UAB won’t be late-season breather
COLLEGE STATION — Jimbo Fisher nearly coached at Kyle Field nine years ago — the last time Alabama-Birmingham played Texas A&M, a 56-19 Aggies victory.
“It was something I was very seriously considering,” Fisher said of almost becoming the Blazers’ coach in 2007. “I was very interested in the job, it just didn’t pan out.”
Instead Fisher, who had been LSU’s offensive coordinator, headed for Florida State to run Bobby Bowden’s offense, and three years later Fisher was running the show at FSU.
“UAB was an up-and-coming program I thought had a chance to be really good,” Fisher said Monday, with the Blazers set to make a return visit to Kyle at 6 p.m. Saturday. “It’s in a mecca of football. It was a very enticing job, and I thought it had all the ingredients to be successful. Obviously that proved to be true.”
Sort of. UAB is indeed successful this season, with a 9-1 record and a Conference USA West title (7-0) in the bag with two games remaining in the regular season. The Blazers also are one college football’s most intriguing tales this year, considering their program was shut down during the 2015 and ’16 seasons to save money.
“Any time you have a program taken away, the game you love taken away from you, and all of a sudden you get it back, no one is going to go out there and play nice, or play appreciatively,” A&M tight end Jace Sternberger said of the Aggies being wary of UAB. “Basically it was a slap in the face saying, ‘You’re not good enough.’ ”
In late 2014 the UAB president announced the football program was being shuttered, along with the rifle and bowling teams, for financial reasons. Following an outpouring of support for Blazers football and millions of dollars raised, UAB in the summer of 2015 announced football would return for the 2017 season (the rifle and bowling teams were reinstated immediately).
The Blazers finished 8-5 last season in their return to Legion Field under coach Bill Clark, who had been in his first year at UAB in 2014, and now they’ve reeled off eight straight victories.
“They have their program back, and they’re playing with a huge chip on their shoulder,” Sternberger said. “We’re very aware of how good they are, and we’re not going to take them lightly.”
The Aggies (6-4, 4-3 SEC) are coming off a 38-24 comeback victory over Mississippi at Kyle Field, and close out the regular season with home games against UAB and No. 7 LSU. A&M became eligible for a bowl for a 10th consecutive season and won its first SEC West home game in more than three years Saturday.
This weekend is often a time for some SEC squads to take a bit of a breather against lesser non-conference foes.That might have been the intent when A&M scheduled UAB nearly three years ago, but it’s not the case this week. For the second time in its quirky history, UAB is ranked in one of the primary Top 25 polls, squeezing in at No. 25 in this week’s coaches rankings.
“This is a great football team, UAB, they can flat-out play,” Fisher said. “This team right here is in the Top 25, just like an SEC (opponent).”
Six SEC teams, including No. 1 Alabama, are in the Associated Press Top 25 as of Monday — the latest College Football Playoff rankings come out Tuesday — but the Aggies aren’t one of them following their two-game slide at Mississippi State and Auburn prior to hosting Mississippi. Clark said no one at UAB is fooled by the unranked Aggies.
“We know how well they’re playing and what kind of team they’ve got,” Clark said. “They’re in the SEC, and all of the above.”
Blazers kicker Nick Vogel soaked in the glory of a division title against Southern Mississippi last Saturday, especially because he was part of the 2014 team that was disbanded.
“It’s been a heck of a ride,” Vogel said. “When the program closed, I went to Southern Miss, so it was a sweet feeling, beating Southern Miss. I know the kind of (leader) that coach Clark is. This took us two years, which is way shorter than anyone would have guessed.”