UAB (1-5) at Houston
(2-3)
Thursday Oct 9
- 8:00 pm ET (CBSCSN)
-- The Blazers
rolled up 455 total yards, but it wasn't enough as UAB lost on a 25-yard
field goal by Vinny Zaccario with two seconds left to give Memphis a
33-30 victory. He finished with 93 rushing yards on 18 attempts and 235
passing yards on 14-of-25 tosses.
UAB will be on the
road this week as the Blazers travel to Houston to meet the Conference
USA foe Houston Cougars in a second straight Thursday night contest.
After the Houston game, UAB plays at home Oct. 18 vs. Marshall before an
open date Oct. 25.
-- The Cougars are
coming off a bye week following their 41-24 road win over then No. 23
East Carolina on Sept. 27 in Greenville, N.C. The Cougars used the week off to get healthy and focus on a
Thursday night matchup hosting UAB.
UAB: UAB
might have lost to Memphis, and it might be 1-5, but it's playing
relatively well and battled hard in the last-second loss to the Tigers.
Joe Webb was magnificent both running and passing, but he didn't do it
all by himself. Rashaud Slaughter ran well and the receivers did a
decent job of making things happen after the catch. The defense
continues to struggle, it did next to nothing to stop the Memphis
offense cold, and now comes a date with the
Houston: "I'm very excited to get back on the field and play a
game," Coach Sumlin said. "We've had a chance to heal up and get back to
a normal practice routine. But we're ready to play.”
UAB has to … eliminate mistakes and penalties and get and some
defensive stops. UAB had costly penalties and breakdowns against Memphis
and will need to outscore a potent and accurate UH offense that will
take advantage of mistakes.
The Cougars have topped 25 points in every game this
season, including three games of at least 37 points. Heading into this
week’s game against UAB, the Cougars are averaging 37.2 points per game,
a total that ranks 17th in the nation. Getting defensive
stops will be difficult as UH is tied for fifth in third down
conversions at
53.9 percent.
Houston has to …
pressure
Quarterback Joe Webb. Always a rushing threat, the Cougars need to
limit his scrambling and passing options.
Quarterback Joe Webb was outstanding for the Blazers in the
loss, accounting for four touchdowns, including three on the ground.
Keep an eye on …
Houston Senior DE
Phillip Hunt. The Preseason All C-USA defensive end is One
of the top defensive players in the nation... listed on both the
Lombardi Award and the Nagurski Trophy Watch Lists entering this season.
The
number to know:
82.2 --
Completion percentage by Case Keenum in the 41-24 win
over East Carolina on Sept. 27, 2008. He completed 37-of-45 passes.
UCF (2-3) at Miami
(FL) (2-3)
3:45 pm
ET (ESPNU)
-- The defense
forced four turnovers as the Knights snapped a three-game slide and won
their first conference game of the year downing SMU, 31-17. Freshman
Ronnie Weaver rushed career-high 123 yards and a touchdown, and Michael
Greco completed 4-of-8 tosses for 94 yards and two scores in a second
half effort. UCF will step away from C-USA play this coming weekend to
take on Miami-Florida.
-- Miami came
out on the losing end of a 41-39 shootout against rival Florida State.
The Hurricanes managed just 51 yards rushing and passing game struggled
with quarterback Robert Marve going 17-of-40 passes with two
interceptions. The Hurricanes take a break from ACC action and attempt
to rebound as they host UCF
UCF:
Knights coach George
O'Leary
named senior Daren Daly the Knights' starting kicker, with true freshman
Nick Cattoi serving as the backup. O'Leary plans to continue the
quarterback competition, letting junior Michael Greco and true freshman
Rob Calabrese battle for the starting job and playing time every week.
Miami (FL):
Hurricanes Coach
Randy Shannon said starting RT Reggie Youngblood will likely miss the
rest of the season with a leg injury. On Monday, Shannon said the
Hurricanes lost starting LB Colin McCarthy and starting senior DE Eric
Moncur for the season due to injuries.
UCF has to …
rely on its defense to limit Hurricane opportunities. UCF needs to
pressure Miami’s Redshirt freshman quarterback
Robert Marve and keep up with their high tempo offense by holding their
running game in check. Miami uncharacteristically turned the
ball over three times last week. The Knights will need to convert on
opportunities and rely on Quarterbacks Michael
Greco and Rob Calabrese to have success on the ground (both have
combined for a total of 296 rushing yards this season) and in the air.
Miami has to …
get Graig Cooper moving. He has carried the
load when the Hurricanes struggled in the passing game. The Hurricanes
need to get Cooper active early against an experienced UCF run defense
that has allowed only 104.4 ypg. Although last week Cooper was held to
just six carries for 31 yards, he leads the team with 322 yards and
three scores on the ground.
Keep an eye on …
UCF’s Joe
Burnett. He turned in an all-around effort in
the Knights victory against SMU, as he posted seven tackles, a fumble
recovery and interception.
The number to know:
200 –
This will be the first meeting between Miami and UCF, schools that are
only 200 miles from one another.
Tulsa (5-0) at SMU
(1-5)
8:00 PM ET
--
The Golden
Hurricane remained perfect on the season, as David Johnson threw for 177
yards and four touchdowns in a 63-28 drubbing of Rice this past weekend.
Johnson hit on 13-of-25 pass attempts with one interception for Tulsa,
which moved to 5-0 behind 577 total yards of offense. Brennan Marion
hauled in four balls for 76 yards and a touchdown, while Damaris Johnson
had the same amount of catches for 59 yards and a score of his own.
Tarrion Adams guided the ground attack with 112 yards on 23 carries and
Charles Opeseyitan even got involved with 94 yards and a touchdown on 10
totes. Tulsa will hit he road this weekend to challenge SMU in a
conference battle.
-- SMU turned the ball
over four times and managed just 25 rushing in a 31-17 setback to UCF
over the weekend. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw for 351 yards and a
touchdown on 29-of-45 pass attempts for the Ponies, but he was
intercepted three times. Aldrick Robinson was clearly his favorite
target, pulling down 10 balls for 210 yards and a touchdown. Emmanuel
Sanders added six receptions for 51 yards, as SMU suffered its fourth
loss in a row. The Mustangs will return home next weekend and try to
improve on their 1-5 record in a bout with Tulsa.
Tulsa:
Todd
Graham said he isn't concerned that his unbeaten Tulsa football team
isn't ranked in this week's Associated Press or Coaches Top 25 polls. “I
think we're the only undefeated team that's not in the Top 25 in either
the AP or Coach's poll. I'm not worried about that. If we keep winning,
that'll take care of itself.” Graham said, “We're just focused on
trying to keep our kids grounded and being prepared. Each week, it'll
become more and more intense. It becomes more and more dialogue and a
distraction … we try hard to prepare our kids for that. Our focus is
just beating SMU. If you beat SMU, you get ready for the next week. The
ranking stuff will take care
of itself.”
SMU:
SMU
is struggling trying to run the ball.
SMU is averaging
34.2 yards per game and hasn't generated more than 61 rushing yards in a
game this season. In an effort to provide a spark, June Jones moved
Freshman receiver B.J. Lee to running back Saturday but Lee injured his
shoulder after five carries.
Tulsa has to … disrupt passing lanes. With SMU’s vertical passing attack,
receivers
Robinson and Sanders are their explosive threats. Slowing their routes
will allow time for TU to get pressure on
Quarterback Bo Levi
Mitchell.
SMU has to …
play a perfect game. It will be tough to beat a Tulsa team that leads
the nation in Scoring offense and a very strong scoring defense.
Last week the
Mustangs had some alignment and assignment problems that they will need
to overcome. As coach Jones said after the UCF loss, “We’re not good
enough that we can make those plays and still overcome them, and win
games.”
Keep an eye on …
SMU WR
Aldrick Robinson.
Last Saturday was his second straight week with 100+ yards and a score,
and he has scored in every game this season but one.
The number to know:
479.3
– The SMU defense is allowing 41.3 points and 479.3 yards per game.
Tulane
(2-3) at UTEP (2-3)
9:05 PM
ET
-- The Green Wave
couldn’t overcome four turnovers in a 44-13 loss to Army this past
weekend. Two of the miscues were returned for scores by Army's defense,
as Tulane saw its two-game winning streak come to an end. Despite an
offensive output of 486 total yards the Green Wave defense could not
stop Army’s rushing attack. Tulane will square off against Texas-El
Paso this CUSA West division showdown.
-- Trevor Vittatoe
passed for four touchdowns, including the game-winner in
double-overtime, as the Miners defeated Southern Miss 40-37 in league
play. Vittatoe completed 25-of-43 pass attempts for 266 yards and he
threw a pair of touchdowns in the overtimes. UTEP, which is now 2-0 in
conference play for the third straight year will host Tulane.
Tulane:
Receiver
Jeremy Williams will
be lost for at least a month with a broken right hand and possible knee
injury. Senior Michael Batiste, junior Chris Dunn and sophomore Alan
Mitchell, are the most likely replacements. Williams had surgery
Tuesday to repair two broken bones in his hand. He was to have an MRI
later in the day to check for cartilage damage in his right knee.
Tulane will be short on Linebackers as Travis Burks is out with a
hamstring pull and backup Devin Holland is bothered with a knee injury.
UTEP:
The Miners have 12 sacks in five games after having just 16 all of last
year. They are 12th in the nation in turnover margin, and they are
averaging 5.8 tackles for loss per game.
Tulane has to …
convert on scoring opportunities.
Tulane has allowed
17 touchdowns while only reaching the end zone 12 times.
Tulane
has averaged 144 ypg on the ground and has outgained its opponents
through the air by more than 145 ypg. Opponents have thrown for more
than 250 ypg against the Miners and have scored 16 touchdowns through
the air.
UTEP has to …
spread the ball
around. Attack the Green Wave defense with a balanced run and pass
attack. A total of 11 different Miners caught passes from QB Trevor
Vittatoe last weeks victory. It may be more
difficult this week as the Green Wave leads the conference in total
defense giving up 263.0 ypg.
Keep an eye on …
Tulane
RB Andre Anderson. He ran for 107 yards (on 21 carries) and caught
six passes for 59 yards against Army. Anderson is
ninth in the nation in rushing with 597 yards
in five games.
The number to know:
17 --
Tulane is
second in the country with the most players having caught a pass this
season, 17.