Underdog Dynasty - Replacing UAB: The Blazer Ripple EffectAn unofficial The American, Conference USA, Sun Belt, and Independent football bloghttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52546/ud_favicon.png2015-04-06T07:00:01-04:00http://www.underdogdynasty.com/rss/stream/81001642015-04-06T07:00:01-04:002015-04-06T07:00:01-04:00Replacing UAB: Finding A New Rooting Interest
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<figcaption>Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Some teams have had to replace the Blazers within their non-conference schedule, but what about you the fan? How do you replace your favorite team now that they don't exist?</p> <p dir="ltr">The fight to save UAB football may go on, but it's time we come to terms with reality. There won't be any Blazer football next season, and as long as Ray Watts and this group of trustees are still around, I don't see UAB returning to the gridiron any time soon.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I'm not saying you should give up the good fight, but maybe... and hear me out here... maybe you should start looking for a new rooting interest.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I know. Blasphemy.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I know there will be quite a few people that won't watch college football anymore since their Blazers won't be involved, but there will still be just as many who do. And there's no point wandering in the wilderness.</p>
<p dir="ltr">We all have that second interest. It's that school that showed you a good time one night while you were on the road. Or it was a childhood favorite before you actually had to enroll somewhere else. Or maybe it is just a fond memory. A game that just so happened to be on TV where the drama and pageantry forced you to subliminally pick a side.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Whatever it is, there is no shame in rooting for them just because UAB football isn't around anymore. So let's play the game. Let's review your options, and decide where your allegiances lie.</p>
<h4>The Small Program With A Big Heart</h4>
<p dir="ltr">Let's say you just don't feel right pulling for some behemoth program that rides the coattails of history and waves of money to national titles, but you don't exactly want to root for Georgia State either. Well, have I got a deal for you!</p>
<p dir="ltr">Less than seven hours from Birmingham is a school that is:</p>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>
<ol>
<li><span>new to the FBS</span></li>
<li><span>steeped in history</span></li>
<li><span>decent at football and</span></li>
<li><span>best known for knocking off the big bad wolv(erine)s. </span></li>
</ol>
<p>I give you Appalachian State. Their mascot is a hillbilly, and they have the moonshine to back it up.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Not sold? Then maybe I can interest you in their rival, Georgia Southern. The Eagles won the Sun Belt this in their first and only year of FBS football, and were barred from going to a bowl game for their disrespect.</p>
<p dir="ltr">That's right. Winners with a chip on their shoulder.</p>
<p dir="ltr">And what makes it even better is they do it all without throwing the football, because it's more fun to truck fools on your way to a 20-point victory. This would probably be the best bang for your buck in my opinion. #GATA</p>
<h4>The Teams That May Not Have Your Heart, But Will Have Your Attention</h4>
<p dir="ltr">Be honest, whoever you pull for won't get the same passion you put into UAB. There won't be any singing the alma mater after a blowout, or tailgating in the rain. But that doesn't mean they can't be fun.</p>
<p dir="ltr">How about Arizona? Their best three skill-position players in 2014 were a pair of freshmen and a sophomore. They need some offensive line help, but I guarantee they'll put on a few shows next season.</p>
<p dir="ltr">If you have an affinity for bright colors and almost winning national championships, you can't go wrong with Oregon. The Ducks aren't finished chasing the big trophy, not as long as Phil Knight has anything to say about it, and they always have great athletes on the field.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Or why not LSU? The Blazers had the program's biggest victory over the Tigers, and a Les Miles coached game is always must-watch television. Not to mention wearing purple and gold can get you some great food and drink if you ever make it to Baton Rouge.</p>
<h4>The Geographically Relevant Options</h4>
