Here are five things to watch when Western Kentucky plays Alabama-Birmingham at 6 p.m. Saturday at Houchens-Smith Stadium:

1 — The UAB defense: Western Kentucky’s offense has been unstoppable to this point – so can the Blazers be the first team to truly stop the high-scoring Hilltoppers? There are certainly pieces on that side of the ball for UAB that make plays consistently, but the Blazers haven’t been severely tested this season – outside of a trip to Mississippi State in which they gave up 47 points and 518 total yards. Can UAB do enough on defense to slow down the Tops?

2 — The Western Kentucky defense: Hilltopper fans must accept the fact that the WKU defense just isn’t a dominant unit. Yes there is talent on that side of the ball, but the lack of experience through four games has really shown. Saturday, against UAB, the Tops finally face an offense that is somewhat familiar to their own. When we asked this week about the transition from defending Navy and the option to defending the balanced Blazers, WKU grinned like the Cheshire Cat – this UAB offense is one they’ve seen in practice for a long time. And its similarity to already-faced Middle Tennessee gives the Tops another advantage. Will Nick Holt’s unit finally have a game to pound its chest about?

That’s all fine and well, but actions speak louder than words. So can the WKU defense finally step up and contain another challenging opponent?

3 — Turnovers: Western Kentucky has been relatively solid when it comes to turnovers having only lost three in four games. UAB has given it away 10 times – and six of those came in a loss last week at home against Florida International. In a matchup that promises to have some points, neither team can afford to waste possessions. It sounds cliché, but if this one becomes a who-has-the-ball-last-wins affair, turnovers become the difference.

4 — The run game: Last week, WKU finally got Anthony Wales in the mix to spell the durable Leon Allen. And this week at practice the Western Kentucky coaching staff hinted that more running backs will see time as the season goes on (i.e., Joe Brown, Darmontre Warr, et al). UAB’s run defense is only allowing 137.8 yards per game while the Tops are only rushing for 132.8 per contest.

Conversely, the Blazers have a pair are very dangerous backs in D.J. Vinson and Jordan Howard, not to mention the play of quarterback Cody Clements who also makes plays with his legs. The Hilltoppers had been good against the run in games against Bowling Green and Illinois, but MTSU broke some long runs out of the read option and Navy did what it does last week to the tune of more than 400 yards on the ground. So which team shows up and runs the ball effectively today? And which team’s run defense answers the call?

5 — Brandon Doughty: I crunched some numbers this week on WKU’s senior signal caller – those are located in a post here. He’s been near-perfect in four games this season and he has the numbers to prove it. What concerns me, however, is that all things in sports tend to be cyclical. I keep envisioning a scenario where Doughty struggles, much like a great starting pitcher who has a bad day once every six or seven starts. Is that Saturday against UAB? I don’t think so – but he can’t continue to tear up defenses week after week? Can he?