Perusing the statistics doesn't take up much time in a typical day for UAB football coach Watson Brown.
That may explain why Brown foresees the SMU passing attack challenging his defense when the Mustangs visit Legion Field for a Conference USA game Saturday night.
The conference stats suggest that SMU (1-4 overall, 0-2 C-USA) has struggled throwing the ball in the first five games of the season. SMU quarterbacks have completed 61 passes in 135 attempts - a 45.2 percent completion average - and average 146.2 passing yards gained per game. The passing game numbers are worse than every C-USA team except Rice, which largely ignores the pass in its option offense, and ranks 107th in the nation.
Making matters worse for SMU for Saturday's 6 p.m. game is that backup quarterback Tony Eckert, who shared time with Jerad Romo the first five games, is out with a broken collarbone. Sophomore Chris Phillips and true freshman Justin Willis enter the mix because SMU head coach Phil Bennett said "we have to be ready to play a couple of quarterbacks."
Romo, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound senior, threw for a career-high 243 yards in a 66-8 loss to Texas A&M. But his overall numbers - 46-of-93 for 562 yards with three touchdowns and one interception - place him outside the top 10 in the 12-team C-USA.
So where's the challenge?
"It's the first team that's going to spread us out all over the field," Brown said. "I'm anxious to see that."
SMU does spread the field - at times lining up with four receivers - even though the Mustangs have more rushing attempts (179) than passes (135). Brown still gets nervous when he sees an opposing offense in the spread formation.
The anxiety comes from the struggles of a year ago. Spread offenses usually produced career numbers against the UAB secondary last season. UAB ranked 111th in the country in pass defense at year's end. Improving on that began immediately after Hawaii's Timmy Chang threw for 405 yards and four touchdowns in the Hawaii Bowl.
"We prepared for it all of spring and all of two-a-days," Brown said. "This is the first true test of one of those spread-it-out teams. From here on, we're going to play a bunch of them. I'm anxious to see how much better we are."
Bennett thinks his team can challenge a secondary. Wide receiver Bobby Chase averages 19.8 yards per catch and his two touchdowns include a 67-yard reception against Texas A&M.
"We are more capable of making the big play than at any other time I have been here," Bennett said. "We can stretch the field, but our guys have to catch those intermediate passes first."
UAB (3-1, 1-0) is allowing 198.9 passing yards per game, which ranks 41st in the country and fifth in C-USA. The Blazers have 10 interceptions, which is one fewer than national leader Louisiana-Monroe and one more than UAB managed all last season.
The Blazers now begin a stretch against offenses fueled by the pass. Take away Memphis - which features running back DeAngelo Williams even if the top two quarterbacks weren't out with broken legs - and the remainder of the schedule after Saturday is filled with effective passing teams.
"Our mindset kind of shifts on defense," said cornerback Carlos Hendricks. "Now we get to see the first real true passing team. We all know last year that our nemesis was pass defense. We got to show up because the last thing anybody remembers about the secondary is bad. We got to come out and respond well."
That may explain why Brown foresees the SMU passing attack challenging his defense when the Mustangs visit Legion Field for a Conference USA game Saturday night.
The conference stats suggest that SMU (1-4 overall, 0-2 C-USA) has struggled throwing the ball in the first five games of the season. SMU quarterbacks have completed 61 passes in 135 attempts - a 45.2 percent completion average - and average 146.2 passing yards gained per game. The passing game numbers are worse than every C-USA team except Rice, which largely ignores the pass in its option offense, and ranks 107th in the nation.
Making matters worse for SMU for Saturday's 6 p.m. game is that backup quarterback Tony Eckert, who shared time with Jerad Romo the first five games, is out with a broken collarbone. Sophomore Chris Phillips and true freshman Justin Willis enter the mix because SMU head coach Phil Bennett said "we have to be ready to play a couple of quarterbacks."
Romo, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound senior, threw for a career-high 243 yards in a 66-8 loss to Texas A&M. But his overall numbers - 46-of-93 for 562 yards with three touchdowns and one interception - place him outside the top 10 in the 12-team C-USA.
So where's the challenge?
"It's the first team that's going to spread us out all over the field," Brown said. "I'm anxious to see that."
SMU does spread the field - at times lining up with four receivers - even though the Mustangs have more rushing attempts (179) than passes (135). Brown still gets nervous when he sees an opposing offense in the spread formation.
The anxiety comes from the struggles of a year ago. Spread offenses usually produced career numbers against the UAB secondary last season. UAB ranked 111th in the country in pass defense at year's end. Improving on that began immediately after Hawaii's Timmy Chang threw for 405 yards and four touchdowns in the Hawaii Bowl.
"We prepared for it all of spring and all of two-a-days," Brown said. "This is the first true test of one of those spread-it-out teams. From here on, we're going to play a bunch of them. I'm anxious to see how much better we are."
Bennett thinks his team can challenge a secondary. Wide receiver Bobby Chase averages 19.8 yards per catch and his two touchdowns include a 67-yard reception against Texas A&M.
"We are more capable of making the big play than at any other time I have been here," Bennett said. "We can stretch the field, but our guys have to catch those intermediate passes first."
UAB (3-1, 1-0) is allowing 198.9 passing yards per game, which ranks 41st in the country and fifth in C-USA. The Blazers have 10 interceptions, which is one fewer than national leader Louisiana-Monroe and one more than UAB managed all last season.
The Blazers now begin a stretch against offenses fueled by the pass. Take away Memphis - which features running back DeAngelo Williams even if the top two quarterbacks weren't out with broken legs - and the remainder of the schedule after Saturday is filled with effective passing teams.
"Our mindset kind of shifts on defense," said cornerback Carlos Hendricks. "Now we get to see the first real true passing team. We all know last year that our nemesis was pass defense. We got to show up because the last thing anybody remembers about the secondary is bad. We got to come out and respond well."