<p dir="ltr">Just because they were your in-state opponent doesn't mean you have to hate them. It's nice to see local kids succeed, and no other school has a bigger population of displaced Blazers like South Alabama.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Sitting on the state's short coastline, Mobile might as well be another country. The program is still relatively young, and the Jags are already showing what a small program in Alabama can do without outside meddling. It's a solid option, and nobody would fault you for wearing a UAB shirt to games for the first few years.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Or, if you wanted to go with a more grown up program, you could become a Barner. Let's face it, you have plenty in common with the plainsmen at this point, so pulling for Auburn should be pretty easy at least once per year. They have a great coach, a respectable university, and hate for days. A respectable choice in my opinion.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Then there is Troy. Don't pick Troy.</p>
<h4>The Elephant In The Room</h4>
<p dir="ltr">It's the closest FBS program geographically to Birmingham now. They've won more titles than any other program in history, and are mostly responsible for the popularity of college football in the state. In all honesty, the players, staff, and majority of Crimson Tide fans have no ill will toward UAB. Why would they?</p>
<p dir="ltr">Their neighbors and family members were Blazer grads. Many Bama fans have their own degree from UAB. And I'm not defending the actions of the guilty, but let's not paint everyone who wears crimson with such a broad stroke.</p>
<h4>So which team should you replace UAB with?</h4>
<p dir="ltr"><b><i>None of them.</i></b></p>
<p dir="ltr">You can't replace something that you truly loved.</p>
<p dir="ltr">That kind of language may sound strong, but that's what being a fan is. Every week we turn our emotions over to a team and trust in them to fight like hell for us. They influence our favorite colors, provide names for our kids, and help us get out of attending our cousin's fall wedding.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Sure, you can wear another set of colors and attend a game in a foreign stadium, but that doesn't mean you aren't still a Blazer. Maybe one day you'll grow to love that new team too, but they still won't be a replacement. There is no house divided, and no such thing as letting go.</p>
<p dir="ltr">A university is not a collection of buildings. A football team is not just the players on the field. UAB is a big part of who you are, because you are UAB. So return the favor to all of those players that gave you so much joy, and fight like hell to get the next generation on the field.</p>
<p>But until the Blazers come back in 2016 or beyond, don't forget to enjoy the sport that made it all possible.</p>
<p><b><i>#FreeUAB</i></b></p>
https://www.underdogdynasty.com/2015/4/6/8193711/replacing-uab-finding-a-new-rooting-interestMatt Monte2015-04-05T07:00:02-04:002015-04-05T07:00:02-04:00Kentucky Has Chosen To Replace UAB With Nobody
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<p>The University of Kentucky was slated to play UAB in non-conference play in 2016... and they still haven't figured out what to do about losing that matchup.</p> <p>So, in early October of last season, the Kentucky Wildcats began their planning for the 2016 non-conference schedule, which began in earnest with scheduling the UAB Blazers.</p>
<p>Two months later, university President Ray Watts crapped all over that plan by cancelling the entire football program for the 2015 season and beyond, leaving Kentucky holding their junk in their hands at the altar. Mixed metaphor? Whatever, shut up.</p>
<p>No sweat, right? Just find another team to fill in the gap, give UAB the $500,000 cancellation fee that was agreed upon (since it wasn't mutually agreed to) and move on.</p>
<p>Except <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kentucky.com/2015/01/03/3622779/football-notebook-uk-scrambling.html">not so fast, my friend</a>. As of right now, Kentucky still has not replaced UAB on their 2016 non-conference schedule."</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It's been a complicated search process for <b>Marc Hill</b>, UK's executive associate athletic director for Internal Operations.</p>
<p>"I thought I was real close ... and then somebody else stepped in and grabbed it," Hill recently told the Herald-Leader about the search.</p>
