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MARSHALL GAME 9: ALABAMA-BIRMINGHAM

LexisNexis Feed Charleston Gazette (West Virginia)
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Updated Jul 27, 2010 10:38 PM ET
     
 

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the 18th in a series of previews on West Virginia and Marshall football opponents.

-Date with Marshall: Nov. 6, 4:15 p.m. EDT (Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast)

-Site: Legion Field (72,000, SureTurf), Birmingham, Ala.

-Coach: Neil Callaway (fourth year, 11-25)

Checking them out

From his first days with a shortage of scholarship players, coach Neil Callaway has brought his Blazers to a sort of maturity - and a 4-4 C-USA record last year - but he will have to make do without Joe Webb behind center.

Count 'em up - two starting wide receivers, the tight end, four interior linemen, six of the defensive front seven, three in the secondary, the punter and kicker are all back. But Webb, who ran for 1,427 yards, passed for 2,299 and accounted for 32 touchdowns, is long gone.

David Isabelle seems to have a tenuous lead after the spring, with Bryan Ellis competing and juco import Emmanuel Taylor joining the fray in August. They have very respectable weapons - WRs Frantrell Forrest and Roddell Carter and TE Jeffery Anderson. Anderson hit the Herd for two long gains in the Blazers' 2008 win.

Bryant Turner, Tim Davis and Daniel White can be factors at defensive end, and NT Elliott Henigan led the team in tackles for loss (51/2). SLB Lemanski Ware and CB Terrell Springs can be top-flight defenders, and Hiram Atwater could prove the league's best free safety.

While the Blazers' defense has turned from greenhorns to grizzled veterans, will it make any difference? The Blazers gave up 455 yards and 32.3 points per game, allowed opposing QBs to complete 65 percent of their passes and recorded only 19 sacks.

Josh Zahn has hit a 51-yard field goal, but missed half from 40 to 49. Trey Ragland has good punting numbers (42.8 yds gross 36.0 net), but had two blocked.

All-conference candidates

-Offense: WR Roddell Carter, TE Jeffery Anderson, WR Frantrell Forrest

-Defense: LB Lamanski Ware, S Hiram Atwater, DE Bryant Turner, DE Daniel White

Notes

UAB is having problems in the Academic Progress Rate, with the football program scoring a substandard 887 - the lowest among major- college programs for the second consecutive year. After president Carol Garrison presented a detailed improvement plan, the NCAA did not penalize the football program . . . The Blazers averaged a reported 17,987 fans per game, only higher than Rice. In non-inflated figures, that could be higher than Tulane and Memphis . . .In last year's game, Marshall only outgained the Blazers by 18 yards, but UAB committed a whopping 15 penalties for 135 yards . . . Webb ran for 264 yards in his last two games vs. the Herd, and passed for 417 more.

2010 UAB schedule

Date Opponent 2009

Sept. 5 Florida Atlantic W, 56-29

Sept. 11 at SMU* L, 33-35

Sept. 18 Troy L, 14-27

Sept. 25 at Tennessee DNP

Oct. 6 at UCF (Wed)* L, 27-34

Oct. 16 Texas-El Paso* W, 38-33

Oct. 23 at Mississippi State DNP

Oct. 30 at Southern Miss* W, 30-17

Nov. 6 Marshall* L, 7-27

Nov. 11 East Carolina (Thur)* L, 21-37

Nov. 20 Memphis* W, 31-21

Nov. 27 at Rice* W, 44-24

* Conference USA games

-2009 record: 5-7, 4-4 (tied for fourth, C-USA East)

-Dropped: Texas A&M (L, 19-56), Mississippi (L, 13-48)

AP photo

UAB defensive end Daniel White (34)

Tagged: UAB, Hiram Atwater, Roddell Carter, Frantrell Forrest, Jeffery Anderson, Bryant Turner, Bryan Ellis

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