FACTS & STATS: Site: Robertson Stadium (32,000) -- Houston, Texas. Television:CBSCS. Home Record: UAB 1-3, Houston 1-0. Away Record: UAB 0-3, Houston 1-2. Neutral Record: UAB 0-0, Houston 0-1. Conference Record: UAB 0-2, Houston 1-0. Series Record: UAB leads, 4-2.

GAME NOTES: The Houston Cougars will try to even their record this Thursday, as they entertain the UAB Blazers in a Conference USA showdown at Robertson Stadium. The Cougars were idle this past week, so they enter the game well rested for this key clash. Houston should also have plenty of confidence heading into this bout, as it upended then 23-ranked East Carolina, 41-24, in its most recent contest on September 27th. The win snapped an 18-game losing skid against ranked opponents and marked Houston's first victory over a Top 25 foe on the road since 1984. The triumph also put the breaks on a current three-game slide, as the Cougars improved to 2-3 overall. As for UAB, it was last in play exactly a week ago, when it suffered a heart-breaking 33-30 loss to Memphis. It was the second straight defeat suffered by the Blazers, who are now 0-2 within the league. Overall, UAB sits at just 1-5, with its lone win coming over a Football Championship Subdivision program in Alabama Sate. The Blazers do own a 4-2 edge in the head-to-head series with Houston, but the Cougars have taken two of the last three meetings.

The Blazers have lacked some consistency on the offensive side of the ball, but overall they have done a solid job in averaging 174.0 ypg on the ground and 212.5 ypg through the air thus far. Quarterback Joe Webb has carried this unit with both his arm and legs, as he tops the roster with 516 rushing yards and 1,275 passing. He has totaled 12 touchdowns (five rushing) through six games and is completing 56.9 percent of his tosses. Last week, Webb was brilliant once again, although it came in a 33-30 setback to Memphis. In that game, Webb completed 14-of-25 pass attempts for 235 yards and a score, in addition to rushing for 93 yards and three more touchdowns on 18 totes. Rashaud Slaughter added 92 yards on 13 carries for UAB, which posted 220 rushing yards as a team. UAB, for the second straight week, played without leading wide out Frantrell Forrest, who is nursing a knee injury. Forrest, listed as questionable for this game, not only paces the Blazers with 25 catches and 335 receiving yards in four contests, but he is also a big threat on the special teams, averaging a healthy 24.1 yards per kickoff return.

Slowing down opposing clubs has been an issue for the Blazers early on, as they are surrendering 461.3 total ypg and 33.0 ppg. The unit hasn't shown much fight versus the run (178.3 ypg) or pass (283.2 ypg) and is also allowing foes to convert 47.0 percent of the time on third down. Last week, Memphis totaled 436 yards, including 192 on the ground, in a 33-30 win over UAB. The defense let the team down at the end of the game as well, allowing Memphis to put together a nine-play, 72-yard drive that was capped by a game-winning field goal with just two seconds left to play. It was a tough finish for the Blazers, who had knotted the game at 30-30 with just over four minutes left to play before failing to stop Memphis and its offense. Chase Daniel paced UAB in defeat with 10 stops, while Will Dunbar had seven tackles and an interception. Joe Henderson added six stops and three TFLs and he leads the squad with 40 stops and 5.5 TFLs for the season.

The Cougars are one of the most explosive teams in C-USA and that is evident in their season averages of 37.2 ppg and 545.2 total ypg. The unit has had a majority of its success through the air, passing for a whopping 400.0 ypg. Quarterback Case Keenum is off to a tremendous start for Houston and he has completed 67.7 percent of his tosses for 1,925 yards, with 19 touchdowns against five picks. He is also a dual threat, rushing for 166 yards. In the squad's last outing, Keenum was on top of his game, as he converted 37-of-45 pass attempts for 401 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-24 upset of East Carolina. It was the sixth consecutive 300-yard passing effort by Keenum, who also had 23 rushing yards in the win. Patrick Edwards was his main target with 11 catches for 146 yards and a score, while Mark Hafner notched six receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown of his own. For the season, Hafner tops the roster with 36 catches and eight receiving touchdowns, while Edwards leads the way with 408 yards. In the backfield, freshman Bryce Beall broke through for 130 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries in the upset victory. It was the first career 100-yard rushing effort by Beall, who leads the team with 347 yards and three scores for the season.

Houston's defense hasn't been nearly as successful as its offense this season and the unit is currently allowing 28.4 ppg and 405.6 total ypg. The Cougars have really had issues against opposing ground attacks, giving up 213.2 ypg and 11 rushing touchdowns. The defense however, is coming off a fine effort, as Houston limited East Carolina to a mere 275 total yards in a winning cause. The defense clamped down against the run, yielding 126 yards, and it also forced three turnovers. If that wasn't enough, the Cougars also held East Carolina to just a 1-of-13 performance on third down chances. Cody Lubojasky guided the defense with 12 stops, while Phillip Hunt notched a pair of sacks. Hunt has provided the team with some sort of pass rush and leads the way with four sacks and seven TFLs for the season.

The Cougars are simply too explosive for the Blazers to deal with and they should be able to run away with this one behind the arm of Keenum.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Houston 44, UAB 20

Thursday, October 9th, 8:00 p.m. (et)