UAB Travels To Miami To Take On 'Canes

CORAL GABLES, FL — Thursday night, a national television audience will get to tune in to see UAB battle the University of Miami in a "Power 5 vs. Group of 5" match-up. While it might seem like an insignificant non-conference game for some fans, the game could be more meaningful than the casual fan thinks.

One of the common complaints about the College Football Playoff is that schools not in the "Power 5" conferences (like UAB) do not have a shot at playing for a national title. But with two Power 5 conferences not participating in the playoff format this season, and with 2020 already becoming one of the most unusual years in recent memory, could a school like UAB compete for a national championship?

A win over a team like the ACC's Miami Hurricanes could make a statement toward considering that possibility, not just for UAB, but for all of the Group of 5 schools. With most conferences opting not to play any out-of-conference games in 2020, this is a rare opportunity for UAB to play a Power 5 school this season.

UAB coach Bill Clark said he is looking at Miami's strength and depth as a challenge, but sees the game as an opportunity to notch a quality win under the team's belt.

"This is the next evolution in our program," Clark said during his weekly news conference Tuesday. "We just have to get better. We just have to keep getting better. I know they probably feel the same way. They were, by their standards, disappointed in last year. Any time you have a chip on your shoulder as an athlete or a coach, you're going to be better. That's what we have to be. We feel like we have something to prove as well, especially on a national stage. When you hear the name Miami, that does get our guys attention and gets them excited. Every bit of our standard is about each game being important. It's also the conference. Everything we put in is to be conference champions. I do think, just from notoriety and recognition, that is the next step we want to take. For us, every one of our players said, when I asked why this game is important, 'Well, it's the next game.' Every game is important. Every game is big. Obviously, the name recognition is a big deal."

A signature win has been somewhat elusive for Clark during his tenure at UAB, but the Blazers have had some opportunities slip away against some big-time foes.

"We go in to win every game," Clark said. "When you go back to Texas A&M, we were playing really well going into that game. We went in with every intention to win. We fumbled the opening kickoff and they scooped and scored. We played and we were in it until they very end. At Tennessee, we played great defensively and we turned it over offensively. You can't turn it over, I don't care who it is."

UAB is coming off a season-opening 45-35 victory over Central Arkansas in which the Blazers set a Conference USA record with their 19th-consecutive home victory. This is Miami's first game of the season and its only non-conference game of the year.

Kickoff at Hard Rock Stadium is set for 7 p.m. on the ACC Network.