Football preview: UAB welcomes Central Arkansas, South Alabama heads to Southern Miss
UAB Head Football Coach Bill Clark prepares his team for an 11-game season that begins Thursday night with a contest against Central Arkansas. (UAB Athletics)
When is a season opener a trap game? When that season opener is immediately followed by a trip to play a University of Miami team that’s itching to return to its place among the game’s elite.
The Hurricanes are not ranked in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll and are coming off a 6-7 season in Manny Diaz‘s first year as head coach. With 42 votes, they landed just outside the Top 25 at No. 30 but were 19th among squads set to play this fall.
So what do Bill Clark and his UAB Blazers do Thursday night when they face Central Arkansas at 7 p.m. at Legion Field on ESPN3? Do they play it close to the vest to avoid showing too much to Miami, or do they pull out all the stops against the Bears, who opened their season knocking off Austin Peay 24-17 on national television?
According to Clark, the answer is simple.
“I think we’ve got to do everything it takes to win,” he said during his press conference on Monday. “It’s all about the fact that (Central Arkansas) got a game under their belt versus what do you show and what does the (next) opponent get to see. Miami’s sitting there without a game, so they’re kind of lying in wait.
“But we’ve got to win this game,” Clark continued. “Everything I’ve heard from those guys is that they’re coming to win the game, so we’ve got to do everything we’re supposed to do. We don’t need to hide anything or hold anything. We just need to show what we got to show to go out and win the game.”
Beginning its final home season at historic Legion Field, UAB looks to extend to 19 straight games the nation’s fourth-longest active home winning streak when they host the Bears. The Blazers are a perfect 18-0 at Legion Field since returning to action in 2017.
UAB returns nine starters on defense and has finished in the Top 10 nationally each of the past two years in total defense. Linebacker Kristopher Moll and edge rusher Jordan Smith lead the charge, as the two combined for 33.5 tackles for loss and 19 sacks last season.
Offensively, UAB’s career leading rusher Spencer Brown and standout wide receiver Austin Watkins Jr. lead the Blazers into the season opener. Brown is one of just two players in the nation to enter the season with more than 3,000 career rushing yards, while Watkins became the third player in program history to have more than 1,000 single-season receiving yards last year, finishing with 57 catches for 1,092 yards and six touchdowns.
Quarterback Tyler Johnston III enters his redshirt junior year and his second full year as the starter, despite missing time last season due to injury. Johnston is 10-4 as a starter and already ranks fourth in career touchdown passes (28) and eighth in passing yards (3,586) at UAB.
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Central Arkansas has been in town a while this week, with UAB paying for their hotel stay and COVID-19 testing to limit exposure and keep them in the Magic City to practice at Legion Field.
“It was what it took to get the deal done,” Clark said, referring to conversations with Athletics Director Mark Ingram. “We said we’re gonna do what it takes to get a game. It tells you about those guys that they were gonna find a way to play games. It’s important to them. It’s important to their school. They want to be safe.
“Obviously they were already testing and our medical folks tested them (Sunday), so it’s a great peace of mind for all of us that we’re going to do it the right way,” the coach continued. “We did what we needed to do to get them here.”
South Alabama at Southern Mississippi: The Jaguars kick off their 2020 fall campaign Thursday with an 8 p.m. road game against the Golden Eagles on CBS Sports Network. It is the first meeting between the two programs.
The University of South Alabama Jaguars scrimmage at the new Hancock Whitney Stadium. The Jags open their season Thursday with a road trip to Southern Miss. (Scott Donaldson/USA Athletics)
The Jags are making their first trip to the Magnolia State since opening the 2017 campaign with a 47-27 loss at Ole Miss. It’s just the fourth time since the program’s inception in 2009 that USA is playing in Mississippi, having split a pair of contests at Mississippi State.
The 23rd-ranked Bulldogs earned a 30-10 victory on Sept. 22, 2012, but the Jaguars claimed a 21-20 win on Sept. 3, 2016.
Southern Miss is coming off a 7-6 season in 2019. South Alabama was 2-10.
HIGH SCHOOLS
Class 7A: Hoover is 2-0 and ranked No. 3 in the latest Alabama Sports Writers Association poll. While their opponent on Friday is unranked, the Bucs will certainly not look beyond their longtime rival Vestavia Hills, against whom Hoover has a 63.6 winning percentage all time.
Class 6A: This one certainly looks to be worth the price of admission with No. 6 Pinson Valley (1-1) hosting No. 8 Gardendale (2-0).
Class 5A: No. 3 Ramsay (1-0) visits Wenonah, which will play with heavy hearts after the recent passing of former coach Ronald Cheatham.
Class 4A: W.S. Neal is 1-0, coming off a 38-14 win over Excel and then a bye last week. This week, the Eagles fly in to face No. 3 Vigor.
Class 3A: It will be a battle of unbeatens when Lauderdale County travels to East Lawrence. Each is 2-0.
Class 2A: The Sheffield Bulldogs welcome Mars Hill. Each team has split its first two contests.
Class 1A: Decatur Heritage Christian and Phillips Bear Creek has each lost a game to forfeiture due to COVID-19. This week, the Eagles – 0-2 but ranked No. 9 – travel to the 0-2 Bears.
AISA: Bessemer Academy lost its opener to Glenwood School, which is now ranked No. 2. Following a bye, the No. 4 Rebels (0-1) travel to No. 6 Monroe Academy (1-0).
