The 1-6 UAB Blazers are looking to tally a win for the first time since August 29th this Saturday, as the 3-5 Tulsa Golden Hurricanes come to Birmingham for their eighth annual Children’s Harbor Homecoming game.

The Blazers will be well-rested and coming off their second bye week. Last time out, the Blazers lost 35-25 to South Florida following a late-game implosion, during which they gave up a two-score lead.

Tulsa, however, fought back from a 28-point deficit to UTSA last weekend and won a 46-45 thriller with a last-minute touchdown.

The two teams last met in September of 2012, where Tulsa won 49-42.

Here’s the report on the Golden Hurricanes:

The Team

Like UAB, Tulsa fans have been treated to a massively disappointing season so far.

They’ve won two more games than the Blazers, while playing a considerably less difficult schedule. Their wins have come against Northwestern State and Louisiana Tech, along with the comeback win against UTSA.

The only team they’ve each faced is the Army Black Knights, Tulsa lost by 42 points at home, an even worse blowout than the 34-point loss the Blazers suffered at West Point earlier this month.

While it’s no shocker for any offense to be shut down against Army, Tulsa’s hasn’t consistently produced against any level of competition this season.

They rank almost exactly in the middle of the FBS in most offensive statistics, with 224 passing yards (74th best), 154 rushing yards (72nd best) and 25.2 points per game (88th best). It’s been a mediocre offense at best, but quarterback changes due to injury seemed to open their playbook up last week in the comeback.

Where the Blazers will need to excel on defense is not just in keeping them out of the end zone, but out of the red zone altogether, as Tulsa has posted a .900 scoring percentage once inside the 20-yard line.

On defense, Tulsa ranks in the bottom 15 in terms of total yards allowed, letting opposing offenses gain an average of almost 440 yards per game.

Their run defense is, like their run offense, very average. It ranks 68th in the nation, gaining 144.4 yards a game on the ground.

What drags their total ranking down is that their pass defense ranks third worst in the entire nation, only ahead of Ball State and Texas Tech.

The Coach

After six seasons as the offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at Ohio State, Kevin Wilson took over as head coach of Tulsa last season and, like Trent Dilfer, went 4-8 in his inaugural season.

It remains to be seen just how competitive Wilson can get the Golden Hurricanes in the American Athletic, let alone on a national scale.

After a promising first season in which Tulsa ranked highly in many offensive categories, Steve Spurrier Jr.’s offense has taken a downward trajectory, especially in the run game, where they excelled in 2023.

Leading the defense is Chris Polizzi, who had Tulsa’s defense ranked seventh nationally in fumble recoveries and 33rd in total turnovers gained in 2023.

Players to Watch

Stepping in due to injury last week was quarterback Cooper Legas. After two seasons starting at Utah State, the senior decided to finish his college career in Tulsa. He had to wait until over half of the season had gone by, but he showed the benefits of his experience last week against UTSA.

He completed 16 out of his 31 pass attempts for 333 yards and five touchdowns last week, adding 46 yards on the ground.

Tulsa’s backfield is led by sixth-year senior Anthony Watkins, who’s rushed for 281 yards and three touchdowns, but is complemented by three other rushers who have gone for over 200 yards in Jackson Bill (268 yards), Lloyd Avant (202 yards) and Legas, who’s gained a total of 204 yards on quarterback options and scrambles this season.

On the defensive side of the ball, keep an eye on inside linebacker Gavin Potter, who leads the team in tackling, and has 8 tackles for loss and a sack on the season.

The game will start at 1:30 p.m. Central Time on Saturday and will air live on ESPN+.