<p>"We'll get to the point — and I'll use the school I thought I was real close to having a game with, Army — and all the sudden Ohio State stepped in and paid them more. I wasn't going to pay them what Ohio State was paying them, so then you have to say: Who's next?"</p>
<p>Now he thinks the first week of February, before National Signing Day, is a more likely timeline to have a new opponent in place.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That article was written quite some time ago, and still, at this very moment, there is <a target="_blank" href="http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa/sec/kentucky-wildcats.php">absolutely nothing on Kentucky's non-conference schedule</a> beyond 2015, save for their five-year series with Louisville that begins this season. I get that Kentucky tends to be rather slow on the draw with these things, but good lord.</p>
<p>Also, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS "ALL THE SUDDEN."</p>
<p>*sigh* anyways.</p>
<p>Oh, one more fun part about that quote above. Hill mentions that Kentucky was really close to snagging Army as a fill-in for that date, until Ohio State came in and gave the Black Knights more money.</p>
<p>Except that they didn't, because Army and Ohio State <a target="_blank" href="http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa/big-ten/ohio-state-buckeyes.php">aren't on</a> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa/indep/army-black-knights.php">each other's schedules</a> anywhere at all for the next decade. Nor was he just flubbing a name to cover tracks, because the only team on Army's future schedule that could legitimately outbid even a lower-rung SEC team for <i>anything</i> is Oklahoma, whom Army doesn't play until 2018.</p>
<p>Or perhaps Vanderbilt (who Army played back in 2011) or Stanford (who just completed a two-year series) might have that kind of cash, but I'm not banking on it. At least not in terms of that being what Hill was referring to.</p>
<p>So Hill isn't just being obtuse - that story is a flat-out lie; maybe I shouldn't be surprised at that, coming from the mouth of a guy <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ukathletics.com/genrel/hill_marc00.html">whose career prior to</a> "guy who schedules Kentucky's football games" includes a dozen years as director of the athletics department's strength and conditioning program, and two years as the primary administrator of the baseball program.</p>
<p>Hold on, we need to spend a lot more time digging through this closet.</p>
<p>Let me say that again, for emphasis. <i>The man primarily in charge of day-to-day operations for Kentucky's entire football program</i> has a whopping two years of administrative experience with the Kentucky baseball team, preceded by almost two decades... as a strength coach and strength program coordinator. Forgive me if I feel like he is a bit under-qualified to do the following:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>As the primary administrator for the football program, Hill manages day-to-day operations, coordinates budgetary responsibilities, assists the coaching and support staffs, and functions as the liaison between the program and the rest of the UK athletics department.</p>
<p><span>In addition, Hill oversees the internal operations of the UK athletics department, including business and accounting, human resources, event and facility operations, capital projects, sports turf, sport equipment operations and strength and conditioning departments. With these internal operations responsibilities comes the oversight of the UK Soccer/Softball Stadium Projects at $15 million, the UK Golf House construction project at 2 million, the $125 Million Football Stadium Renovation and the Football Training Center construction at $45 million.</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Okay, let me get this straight. Hill oversees the entire strength program, HR (hiring and firing), and $187 million in athletics construction projects, among other tasks. Seriously, that is a whole lot of responsibility for a man who as of five years ago had <i>zero</i> administrative experience.</p>
<p>No wonder they struggle to succeed at football.</p>
<p>Also, did you notice that he is both the overseer of the day-to-day operations of the football program, the liaison between the football program and the athletic department, <i>and</i> the overseer of a half-dozen facets of the athletics department that each encompass all sports including football? That starts to look like a guy who is basically liaison to <i>himself</i>.</p>
