Why UAB coach Bill Clark likes facing Texas A&M at the end of the year
Group of 5 and FCS schools usually schedule their payment games at the beginning of the year, most likely to get a typically lopsided loss out of the way before beginning conference play.
UAB, however, is doing things a bit differently.
The Blazers travel to face Texas A&M on Saturday, and coach Bill Clark went on The Paul Finebaum Show to explain why he prefers facing a power conference opponent toward the end of the year.
UAB Head Coach Bill Clark on facing Texas A&M this Saturday. pic.twitter.com/dXxVLd9daS
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) November 13, 2018
“I said when we came in, I will play one money game a year,” said Clark, whose team is in position to win Conference USA. “And I like it at the end of the year. I think it gives our kids a little something to shoot for. We saw it a little bit yesterday at practice, just the excitement of our guys (for) the challenge. We’ve got a lot of Texas kids, and this is a big deal to them.”
UAB also gets to vie for an upset with a ton of momentum, having lost its only game in the second week of the season. Yet Clark clarified that the Blazers have a ton of respect for the Aggies, especially playing in College Station on Senior Night.
The Blazers pulled a similar move last season, in which they returned from a two-year hiatus, by scheduling a game at Florida in the second-to-last week of the season.
Texas A&M (6-4) hosts UAB (9-1) at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday.