The UTSA Roadrunners come off their bye week and travel to Birmingham to face the University of Alabama-Birmingham Blazers on Saturday. It’s a key game in the race to the Conference USA championship game. UTSA can move closer to wrapping up its spot in the conference championship with a win over the Blazers. The Roadrunners have never won in two previous trips to Birmingham but defeated the Blazers last season 34-31 at the Alamodome.
UTSA Roadrunners (6-2, 4-0 C-USA) vs. UAB Blazers (4-4, 2-3 C-USA):
Location: Protective Stadium, Birmingham, Alabama
Kickoff: Saturday, 2:30 p.m.
How to watch: Stadium (CW35)
Last week:
UTSA had an open week. The Roadrunners last played on Oct. 22 when Frank Harris led a last-minute touchdown drive to beat rivals North Texas 31-27 in the Alamodome. That game saw seven lead changes, five of those occurring in the fourth quarter.
UAB lost its second straight conference game when it fell on the road to Florida Atlantic, 24-17. At 2-3 in conference play, the Blazers are likely on the outside looking in for the race to the conference championship game but they could open up the race for others by beating UTSA.
What they’re saying:
UTSA defensive lineman Asyrus Simon on facing UAB and Blazers running back DeWayne McBride: “They have a great team. Their running back is the real deal, [second] leading rusher in the country. We have to take him and their O-line serious. That’s going to be the biggest challenge this Saturday.”
UAB Head Coach Bryant Vincent: “We’ve got the best football team [we’ve faced] up to this date coming to Birmingham, to Protective Stadium this Saturday, in UTSA. They’re the defending league champion, they’ve got a lot of guys back, they’ve won five football games in a row. We know it’s going to be a tremendous challenge.”
Key stats:
UTSA is 16-3 in conference games under Head Coach Jeff Traylor. Most of the Roadrunners’ games in the Traylor era have been decided by one touchdown or less. The Roadrunners are 16-6 in one-score games under Traylor and 9-3 in games decided by more than one score.
The UAB defense has allowed opponents 172.8 passing yards per game, boasting the 10th stingiest passing defense in the nation. The Blazers, which opened Protective Stadium last season, are 7-2 at home and have won six straight home games. UAB is 4-0 at home this season.
Players to watch:
UTSA quarterback Frank Harris is ninth in the country with 2,538 yards passing. He also has run for 319 yards. Harris has thrown for 17 touchdowns and run for five touchdowns this season.
UAB running back DeWayne McBride is the nation’s No. 2 rusher with 1,146 yards this season. He has run for 100 yards in eight straight games and is 46 yards away from becoming the second Blazer to ever reach 3,000 career rushing yards.
