UAB (3-2 OVERALL, 1-0 AMERICAN) AT MEMPHIS (4-1 OVERALL, 1-0 AMERICAN)

SIMMONS BANK LIBERTY STADIUM

SATURDAY, 6 P.M. CST, ESPN2

When Memphis has the ball: Balance is part of Memphis offensive coordinator Kevin Decker’s offense but quarterback Marcus Stokes has been the engine for success thus far. The former four-star recruit could very well be the best quarterback in the American Conference. The 6-foot-2, 209-pound redshirt junior was 90-of-123 for 1,371 yards with 14 touchdowns and three interceptions over the first five games. He threw for nine touchdown in the past two games and his 73.2 percent completion percentage is ninth best in the country. It’s been an explosive passing attack thus far for the Tigers. Hunter Tipton, a 6-foot-5, 241-pound tight end, is thunder and lightning in the same package. He has 19 catches for 367 yards, which is 19.3 yards per catch, with a national tight end best five touchdowns, including an 87-yard touchdown reception. Speedy Jermane Hayes, a 5-foot-10, 160-pound sophomore, has a team-best 22 catches for 242 yards with two touchdowns, including a 93-yard catch-and-run score. Memphis has nine receivers averaging double digit per reception. What can UAB do to slow down the explosive production? This is the steepest challenge of the season, by far, but UAB’s defense has been outstanding against the pass thus far. The Blazers are second in the country in passing yards allowed per game (118.4). But UAB hasn’t faced a passing offense like they will see on Saturday. The projected rainy weather could be helpful but the pass rush could be the biggest key to slowing things down. Memphis has allowed just five sacks thus far. UAB needs to find ways to make Stokes uncomfortable even if the Blazers don’t get a sack. Memphis also has the ability to run the football with success, which could be a problem for the Blazers. Memphis averages 250.4 yards per game on the ground, which is 10^th best in the country. Jaylin Carter, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound sophomore, who followed Memphis head coach from Southern Miss, is third in the American Conference with 513 yards and six rushing touchdowns. UAB allows 183 rushing yards per game, which is 116^th in the country.

When UAB has the ball: Ryder Burton introduced himself to the college football world in last season’s unexpected win over Memphis. Now can he have his breakout game against the Tigers in his first season as a fulltime starter? To be fair, UAB enters Saturday’s game with the Blazers averaging 340 yards and 24 points per game. That might not be good enough on Saturday against the dynamic Memphis offense. UAB needs to be better on offense, beginning with Burton. Now, the offensive struggles are not entirely quarterback driven but the improvement begins with Burton. The junior quarterback is 62-of-110, which is a completion rate of 56.4 percent, for 791 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions. The Blazers need to find some passing game consistency against a Memphis defense that gives up a lot of yards but has the ability to disrupt a quarterback. Memphis has 12 sacks thus far and is credited on PFF with 37 quarterback hurries and 16 quarterback hits. Edge rushers Elijah Kinsler and J’Mond Tapp have a combined 17 quarterback hurries and five quarterback hits, according to PFF, with Kinsler having 3.5 sacks and Tapp having 2.5 sacks. Burton has been pressured 63 times, according to PFF, and has been sacked 13 times. One thing that Burton has done well is scramble away from pressure and make positive yards with his legs, which could slow the rush down. Ty Mims, EJ Reid and CJ Smith have stepped to the front of the wide receiver group thus far. Smith, who played at Memphis last season, got behind the Samford defense twice last week, one resulting in a 31-yard scoring play, and dropped what might have been a second touchdown. With all that said, though, establishing the run will once again e key for a UAB offense that averages 179.6 rushing yards per game. Roderick Robinson II, Braylon McReynolds and Ja’Vin Simpkins combine for 141.2 yards on 31 carries per game. The Blazers are facing a Memphis defense that allows 176.2 rushing yards per game, which is 112^th in the country. That number is skewed a bit by the 357 yards that Boise State gained against Memphis. Charlotte had 132 yards on 24 carries last week but 75 of those yards came on one play in the 59-8 Memphis win. Winning the running game for UAB could also come with winning time of possession and total plays.     

Special teams: Ty Mims has flirted with a punt return touchdown on three different occasions this season, including in last week’s win over Samford. Mims has eight returns for 135 yards, which is an average of 16.9 yards per return, on the season. He is currently 12^th in the country in punt return average and his 16.9 yard per return average would put him third in UAB history in single season average if he maintains that number through the season. Kam Shanks leads the list with 20.56 yards per return in 2024 and Rodregis Brooks averaged 17.5 yards per return in 1999. Boise State’s Cam Bates had a 72-yard punt return for a touchdown against Memphis earlier this season.