<p><span></span>And it gets even better, as a matter of fact. Army - the independent team that has to schedule 12 out-of-conference games every fall - has only announced nine scheduled games for the 2016 season. This means that it is not simply that Ohio State did not undercut Kentucky for a chance to schedule the Black Knights as a replacement game.</p>
<p><i style="font-weight: bold;">Nobody</i> did.</p>
<p>Army still has three completely open dates for Kentucky to step in and claim for themselves.</p>
<p>Army even has September 24th wide open, which would allow Kentucky to retain their mid-October bye week that they cherish while allowing Army to have a bye around the same time.</p>
<p>That article from before goes on to say that "scheduling is a complicated dance in general, but it's been made more complicated by the emergence of the Power Five conferences." It also is made more complicated whenever you can't get out of your own damn way. Though it doesn't take much effort to find a logical candidate or three.</p>
<blockquote lang="en" class="twitter-tweet">
<p>Both <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WVU?src=hash">#WVU</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Herd?src=hash">#Herd</a> have indicated a desire to play <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UK?src=hash">#UK</a> in football -- slot opens in '16, after news <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UAB?src=hash">#UAB</a> is dropping its program. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MHL?src=hash">#MHL</a></p>
— Dave Weekley (@weekley) <a href="https://twitter.com/weekley/status/539886403266818049">December 2, 2014</a>
</blockquote>
https://www.underdogdynasty.com/2015/4/5/8203633/replacing-uab-kentucky-has-no-idea-what-to-do-nextgeeves2015-04-04T07:00:02-04:002015-04-04T07:00:02-04:00Troy Takes the Easy Route to Replacing UAB
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<figcaption>Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The Troy Trojans were slated to face the UAB Blazers in 2015 and 2016, but the football gods had other plans. Subbing in for the Blazers on Troy's schedule are Southern Miss and Charleston Southern. How do you spell E-A-S-I-E-R?</p> <p>What's that old saying? That a team's misery (and destruction) is a head-coach-who-has-the-unenviable-task-of-<a href="http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2014/11/27/7299025/looking-back-at-the-larry-blakeney-era-at-troy-trojans-college-football-sun-belt" target="_blank">replacing-a-legend</a>'s gift?</p>
<p>The Troy Trojans were slated to battle the UAB Blazers in 2015 and 2016 but instead - after the latter program's... demise (#FreeUAB!) - gets dates against Charleston Southern and Southern Miss. Trojans are said to be great warriors, but that doesn't mean that they can't pick and choose their battles, right?</p>
<p>What do replacing UAB with Charleston Southern and Southern Miss mean for Troy? TL;DR two more probable wins over two seasons. For the long story, read on.</p>
<h3><b>From UAB to the FCS</b></h3>
<p>The Charleston Southern Buccaneers are an FCS football team. Not only that, but they are a bad FCS football team. In a nutshell, that's the #hottake on how replacing UAB with CSU makes life easier for Troy and head coach Neal Brown. That says that you look at the Buccaneers' big, fat 77-151 all-time record and dismiss them. It says that you scoff at their lone Big South Conference championship because it 1) came during a 7-4 season and 2) the sun will shine on every team at least once in a blue moon.</p>
<p>Critics of this #hottake will single out the 2007 Appalachian State Mountaineers, but you'll counter that they are singling out one game. (You'll point out that while Troy isn't 2007 Michigan, Charleston Southern likely isn't 2007 App State.) You'll then discuss every other game that an FCS team plays against an FBS team, as well as Charleston Southern's not-so-glorious history against Division I opponents: 15 games is a small sample, sure, but it's still bigger than just "2007 App State."</p>
<p>There are reasons for concern if you're Troy. While buccaneers typically travel by sea, this bunch excelled on the ground: in the FCS, Charleston Southern ranked No. 16 in rushing offense and No. 29 against the run. Pair that with an excellent time of possession and a good turnover margin, and the recipe is simple for CSU—you run to win the game.</p>
<p>Of course, you might have to sustain Troy's best shot in the process. The team didn't excel in 2014 but it did have some bright spots. Quarterback Brandon Silvers will be a sophomore in 2015 and should build on a solid finish to last season—he'll rely on a solid rushing offense to help offset what was a futile passing attack.</p>
<p>But mostly, <i>Underdog Dynasty </i><a href="http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2015/2/16/8034419/sun-belt-stock-exchange" target="_blank">is buying Troy stock</a> and I'll double down on that prediction. Not only that, but the Trojans play in the Sun Belt Conference. They're used to excellent rushing offenses by now.</p>
<h3><b>From UAB to the FBS</b></h3>
<p>Similarly, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/southern-miss-golden-eagles">Southern Miss Golden Eagles</a> are an FBS team but also a bad one—oh, that's not coming from me. I enlisted the help of our own resident Southern Miss expert Patrick McGee and he described the Golden Eagles as "a below average team struggling to get wins."</p>
<p>Where McGee sees a program that won three times as many games in 2014 as it did in the previous two seasons combined, I see one that still only won three games. (That's as many games as Troy itself won in 2014, granted.) Southern Miss won three games mostly on the strength of Nick Mullens' arm, as the passing offense is just about the only statistic of note where the team ranked above average (i.e. at No. 34). With the addition of TCU transfer <span>Tyler Matthews</span>, any hope the Golden Eagles have at soaring high in the sky will come with the pass.</p>
<p>Unfortunately for Southern Miss, one area where Troy did secretly excel came in defending the pass. The UAB Blazers, meanwhile, were better on the ground than by air and would have been better positioned to attack the Trojans, who couldn't have done worse against the run in 2014 even if they had tried.</p>
<p>"Historically Southern Miss has had a much better football product than UAB, although that hasn't been the case in recent years." But ever the optimist, McGee explains to me that Southern Miss might be a better team than UAB by the time this series starts in 2016.</p>
<p>A year is both long and short, and Troy and Southern Miss (and UAB, were it to be reborn again) can and will change before 2016. But what can't change is that in 2014, the Blazers proved they were a better team and beat the Golden Eagles 45-24 in Hattiesburg.</p>
<p>You know what they say, right? You can't argue with #facts.</p>
https://www.underdogdynasty.com/2015/4/4/8212309/replacing-uab-the-easier-life-of-troyAmanmusthaveacode2015-04-03T07:00:02-04:002015-04-03T07:00:02-04:00Replacing UAB: From Blazers to #MACTION
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<figcaption>Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The death of the UAB program left several teams in need of replacement opponents. A couple of very different schools have opted for some last-minute #MACTION.</p> <p>We've already talked here about how the death of the UAB program has repercussions beyond Birmingham, and how a handful of teams that scheduled the Blazers out of conference have been scrambling to find replacements. Two very, very different schools-- Tennessee and Georgia State-- have both elected to turn to the MAC to fill the Blazer-sized holes in their schedules in 2015.</p>
<p>Tennessee's a team that's going to get a ton of hype before the season kicks off. The Volunteers were remarkably young in 2014, and limped out to a 3-5 start before winning four of their last five games, capping the season off with a 45-28 trouncing of Iowa that wasn't even as close as the final score would indicate.</p>
<p>They'll return a ludicrous amount of weapons on offense-- quarterback Josh Dobbs, who took over midway through the season and accounted for 17 total touchdowns, was a sophomore, and halfback <span>Jalen Hurd</span>, who finished with well over 1,000 total yards, was a freshman. Even more impressive: of the Vols' top ten (!!) pass-catchers in 2014, there wasn't a single senior in the bunch. Combine that with a defense that finished an impressive 24th in defensive S&P+ and a not-exactly-imposing SEC East, and you're looking at 2015's preseason media darling.</p>
<p>The Vols were all set to kick off their much-anticipated 2015 season with UAB, which really would've been a game worth watching. Tennessee could've tested their skills against a quality mid-major opponent, while the Blazers would've had a chance to further validate their breakout 2014 campaign with a game against one of the sports' blue bloods. Alas, it wasn't meant to me, and the Vols reached an agreement to open their season with a neutral-site game (if only by definition-- it's being played at LP Field in Nashville) against Bowling Green.</p>
