capitalizing on field goals from 55 and 38 yards out by Brandon Coutu and short touchdown runs from Kregg Lumpkin, Matthew Stafford and Brannan Southerland. C.J. Byrd took a blocked punt 12 yards for the other Bulldog score. UAB only average 1.8 yards per carry.
Player of the game ... Georgia DB Paul Oliver led the D with six tackles and one tackle for loss
Stat Leaders: Georgia - Passing: Matthew Stafford, 10-17, 107 yds
Rushing: Kregg Lumpkin, 10-54, 1 TD. Receiving: Kenneth Harris, 3-30
UAB - Passing: Sam Hunt, 6-10, 49 yds
Rushing: Dan Burks, 10-46  Receiving: Sylvester Mencer, 3-21
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Georgia's defense is playing at another level, so there's no reason to get too upset over getting blanked. Now the Blazers have to figure out which quarterback can lead the way to points with Sam Hunt and Chris Williams having equal problems getting anything going. UAB isn't going to beat anyone of substance if it converts two of 13 third down chances and averages 2.9 yards per play. The defense will have to carry things for a little while until thee offense finally catches up.

Sept. 9
UAB 17 ... East Carolina 12
With just over a minute to play, East Carolina appeared to be on the way to a thrilling win as Chris Henry caught a James Pinkney pass and tore off up the middle of the field and on his way to the end zone, but UAB's Chris Felder stripped the ball at the four yard line and Will Evans recovered to save the game. Chris Williams came off the bench to throw two 12-yard touchdown passes, one to Norris Drinkard and one to Steven Brown, for a 17-6 Blazer lead late, but ECU came back on a one-yard touchdown catch from Davon Drew with 4:45 to play, got the ball back with just over two minutes to play, and had one last chance before the fumble.
Player of the game ... UAB DB Chris Felder made four tackles and saved the game with a forced fumble
Stat Leaders: UAB - Passing: Chris Williams, 12-16, 144 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Corey Hunt, 16-63,. Receiving: Norris Drinkard, 5-78, 1 TD
East Carolina - Passing: James Pinkney, 20-38, 280 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Chris Johnson, 12-51  Receiving: Phillip Hendry, 6-133
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... UAB never seemed to win the close games in the past, but it made its own break against East Carolina with the Chris Felder forced fumble at the goal line to save the day. Chris Williams was effective when he got his playing time back, but there's going to be a quarterback controversy to deal with all season long. The running game simply isn't playing as well as it should be with only 124 yards against the Pirates.

Sept. 2
Oklahoma 24 ... UAB 17
Adrian Peterson showed why he's a favorite for the Heisman by taking a short pass 69 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter to finally get past a gritty UAB. The Sooners got off to a solid start with a 21-yard touchdown catch from Joe Jon Finley, but UAB tied it in the second quarter on a five-yard Corey White run. Peterson scored on a four-yard dash, but turnovers helped the Blazers get back in the game as White took a pass 24 yards for a touchdown and Swayze Waters hit a 43-yard field goal for a 17-14 lead. OU only ougained UAB 370 yards to 304.
Player of the game ... Oklahoma RB Adrian Peterson ran 24 times for 139 yards and a touchdown and caught one pass for 69 yards and a touchdown.
Stat Leaders: UAB - Passing: Sam Hunt, 9-15, 149 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Sam Hunt, 15-65,. Receiving: Corey White, 4-53, 1 TD
Oklahoma - Passing: Paul Thompson, 14-24, 227 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Adrian Peterson, 24-139 yds, 1 TD  Receiving: Joe Jon Finley, 4-79, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... UAB got tagged with one really big amazing play by one really big amazing player. Adrian Peterson is a first-pick-overall type of back for a reason, and he came up with a brilliant performance to save Oklahoma. UAB did a great job of taking advantage of Sooner mistakes and got a nice game out of QB Sam Hunt and RB Corey White. The offensive line, considering it was going against one of the nation's best D lines, did a fantastic job. The penalties have to be cut down after committing 11 for 77 yards.

2006 UAB Preview

UAB Preview | Offense | Defense | Depth Chart | Further Analysis

Did the window close for UAB?

The Blazers have appeared to be on the verge of big things year after year after year, and last season was supposed to be when everything was going to come together led by quarterback Darrell Hackney and with plenty of experience and talent in most spots. Once again for UAB, it didn't happen.

