It seems the only way the UAB football team can be stopped is by tripping over its own two feet. An elite defensive unit and brutalizing rushing attack are simply not enough to overcome miscues, errors and, namely, giveaways to the other team.

The Blazers look to shrug off their turnover concerns as they finish off a two-game conference road swing against FAU, Saturday, Oct. 29, at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida.

Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.

UAB is coming off another heartbreak road loss, giving up four turnovers and allowing a 13-point rally in the second half of its 20-17 loss at Western Kentucky.

“Obviously a tough, disappointing road loss,” UAB interim head coach Bryant Vincent said. “We took the lead early, overcame some adversity losing our quarterback, and continued to play hard. The bottom line is, we’ve just got to go on the road, and we’ve got to win a game on the road. That falls on me. We’ve got a challenge to go on the road and win a conference game and get back on track and that’s our goal and our mission going forward.”

In three losses this season, all on the road, the Blazers have turned the ball over 10 times but were able to put themselves in a position to win the game in the final moments. A total of 14 points separates UAB from a perfect 7-0 record this season and the primary issue afflicting a deep and experienced team is a minus-7 turnover margin in road games.

“I wish I had the answer,” Vincent said. “That falls on me. Our kids are preparing, they’re fighting their tails off, they’re playing extremely hard, and they’re playing for each other. I accept full responsibility as the head coach.”

“We’ve worked on that week-in and week-out,” he added. “It comes down to execution in critical moments. It comes down to ball security and protecting the football on the road. At the end of the day, it falls on me. That’s something I’m going to get fixed; we’re going to work hard to get fixed. Our focus this Saturday is to overcome it at FAU.”

Senior safety Will Boler, who helps lead a defense ranked second in pass efficiency defense (98.5), eighth in passing yards allowed (169.3 ypg) and 21st in total defense (323.9 ypg), is not deterred by a 2-2 start in conference action. A member of the 2019 west division title team, Boler remembers the adversity facing the Blazers after falling to 3-2 and needing to win its final three league games to clinch a second straight division championship.

“We have to stay positive and keep doing what we’ve been doing,” Boler said. “I trust this team and I trust Coach (Bryant) Vincent. He has a plan and we have to stick behind it. Like in years past, we’ve been in this situation before. We already know what it’s going to be like. We’ve just got to be smarter and play harder the rest of the way.”

Coincidently enough, UAB’s best player on offense has produced the majority of road woes for a unit ranked seventh nationally in rushing offense (242.3 ypg). DeWayne McBride is the nation’s leader in yards per game (162.5), ranking third in total rushing yards (975) and the NCAA active career leader in yards per game (111.4) and yards per carry (7.1), but has given up four fumbles this season, the latter two resulting in 14 points in the loss at Western Kentucky.

“I’m proud of his effort, his focus and his commitment to this team,” Vincent said. “He runs extremely hard; he gives everything he’s got. Being the team player he is, he takes it personally, he takes it to heart. You’ve got to learn from your mistakes and you’ve got to move forward. We’ve got to put one foot in front of the other, we’ve got to continue to focus on ball security. Plain and simple. His confidence is fine, this team is behind him and this staff is behind him.”

If turnover issues haven’t been enough, UAB could be playing with its backup quarterback at FAU. Dylan Hopkins was injured during the first quarter in the loss at Western Kentucky and did not return to the game. Vincent is being precautious with the junior quarterback, announcing his status as day-to-day.

Former Baylor transfer Jacob Zeno will receive his first start of the season if Hopkins is unable to give it a go and the player that caught Zeno’s second touchdown pass of the year, a corner end zone shot to Fred Farrier II against the Hilltoppers, is confident in either signal-caller calling the shots on the field.

For the season, Zeno has appeared in five games and is 9-of-22 passing for 96 yards and two touchdowns and two interceptions.

“Personally, it doesn’t affect me,” Farrier said. “I feel like Coach (Bryant) Vincent does a good job, especially during the spring and summer camps, with rotating the quarterbacks. Jacob Zeno got a lot of reps with the starters and, especially in the spring when Dylan was hurt, (Zeno) was taking all the reps. When he came into the game, it felt like practice. I get a lot of reps with him every day, it didn’t feel any different.”

Despite whoever takes the snaps or handoffs, ball security is of the utmost importance as the Blazers seek their first road win of the season.

“If you go back and analyze all the losses, we just keep making costly mistakes,” Farrier said. “As long as we scale back on those, come back to work and keep a good mentality, we’ll be good.”