Maybe someone saw this coming?

[Dement-ed]

From Saturday's Birmingham News:


Brown: Don't underestimate underdog
Saturday, October 08, 2005

STEVE IRVINE
News staff writer

UAB head football coach Watson Brown offered a quick history lesson for a visitor wondering whether his team would overlook its next opponent.

He talked about struggling against underdog teams during Conference USA play in the past. He detailed a few losses and explained that upsets are a regular C-USA occurrence.

Brown didn't have to give the same history lesson to his players as they prepare for a homecoming game against 20-point underdog SMU. The game will kick off at 6 p.m. today at Legion Field.
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"A lot of these are older kids and they just know," Brown said. "In my six years in it, other than one team (Louisville) last year, there just hasn't been a big difference (in the caliber of teams). That's the one thing I think these kids do understand. Really and truthfully, every week is the same to us whether we're playing the first-place team or a team that's 0-5."

SMU (1-4 overall, 0-2 C-USA) is far from a first-place team heading into today's game. But take away a 58-point loss to Texas A&M, and the Mustangs have not played badly. The lone win was a 21-10 victory over then-22nd-ranked TCU the week after TCU beat Oklahoma.

The Mustangs led Marshall, 10-0, at the end of three quarters last Saturday before eventually falling in overtime.

"It was literally a heartbreaker," SMU head coach Phil Bennett said. "In the fourth quarter we couldn't move the ball to give our defense rest. I liked our effort after what I thought to be a rather lethargic effort against Tulane. I'm extremely disappointed we couldn't finish it."

Brown said the strength of the Mustangs is a defense which looked like anything but a strength in the 66-8 loss to Texas A&M. The Aggies gained 714 yards on 71 plays and scored four big-play touchdowns.

"They had one bad game, that's what I see," said Brown, whose team is 3-1 overall and 1-0 in C-USA. "I think they're pretty good. They run really well. If you look at film, they are fast in the secondary and they pursue the ball well."

Middle linebacker D.D. Lee and strong safety Joe Sturdivant share team-high honors with 48 tackles and defensive end Justin Rogers ranks second in the conference with four sacks.

The Mustangs defense plays especially well in the red zone and has plenty of practice at that aspect. Opponents have moved inside the 20-yard line 26 times this season and SMU has come up with a stop 10 times. The Mustangs have allowed 11 touchdowns and five field goals.

"They are No. 1 in the conference in red zone defense," Brown said. "We've worked real hard this week on red zone offense because they are way ahead of everyone in this league."

UAB has actually done well with its red zone offense thus far. The Blazers have scored on 15 of 18 trips in the red zone with 12 touchdowns and three field goals. Two of the failures came in the season-opening loss to Tennessee.

"I think their running backs (Dan Burks and Corey White) are both good," Bennett said. "They've got good receivers. (Reggie) Lindsey is an outstanding player. I think Watson and (offensive coordinator) Pat Sullivan have a very good thing going on. The offensive line is well coached. I know offensively they're the best team we've played."