Maddeningly mediocre, UAB hasn't been awful over the last several years under head coach Watson Brown, but it always comes up just short of doing really big things with brutally painful close losses always creeping up out of the blue for one of college football's least clutch teams.

Last year, UAB needed to beat East Carolina for a second straight winning season, but lost to East Carolina 31-23. Over the last eight seasons, UAB has lost 20 games by a touchdown or less with four coming last year. In other words, a few breaks here and there will be the difference between UAB being good, and being in the Conference USA title game.

In a league where Tulsa and UCF can come from out of the blue to play for the championship, UAB certainly has to have hopes of getting a few big performances when needed and win the East. Only 12 starters return, but there's more than enough experience for the other spots and plenty of decent talent to get the job done if a few key players come through.

There's no replacing Hackney's leadership, but there are decent quarterback prospects in Chris Williams and Sam Hunt fighting it out for the starting spot with redshirt freshman Joseph Webb not all that far behind in the race. None of them are Hackney, but they can all play and in the case of Williams and Hunt, bring more mobility to the position. The rest of the offense is solid with Corey White, Dan Burks, and Marculus Elliott forming, arguably, the league's best running back trio. There might not be a better pair of Conference USA tackles than Quinton Harris and Julius Wilson, and what the receiving corps lacks in experienced production, it makes up for in speed and potential.

The defense has a chance to be much better with five good linebackers to work around, an experienced secondary that doesn't need to do too much to improve on last year, and First Team All-Conference USA end Larry McSwain up front to be the focal point.

In other words, UAB has the pieces in place to be a player in the Conference USA race, but not enough to get over the hump ... again.

The Schedule: It all comes down to the final two weeks playing East rivals Southern Miss and UCF on the road. If UAB wins those two, it'll likely be playing for the Conference USA title. There's a bad break playing UTEP from the West, but it's made up for by missing Houston and Tulsa and getting SMU and Rice. Easters East Carolina, Memphis and Marshall have to come to Birmingham meaning there's a shot at a great start to the league season.

Best Offensive Player: Senior OTs Cornelius Rogers and Julius Wilson. The offensive line was one of the strengths of the team last season and will be a major plus again thanks to the return of the all-star caliber tackles to count on. Rogers and Wilson will be in the mix for All-Conference USA honors and will drafted next season.

Best Defensive Player: Senior DE Larry McSwain. One of the league's best all-around ends when he gets on a roll, McSwain has to try to generate the pressure he did in 2004. He was a better player last season and earned First Team Conference USA honors for the second straight season, but he didn't get to the quarterback as much.

Key player to a successful season: Senior QB Chris Williams and junior QB Sam Hunt. Darrell Hackney might have been UAB football for the past four seasons, but he had plenty of off-games to go along with his big performances. Williams and/or Hunt has to be merely competent early on and become great by the end of the season. They have the practice experience to be more than fine.

The season will be a success if ... UAB wins the East. It's dreaming big for a team that's not nearly as complete or as strong as several others in Conference USA, but it should be in the mix for the East title until late November. The sky's the limit if the quarterback situation becomes a positive.

Key game: Nov. 16 at Southern Miss. UAB is 0-6 since 2000 against the Golden Eagles and won't win the East if  it doesn't pull off the road win in mid-November. It's not like they've been blowouts losing the six games by a total of 32 points, but losing close games are what the Blazers are all about.

2005 Fun Stats: 
- Second quarter scoring: UAB 110 - Opponents 56
- Penalties: UAB 75 for 639 yards - Opponents 52 for 490 yards
- Third down conversions: Opponents 71 of 157 (45%) - UAB 58 for 145 (40%)

The Last Time UAB…
…played in a bowl game…2004 (Hawaii Bowl vs. Hawaii)
…missed a bowl game…2005
…pitched a shutout…1999 (UL-Monroe)
…was shutout…2002 (UL-Lafayette)
…scored 50 points…2004 (Tulane)
…went undefeated…never
…won a conference title…never
…had a 3,000-yard passer…2005 (Darrell Hackney)
…had a 1,000-yard rusher…1996 (Carl Sanders)
…had a 1,000-yard receiver…2004 (Roddy White)
…had a first-round draft choice…2005 (WR Roddy White)