<p>On paper, Bowling Green's about as good a replacement as Tennessee could've hoped for. The Falcons, of course, are a traditionally solid mid-major-- they've gone bowling three straight seasons now, and made two consecutive appearances in the MAC Championship game. 2014 wasn't quite as exciting as the past few years for BGSU fans, but the Falcons still managed to go 8-6 and end the season with a nice win over South Alabama in the Camellia Bowl.</p>
<p>They made a bit of a habit of feasting on weak competition, though, with no regular season wins over bowl teams and a pretty mediocre finish in F/+ at 98th (UAB, for contrast, finished 79th). Much of Bowling Green's success in 2015 will be determined by whether or not they can fix a defense that surrendered 33.5 points per game, but the Falcons are far from a pushover and return an impressive passing attack led by either <span>Matt Johnson</span> or <span>James Knapke</span>, who passed for over 3,000 yards last season.</p>
<p>The 2014 edition of BGSU wasn't quite on the Blazers' level, but they're a more than adequate replacement on the Vols' schedule, and are certainly explosive enough to give the still-maturing SEC squad some trouble. If the Vols don't bring their A-game against the Falcons they'll still likely escape with a win, but they'll have to shore up their issues quickly-- Oklahoma visits Knoxville the next week in a game that's sure to draw the nation's attention.</p>
<p>Georgia State, meanwhile, has still yet to score a victory over an FBS team in their two seasons at the FBS level. They went 1-11 in 2014, which was actually an improvement from 2013's 0-12 record. Progress is progress, right?</p>
<p>The Panthers likely expected a game against the Blazers to be winnable, as UAB hadn't been bowling in ten years before the program's untimely demise. Amusingly enough, the Blazers probably would've outclassed GSU in 2015 (the Panthers finished 122nd in F/+, which, yikes), but instead have been replaced on the Panthers' schedule by a traditionally strong mid-major program that's fallen upon tough times-- Ball State.</p>
<p>Expectations were high for the Cardinals after they won a remarkable 19 games in two years before the 2014 season. Ball State struggled all over the field, however-- they finished in triple digits in both offensive and defensive S&P+-- and ended up 5-7, missing out on bowl eligibility for the first time since 2010.</p>
<p>The Cardinals will likely be at least mildly improved in 2015, but the Panthers should probably be happy with how the swap turned out for them. One win in two seasons, even for a program in its infancy, is not a good sign for GSU head coach Trent Miles, and he'll likely need to show some degree of progress in 2015 to keep the Panther faithful happy. As ludicrous as the idea might've seemed a few seasons ago, replacing UAB with Ball State should provide GSU with one more winnable game, which is invaluable for such a young team.</p>
https://www.underdogdynasty.com/2015/4/3/8203581/replacing-uab-whos-tougher-the-blazers-or-the-macTGG20122015-04-02T07:00:01-04:002015-04-02T07:00:01-04:00Replacing UAB: With Someone Tougher
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<img alt="Cody Clements will suit up for South Alabama in 2015. " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/VfIVxI5lg-FBJgLYV1kjDBuhAas=/0x42:3370x2289/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45827084/usa-today-8220782.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Cody Clements will suit up for South Alabama in 2015. | Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Taking a look at how the Blazers' absence is affecting those they intended to play in the future.</p> <p></p>
<p>UAB dropping football had a huge impact on many lives. Outside of Birmingham, the decision by Ray Watts and Co. had an effect on another university inside the state. South Alabama had UAB on the schedule and had to scramble to find a replacement.</p>
<p>The Jaguars not only had to schedule a tougher opponent in San Diego State, they have to travel to San Diego a week after visiting Lincoln, NE to take on the Cornhuskers. On top of that, N.C. State invades South Alabama a week later; so the Jags have three really tough games in a row.</p>
<p>Oh, what could have been!</p>
