Oct. 6, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- UAB head football coach Neil Callaway held his weekly press conference Monday as the Blazers prepare for their second consecutive Thursday night game.

UAB heads to the road this week for a Conference USA contest at Houston. The Blazers and Cougars are set for a 7 p.m. CT kickoff Thursday at Robertson Stadium in a contest that will be televised by CBS College Sports.

At Monday's press conference, Callaway looked ahead to the Houston game and recapped last week's narrow 33-30 loss to Memphis.

"If you saw the ball game, we played a hard-fought game that we ended up losing at the end," Callaway said. "It was a game that we had a chance to win, but, through the mistakes we made, we were unable to win."

The Blazers (1-5, 0-2 C-USA) will look to build on the positives from their loss to Memphis. UAB rolled up 455 yards of total offense, and quarterback Joe Webb rushed for three touchdowns. Webb's final scoring run tied the game at 30-30 before a Memphis field goal won it for the Tigers.

Houston (2-3, 1-0 C-USA) is coming off an open date. In their most recent contest on Sept. 27, the Cougars defeated then-No. 23 East Carolina, 41-24.

"It's a game that we have to make sure we are ready to play," Callaway said. "Houston got off to a slow start. Of course, everyone knows they had to go through the hurricane and the problems they've had. But they certainly played a heck of a ball game against East Carolina last week."

UAB and Houston have met six times, with the Blazers holding a 4-2 edge in the all-time series. The Cougars won last season's meeting with a 49-10 victory in Birmingham.

Thursday's game will be carried on the Blazers ISP Sports Network. It can be heard locally on WWMM 100.5 FM radio in Birmingham.

Head Coach Neil Callaway

On the Memphis game
"If you saw the ball game, we played a hard-fought game that we ended up losing at the end. It was a game that we had a chance to win, but, through the mistakes we made, we were unable to win. It's like I told the team yesterday, `You can say we should have won if we did this or that. But this a bottom line business, and you either win or lose.' We lost Thursday night because of the mistakes we made. It's my fault for allowing it to go on. I do think the guys competed hard against Memphis. We just have to play smarter and continue to play with passion and enthusiasm."

On Houston
"I think Houston is very good football team. They have team speed on both sides of the ball and two excellent quarterbacks. Kevin Sumlin is the new head coach there. He came from Oklahoma. Their offense is very similar to Oklahoma's. They do a good job of mixing the run and the pass. Their two quarterbacks can throw the ball extremely well. They're a team, I think, that doesn't like to run the quarterback. But they run when they need to. Primarily, they'll be throwing the ball and handing it off. Their speed at receiver is outstanding. They have some guys that can run.

"Defensively, I've been impressed with the defensive end, No. 53. He's an outstanding pass rusher and one of the better ones we will play against. I've been impressed at the speed of their linebackers. It's a game we have to make sure we are ready to play. Houston got off to a slow start. Of course, everyone knows they had to go through the hurricane and the problems they've had. But they certainly played a heck of a ball game against East Carolina last week."

On the defensive performance versus Memphis
"We came in and started fast. I thought we played well. We had some match-up problems with that big receiver. He made some good plays. We tried to adjust to that situation and probably made ourselves more vulnerable on the run. It was a hard-fought ball game. They didn't make the mistakes that we made, and they won the ball game."

On correcting the mistakes
"We killed ourselves on foolish penalties. We have addressed that. I don't foresee us having any more problems with that. If it happens again, there will be some consequences. We are not going to allow that to go on. We want to have class when we play."

On the players bouncing back
"I've learned over the years that the players are a lot more resilient than the coaches. They forgive and forget quicker than we do. But, then again, we have to learn to win. We had a chance to win the other night and didn't do it. We have to learn how important the little things are and focus on doing things the right way."

On the two fumbles by quarterback Joe Webb
"That's something we have worked hard on all year. On the first one, I thought he was being careless. He was pressing and trying to make something happen. The second one was clearly a case of getting caught from behind and not having the ball put up properly. That's something we have worked hard on from day one. We just have to continue to do that."

WR Mark Ferrell

On Houston's defense
"I know they are pretty solid on defense. They have a good defensive line. No. 53 is a good player and a good pass rusher. Our guards are going to have to try to contain them."

On playing back-to-back Thursday night games
"It doesn't really bother me. The schedule is a little different in terms of doing things on different days now. But it doesn't really make a difference."

On the team working on finishing games
"I think we're getting better at finishing. Sometimes we play well in the first half and come out in the second half and not play as well. We need to continue to work on that. We need to keep the intensity up and keep playing throughout the whole game."

LB Joe Henderson

On getting over the Memphis loss and preparing for the game at Houston "It was a close loss. We made a lot of mistakes and had a lot of penalties. We have to go out and try to eliminate those penalties against Houston. Houston is a good football team on both sides of the ball. Their offense has a lot of speed. We have a good team, too. We have to go out and work this week and get ready to play."

On getting ready for Houston's offense
"They have a pretty good offense. They are something like Tulsa, but they have their own offensive scheme. Their quarterbacks can throw well, and if they get in trouble, they can scramble. We have to keep studying film and go out and work hard everyday in practice."

On the performance of the defense
"I talked to the defense before the Memphis game and told them that we need to go out there and turn this thing around. I think the guys responded well. The defense is improving week by week. We're facing a good offense this week, so we have to go out and prove something. We have to be ready to play for 60 minutes."