Oct. 20, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB football team returned to its own practice field Tuesday morning for its first workout of the week leading up to Saturday's Conference USA matchup at Marshall.

It had been more than a week since the team held a practice at the on-campus facility. Heavy rains moved the Blazers to Legion Field for last week's practices before the Ole Miss game.

"It wasn't as good as it needed to be," UAB head coach Neil Callaway said. "We're trying to get honed in on Marshall, and we need to practice better tomorrow. But it is good to be back on the practice field."

UAB worked out in helmets and shoulder pads in cooler weather than it has experienced so far this season. Temperatures were in the 40s when the Blazers took the field before 8 a.m. and rose near 60 by the end of the session.

The Blazers will look to continue their success in conference play when they visit Marshall for a Noon ET (11 a.m. CT) kickoff on Saturday. UAB is 2-1 in league play with its only loss coming in a close 35-33 defeat to SMU in a game in which the Blazers had an opportunity to tie the score in the closing seconds.

Marshall presents the first road test in conference play for UAB, which opened league action with three home games against Rice, SMU and Southern Miss.

"We just have to play hard, do our job and not make mistakes," Callaway said. "Marshall has a very good football team, a very physical running football team, and they are physical on defense up front. We have to get ready."

Saturday's game will be televised by CSS. The game will also be carried on the Blazers ISP Sports Network and can be heard in the Birmingham area on flagship station WUHT-FM 107.7 with David Crane (play-by-play) and Jake Arians (color) on the call. The pregame show will begin 90 minutes prior to kickoff.