College Football

How to watch UAB vs. LSU: Preview, TV schedule, odds and more

Life gets a little easier for LSU this week, at least on paper -- UAB isn’t expected to make this a close game.

Sep 7, 2013, 12:00 PM UTC

Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Update: Kickoff is delayed until at least 7:37 ET due to weather.

LSU survived its opening-week test against TCU and now looks like it’s headed to a 4-0 start leading up to a challenging game against Georgia in Athens later this month. First the Tigers will have to dispatch a UAB team that has been struggling for quite a while now.

The Blazers haven’t won more than five games in a season since 2004, and they’re already off to a bad start to 2013, losing their opener to Troy, 34-31. Odds makers don’t expect UAB to put up much of a fight in Baton Rouge, and considering this is a program coming off back-to-back three-win seasons, that is by no means surprising.

The numbers

Rankings and records: LSU is ranked in the top 15 in both major polls. These two teams have met once, back in 2000, and UAB won that contest, 13-10. But that was a long time ago in an era of LSU football far, far away.

Vegas: LSU opened as a 33.5-point favorite, and the initial over/under was set at 54.

Weather: The high will hit 88 degrees, and some scattered thunderstorms are expected in the area.

Three names to know

Zach Mettenberger -- It seems like LSU always has a starting quarterback with an erratic bent, and Mettenberger has been a case in point. He didn’t throw an interception against the Horned Frogs, but he also only completed half of his passes. He’ll be more efficient against UAB.

Austin Brown -- Brown was outstanding last week, throwing for 301 yards and three scores without an interception, and he’ll need to be on top of his game again if UAB is going to hang around. Unfortunately he can’t help the defense, which allowed Troy to do just about anything it wanted.

Odell Beckham Jr. -- One of the things helping Mettenberger this season is the return of the team's top three receivers, including Beckham, who finished last year with more than 700 receiving yards. His start to 2013 was promising -- he grabbed five passes for 118 yards.

Two things at stake

With some of these early-season games, the refrain becomes old hat -- LSU is going to win the game, and with worry over the result essentially non-existent, the focus shifts to the route to the result. The Tigers no doubt want to clean some things up in Week 2, not to mention avoid any significant injuries.

UAB would like to use this game as a launch point for a return to bowl eligibility, unlikely though that may be. The Blazers were crushed in two games against power-conference teams last season, and maybe it’s enough for the team to show modest improvement in this case.