Last week, WKU entered the 100 Miles of Hate rivalry against Middle Tennessee with the all-time series tied 35-35-1, and came out victorious to claim the series lead. This week, the Hilltoppers enter Friday's contest against UAB with the series tied at four wins apiece. WKU will look to replicate last week's result and claim the series lead over the Blazers.

Friday's matchup will be the last between the Hilltoppers and Blazers for the foreseeable future as UAB prepared to depart for the American Athletic Conference in 2023. WKU and UAB have met thrice as Conference USA rivals with UAB claiming victories in two of those three meetings.

The connections between WKU and UAB run deep as multiple Hilltopper coaches were formerly coaches for the Blazers. Head Coach Tyson Helton spent six years on staff at UAB from 2007-12. For the first-five years, Helton served as the quarterbacks coach before switching over to coaching running backs his final season in Birmingham. Defensive Coordinator Tyson Summers coached alongside Helton at UAB for five years from 2007-11. He spent his first-four years there coaching linebackers before coaching safeties in his final season with the Blazers. In 2013, Co-Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach Zach Lankford spent a year in Birmingham as an associate director of recruiting and player development. The other big connection with the Blazers is that Helton's father, Kim, was the offensive coordinator at UAB from 2007-11 and coached with both Helton and Summers in Birmingham.

During halftime of the WKU vs. Troy game, WKU Athletics announced that DJ Diesel, AKA Shaquille O'Neal will be coming to WKU to perform a live concert ahead of the WKU versus UAB game. The concert will start at 5 p.m. CT at the Upper South Lawn tailgate area and run for one hour.

For the first time in school history, WKU will sport an all-black look Friday night against UAB. The Hilltoppers have worn black jerseys and black pants before and hold a record of 4-4 in that uniform combination since 2017, but the Tops will complete the true blackout look with the addition of their new black helmet Friday night.

"UAB week, great to be back home, had a really good rivalry win last week against Middle Tennessee, but I know our guys are excited to be back. Expecting a great atmosphere, expecting a great game. A lot of things are going on on campus, this is what you want college football to be. You know, I think everyone is anticipating a really good match up. UAB is a really good football team, they make you earn everything you get. There is no easy way with them. If you make a play, you earn it on all three phases, so they're doing a great job.  It should be a very competitive game but a game we're all excited to get going with."

-Tyson Helton on Friday's game against UAB

"Coach Vincent is a really good play caller, so you know he's going to take what you give him. If you load the box and stop the run, he's going to throw it over your head so you've got to be disciplined in all phases. First thing is try to stop the run. You know they're going to win the game running the football. Both those running backs are spectacular, the offensive line is very very physical, the quarterback does a great job managing the game and then Coach Vincent the play caller does a nice job of picking his spots and making plays when he needs to make them. So definitely a challenge for our defense for sure, but you got to stop the run first and then when the shots come you hold your breath and hope you match up with them

-Helton on the UAB offense

I think it's critical, because possessions are going to be very limited. They're a football team that on average you might get 11 possessions. So, we got to be able to play good defense and get the ball back to our offense and then we've got to make the most of our opportunities, so every possession is critical for us for sure, but we can't get off to a slow start you know turnovers will be key in this game for sure. It is one of those games where you have to do everything right. You're not going to get away with a turnover here or turnover there or missed assignment. I thought offensively last week we did some really good things, but we shot ourselves in the foot here and there and had turnovers, and was sloppy with that said we put up a lot of yards and moved the football but against a really good defense like UAB like I said they are going to make you earn everything you get. So, we got to hit on all cylinders offensively and play sharp for sure.

-Helton on the importance of starting fast against UAB

LAST TIME OUT

WKU reclaimed the all-time series lead in the 100 Miles of Hate rivalry by traveling to Middle Tennessee and knocking off the Blue Raiders, 35-17. The Hilltoppers started slow, but managed to take a 14-10 lead into halftime before gaining separation in the second half. Austin Reed threw two touchdowns and ran in another, and Darius Thomas put the game on ice with a 42-yard pick six in the fourth quarter.

ABOUT UAB

The Blazers enter Friday night's contest with a 4-2 record overall and 2-1 mark in conference play. UAB has won two in a row over Middle Tennessee and Charlotte. Dylan Hopkins is UAB's quarterback, and he has 1,170 yards and six touchdowns on the year. DeWayne McBride leads the ground attack for the Blazers with 778 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns midway through the season. Defensively, Jaylen Key leads UAB with 30 tackles and two interceptions.

SERIES HISTORY

The all-time series between WKU and UAB is knotted up at four games apiece. WKU won three games in a row to open the series before the Blazers claimed the next three. The two schools have split the last two meetings with UAB claiming victory in the most recent matchup in 2020.