After four straight losses, even Coach Garrick McGee is starting to be concerned. McGee has entered his first season as UAB's coach with confidence and swagger, but his frustration with the mounting losses was on display after Saturday's 49-42 loss to Tulsa.

He placed some of the blame on himself and the other coaches. "We didn't do a good enough job getting our team ready for coming home and playing our first conference game in our home stadium," he said after the game.

But you also got the feeling that he was becoming frustrated with his team. "You can't win if you don't do what you're coached to do," he also said.

UAB's defense had a rough first half, so bad that McGee gave up on the team's ability to execute his defensive game plan. "Our players couldn't figure anything out [in the first half], so we just lined them up in a 4-3 and let them go so they didn't have to figure things out," he said.

And he seemed disappointed with the team's desire to win. He didn't address that issue directly, but did say, "I was really disappointed with our energy level."

The disappointment seemed to spill over into the postgame comments of the players. Quarterback Austin Brown blamed himself for getting sacked seven times, saying "I held the ball too long. I make a lot of crucial mistakes. I've got to correct them for the team."

Linebacker Marvin Burdette also seemed frustrated, saying "It's not just this week it's every week we come close to a win. We have to focus on the finishing part."

The only question now is: Will this frustration lead to improvement or more frustration? Stay tune to next week's game for the answer


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