Across the Web: UAB

This week for our Across the Web segment we travel down South to Birmingham, Alabama. Steve Irvine from The Birmingham News was gracious enough to take time out of busy schedule to answer a few questions for us. Check out Steve’s answers to our burning questions below:

1. Who are three Blazers that we should be aware of? Linebacker Marvin Burdette is the team’s leading tackler and has a shot at setting school career mark in tackles. Wide receiver Jackie Williams, who is tied for the team lead with 11 catches in two games, comes up with clutch catches. Offensive tackle Chris Hubbard is the lone returning starter up front and a All-C-USA player.

2. How do you see Coach McGee’s offense at UAB being different than his time at Arkansas and Northwestern? I think he wants to do the same thing they did at those places. I’m not sure he has the players in place to do that just yet. He runs a pro-style set that combines the running and passing game when things are going well.

3. With Coach McGee, Coach Brohm, and Coach Peterson all having connections to Ohio State and the B1G, how do you see this helping the Blazers prepare for Saturday’s contest? It certainly helps when it comes to knowing the surroundings. Once the game starts, though, it’s about the players.

4. The Buckeyes have struggled all season defending the deep pass. How do you expect the Blazers to take advantage of that, and how successful might they be?  UAB likes to throw the deep ball but hasn’t had success doing that thus far. They have the pieces to have an effective deep passing attack but haven’t executed that aspect of the offense yet.

5. Who will the Blazers look to in order to stop the OSU offense and Braxton Miller? It’s going to take all 11 defenders to slow Miller down. UAB won’t stop him but the Blazers hope to minimize the damage.

6. The Blazers are facing their second straight ranked opponent. Do you think that facing South Carolina last week helped the Blazers prepare for this week’s matchup with Ohio State? If so, how? It definitely helps getting adjusted to the surroundings and possibly weathering some tough times on the field. Will that be enough for UAB to hang in there? Perhaps, but my guess is UAB will get worn down in the second half, just as it did at South Carolina.

Thanks again to Steve Irvine from The Birmingham News for meeting with us. Be sure to check out his work at The Birmingham News and his blog “Off the Vine“.