Watson Brown has seen Tennessee at its best. He thinks the Vols are even better this year.

"The last time we played them, they won the national championship," said UAB's head football coach. "I think this team physically is better than that one was."

UT beat the Blazers in 1998 as the Vols headed to an SEC and national championship. Brown said Tennessee might be the most physical team he's seen during his 11 years at UAB.

Senior quarterback Darrell Hackney could be the key to UAB's chances.

"He's a (Daunte) Culpepper," Brown said referring to the Minnesota Vikings 6-foot-4, 264-pound starting quarterback. "He's a big body. He's a strong guy. He's a very good athlete. He's a really good passer. He doesn't really have a weakness. He has all the things you would want in a quarterback. I think he's a next-level player."

Brown said the Blazers can't become too dependent on the 6-0, 244-pound Hackney or they'll risk limiting his effectiveness for the rest of the season, as they did last year when UAB faced Florida State.

"We're going to call on him but when you play these types of teams, you have to be careful of overdoing him because the pass rush is going to be stronger than what we will see in the next ten (games)," Brown said.

Brown said he feels confident about his defense's ability to run sideline-to-sideline with UT's offense. However, UT's running game, which is led by five offensive linemen who average 335 pounds, could be the bigger problem.

"My biggest concern is the ball coming right at us with our defense," Brown said. "We're very fast. Our linebackers are a little small but they're very athletic and very tough. I am really looking forward to seeing if we can hold up to the offense they run.

"If we can, we're going to be fine for the rest of the year because I promise you if people try to spread us out a bunch, we'll be okay with that."

Brown knows the importance of this weekend's game to UAB's program, which is in its 15th year of existence. A win would be a big boost to Blazer coaches who often find themselves battling SEC teams on the recruiting trail.

"Anytime you live in the southeast, you're compared to the SEC," Brown said. "When you get a chance to knock one off, it's big."

History suggests that the crowd at Neyland Stadium won't affect the Blazers. UAB has played well in some of the toughest SEC venues. The Blazers lost to Georgia 16-13 in Athens in 2003. UAB beat LSU 13-10 in Baton Rouge in 2000.

"You either go in scared to death and you're done before you get there or you enjoy the moment," Brown said. "We've done so much of this. We've been about everywhere here. I think our kids react well to this.

"We're a confident bunch. I don't' think we're one to back down. We're always ready to go, and we believe we can win. We'll give it our best shot, but we are realistic enough to know that we're playing a very good football team."