<p>USA had three straight games scheduled inside the state early in the season. They had UAB, then N.C. State in Mobile, then a short trip to Troy. Those three games were followed by a bye week, giving them extra time to prepare for a home game against Arkansas State.</p>
<p>Now USA has to play three teams from larger conferences that finished 2014 with a record of 24-15 combined. SDSU finished 7-6 after a one-point Poinsettia Bowl loss to Navy, but they did win 5 of their last 8 and their other two losses in that stretch were on the road against Boise and Fresno.</p>
<p>The Aztecs lose only 8 senior starters from their 2014 team (4 on offense, 4 on defense) so they are certainly on an upward trend. Not only does South Alabama have to travel halfway across the country instead of playing in their own state, now they have a much tougher challenge against SDSU.</p>
<p>Did I mention they play at Nebraska the week before?</p>
<p>USA has seven UAB transfers on their team, including <span>Cody Clements</span> and <span>D.J. Vinson</span>; so the Jags do benefit somewhat from UAB's demise. UAB coaches <span>Richard Jones</span> and Bryant Vincent also joined the South Alabama staff, so the Jaguars will have even more of a UAB flair in 2015.</p>
<p>South Alabama <a target="_blank" href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2015/2/18/8041847/south-alabama-football-2015-preview-schedule-roster">has six games at home in 2015</a> and they had two more in-state games against UAB and Troy. Now instead of playing just four out of state games, they have five - and SDSU is over 1,900 miles away.</p>
<p>The Jaguars had a great chance to get off to a good start and they have a few winnable games in the middle of their schedule. The problem is, USA finishes the season at Georgia Southern and at home against Appalachian State. If they lose to all three of N.C. State, SDSU, and Nebraska, those last two games could be a tough road to get to seven wins. Arkansas State and ULL are two tough games in the middle of USA's schedule, but they are both played in Mobile.</p>
<p>UAB giveth with the seven players and the two coaches, but UAB taketh as far as the schedule goes. 2015 was setting up for South Alabama to have a pretty nice year, but it became a little more difficult after UAB dropped football.</p>
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https://www.underdogdynasty.com/2015/4/2/8157991/south-alabama-faces-a-tougher-road-in-2015Jason Jones SBN2015-04-01T19:00:02-04:002015-04-01T19:00:02-04:00How Do You Manage to Replace UAB?
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/NVZ3mW5uWmlU7uQu_f495Zz7nks=/0x0:3022x2015/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45924662/usa-today-7570418.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Not everyone does it the same way, but everyone certainly has their own way.</p> <p>So you may or may not know that the UAB Blazers aren't fielding a football team for 2015. The university board of trustees and president Ray Watts decided to close the program, and I'm not going to rehash it all here. That's what this is for.</p>
<p>However, one thing we wanted to do is take a look at the ripple effect that has created within the larger football community. Specifically, how it has affected the teams that had UAB scheduled as a non-conference opponent over the next two seasons. Specifically, we'll see:</p>
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</p>
<ul>
<li><span>Whether South Alabama has it better now that they face San Diego State in 2015</span></li>
<li><span>Whether Troy has it easier now that they face Charleston Southern and Southern Miss in 2015 and 2016</span></li>
<li><span>Whether Tennessee and Georgia State have it better now that they face Bowling Green and Ball State, respectively</span></li>
<li><span>Whether Kentucky will have it easer or harder with their new scheduled opponent</span></li>
</ul>
<p>Lastly, to round out the series, we'll go a different direction and talk about the possibility of replacing UAB with another team as your primary rooting interest within the college football landscape. This will all serve as a chance to keep #FreeUAB fresh and as an ongoing discussion as a lead-up to next weekend's spring alumni flag football game, which we will be covering live and in person.</p>
<p>Stay tuned each morning for these posts, and feel free to chime into the discussion about these or any other UAB related topics as they come up over the next few weeks.</p>
https://www.underdogdynasty.com/2015/4/1/8240497/examining-how-various-teams-fill-the-void-created-by-freeuab-footballgeeves