CUSA Football Countdown, Monday June 23 – July 5, 2014
Taken entirely from the Survey to rank the CUSA with 275 responses here is the order predicted by the voters. Starting with the team voted to finish # 13 and ending with the #1 team. I would like to thank all those that took part in the survey and the outstanding response we received. Using the surveys predicted finish we turned your voted order into a prediction of how each team may fair against schools on their schedule. We looked at past history, home field advantage(s) and tried to correlate the predicted order with a win/loss projection. We hope this stimulates some conversation and good luck to everyone in CUSA in 2014. The countdown starts today June 23 and will run till we reveal the #1 team as predicted by the survey on July 5, 2014. We will also reveal all the stats from the survey on July 5, as well.
Again thanks and enjoy.
Recap of Rank
11 Alabama Birmingham (2-10) CUSA: 2014 Prediction (2-10)
12 Texas El Paso (2-10) CUSA: 2014 Prediction (3-9)
13. Florida International (1-11) CUSA: 2014 Prediction (2-10)
Introducing # 11
11. Alabama Birmingham (2-10) CUSA: Bill Clark will take over as the 5th Blazers head football coach in only 22 years. Clark leaves Jacksonville State where he led the Gamecocks to a 13-4 record, top 10 ranking and playoff berth at the FCS ranks. UAB plays in the 71,594 seat Legion Field. Clark made a decision to hit the field running with Sixty-four percent of his first UAB recruiting class signed from the JUCO ranks. He felt the best way to have immediate results was to go after experience. Knowing the situation he inherited it’s not hard to see why Clark felt the need to go this route. UAB not only needed an influx of talent and experience but suffered an epidemic of defensive injuries last year. One of the first decisions Clark will face is who will be QB? With a pair of former junior college transfers (Cody Clements, Myles McKee) fighting it for the starting job along with redshirt freshman Jeremiah Briscoe who is coming off shoulder surgery and freshman Taz Wilson and walk-on Mike Miller. As for the run, Clark has a run first philosophy and the Blazers have a few that will fill the need. One such player will be sophomore Jordan Howard who actually surpassed Reaves’ who opted to enter the NFL instead of his Sr. year as a Blazer. Howard actually averaged more yards with less touches.
UAB’s D just like most teams in America who look for immediate improvement look to build quality depth with Jr. College transfers. However both Diaheem Watkins and Chris Rabb both return and have proven to be effective pass rushers for the D. Jake Ganus is solid at linebacker, and the secondary goes three-deep with experience. Clark signed two junior college transfers on the line, one at linebacker, and the Blazers return five in the defensive backfield.
UAB in 2014 will have more depth and experience and if everyone stays relatively healthy improvement will be noticed early on. The future looks bright for the blazers and if anyone can turn the program around Clark has a proven track record and fans feel optimistic he will blaze a new path for UAB.
| 2014 UAB Blazers Football Schedule Predicted () | ||||
| Date | Opponent | Predictions | ||
| Saturday Aug. 30 |
Troy Trojans Legion Field, Birmingham, AL |
11:00 a.m. CT FCS |
L | |
| Saturday Sept. 6 |
at Mississippi State Bulldogs Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, MS |
1:00 p.m. CT FSN |
L | |
| Saturday Sept. 13 |
Alabama A&M Bulldogs Legion Field, Birmingham, AL |
TBA | W | |
| Saturday Sept. 20 |
— | Open Date | — | |
| Saturday Sept. 27 |
FIU Golden Panthers Legion Field, Birmingham, AL |
TBA | W | |
| Saturday Oct. 4 |
at Western Kentucky Hilltoppers H. Ind. – L.T. Smith Stadium, Bowling Green, KY |
TBA | L | |
| Saturday Oct. 11 |
North Texas Mean Green Legion Field, Birmingham, AL |
TBA | L | |
| Saturday Oct. 18 |
at Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium, Murfreesboro, TN |
2:30 p.m. CT FCS |
L | |
| Saturday Oct. 25 |
at Arkansas Razorbacks D.W.R. Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville, AR |
TBA | L | |
| Saturday Nov. 1 |
at Florida Atlantic Owls FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, FL |
TBA | L | |
| Saturday Nov. 8 |
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Legion Field, Birmingham, AL |
TBA | L | |
| Saturday Nov. 15 |
— | Open Date | — | |
| Saturday Nov. 22 |
Marshall Thundering Herd Legion Field, Birmingham, AL |
TBA | L | |
| Saturday Nov. 29 |
at Southern Miss Golden Eagles M.M. Roberts Stadium, Hattiesburg, MS |
TBA | L | |
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