Oct. 16, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- After its only open date of the 2009 season, the UAB football team returns to action Saturday when the Blazers travel to Oxford, Miss. to take on the Ole Miss Rebels.

Kickoff at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium is set for 6:07 p.m. CT and the game will be televised by FOX Sports South. The contest will also be carried on the Blazers ISP Sports Network and can be heard in the Birmingham area on flagship station WUHT-FM 107.7. The pregame show will begin 90 minutes prior to kickoff.

UAB (2-3, 2-1 Conference USA) will be playing its first game since defeating Southern Miss, 30-17, at Legion Field on Oct. 1. The Blazers won't play at home again until Nov. 7, the longest stretch -- 37 days -- in the country between home games.

Ole Miss (3-2, 1-2 SEC) was ranked as high as No. 4 in the national polls less than a month ago, but the Rebels have dropped two of their last three games since that ranking. Ole Miss lost to Alabama by a 22-3 margin last Saturday.

UAB head coach Neil Callaway knows his team will have its work cut out for it Saturday night, especially against a defense that has yielded just 13 points per game and 290 yards per outing thus far this season.

"I think we have a tremendous challenge ahead of us," said Callaway. "Their offensive and defensive lines are as big and physical as we'll play against, not just this year, but probably the entire time we've been here. Watching the film on them before they played Alabama, it was obvious they were a good football team.

"I know Alabama won the game, but at the same time, watching them get after each other, I thought it was a heck of a ball game. Not only are they big and physical up front, I think they have tremendous team speed. I've been very impressed watching them play."

Despite the Blazers coming off a big win over Southern Miss in their last outing, Callaway thinks the open date came at a good time for his team.

"I think it was a good time for us to have an open week," Callaway said. "We're five weeks into the season, plus you count four weeks of camp, so we've been grinding pretty hard for nine weeks. I think our players needed a break and it came at a good time."

UAB defeated the Golden Eagles with its running game as the Blazers ran for 222 yards but passed for only 23 in the game. The Blazers will enter Saturday's game against Ole Miss ranked as the No. 9 rushing team in the country at 228.8 yards per game but only 116th in passing offense (130.6).

"I think the passing game is kind of all-inclusive," said Callaway. "I learned a long time ago if you want to be efficient and effective throwing the football, it takes everybody. You have to have protection first. That includes the offensive line and the running backs. Then you have to have receivers being at the right place at the right time, and then you have to have a quarterback throwing the ball at the right spot, and then they have to catch it. So we need to get better in each area."

Senior QB Joe Webb will lead the UAB offense into the game. Webb is averaging 114 yards per game running the ball and is 10th in the nation in that category.

UAB is also hoping it can continue its recent success of taking care of the ball. The Blazers have not had a turnover in the past two games.

Saturday's game in Oxford will represent the first meeting between UAB and Ole Miss and the 15th all-time for the Blazers against SEC competition. All but two of the previous contests have been played away from home.

UAB will resume C-USA play next week with a road game at Marshall.