Trend to follow: Memphis had less penalties than its opponent in each of the first five games. Overall, the Tigers are 16^th in the country in penalties per game (4.8) and 22^nd in penalty yards per game (44.8). UAB is coming off its first game this season when the opponent had more penalties than the Blazers. UAB is 77^th in penalties per game (6.8) and 81^st in penalty yards per game (59.80). Memphis has been the most penalized team in the Battle for the Bones rivalry in each of the past three games but the Tigers won two of those games.

Hello my name is: Payton Kirkland. The 6-foot-6, 315-pound left tackle saw his first action last week since suffering a lower body injury and leaving the field on a cart in the season opener at Illinois. Kirkland played 30 snaps in the win over Samford and was graded by PFF as the team’s top overall blocker (71.6) and pass blocker (78.5). Keyon Cox played well as the starter in his absence and was still working with first team at left tackle this weeking during media viewing period at practice. Having both available strengthens the offensive line.

How Memphis wins: At this point it would be hard for UAB to win a high-scoring game, so continuing to click offensively is a key for the Tigers. Making UAB throw the ball, particularly in the rain, would be big for Memphis.

How UAB wins: Once again it begins with playing a relatively clean game and winning the running game. If the Battle for the Bones version of Ryder Burton shows up that will enhance UAB’s chances to win.

Coach’s corner: UAB head coach Alex Mortensen and Memphis head coach Charles Huff spent two years together as part of Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama in 2019 and 2020.

One more thing: UAB’s starting lineup on defense includes eight players who have started every game this season. The starters in all five games are defensive tackle Cam Cunningham, linebackers Ike Esonwune and Muaaz Byard, defensive end Marlin Dean, nickel Anta’Veon McKenzie, cornerbacks Darrell Sweeting and Delvon Gulley and free safety Jeremiah Jordan. Strong safety Jo’Tavion Pierce started the past four games after Diezel Wilkinson got the start in the opener. Only five offensive players – linemen Adam Lepkowski, Calib Perez, Donovan Lawrence and Barrett Maddox and quarterback Ryder Burton – have started each of the first five games. Tight end Antonio Ferguson started the first four games but missed the Samford game with an injury and is expected to be out this week.

Winning the second half, particularly the fourth quarter, has been a mark of UAB’s football season thus far.

Take away the season-opening loss to Illinois, where UAB got outscored 21-10 after halftime and didn’t score a second half touchdown until the final seconds of a convincing loss, and the Blazers have been the better team in the second half of all their games. Combine all the second halves this season, including the Illinois game, and UAB outscored their opponents 60-31 after halftime. Take away the Illinois game and it’s 50-10. UAB hasn’t allowed a fourth quarter point since giving up 14 to Illinois and won the final period by a combined 44-0 over the past four games. Seven of those fourth quarter points at Illinois came on an interception return by the Illini.

UAB beat Louisiana-Monroe by scoring 13 fourth quarter points and the Blazers had 17 of their 20 second half points in the final quarter. The Blazers didn’t allow a second half point in a road loss at Louisiana, which kept them in position to nearly erase a 14-point halftime deficit. The Navy game was largely won because of a pair of fourth quarter turnovers forced by defensive end Marlin Dean and a 48-yard touchdown run by Bam McReynolds.

Alex Mortensen there are a few layers to his UAB team’s second half success.

“One, we talked about the prerequisite for effort is conditioning,” Mortensen said. “We worked really hard on building conditioning in the off-season. Some of it goes back to winter, some of it's how we handled June and July. I think Coach Lyle Henley's done an excellent job, and Bryant Novick and Santonio (Jones), that whole strength staff. Then some things we did as a team too. I also think there's a psychological component with the players. We really do try to create this mindset of being a relentless competitor. I think a multitude of guys have bought into that.”

Mortensen said there’s also a “schematic and tactical component to that.”

“I think that's where the staff on both sides of the ball, Coach Grantham and the defensive staff, the offensive staff, have done a good job tactically making any adjustments or tweaks,” Mortensen added. “Some people talk about halftime adjustments maybe being overstated. But they still can be a factor in a game. Then it's also not just enough for the coaches to be able to make those adjustments, but the players have to be able to keep up with them and execute them. I think it's really all of those things factor in and hopefully we can continue to build on that.”

They will be challenged on Saturday in the Battle for the Bones rivalry at Memphis. The Tigers outscored UNLV, 20-7, after halftime in a 27-21 Memphis victory. Memphis outscored Arkansas State, 21-7 in the second half after the Tigers built a 21-17 lead at halftime  Overall, Memphis has outscored opponents, 87-57, in the second half. Their biggest second half hiccup came in their only loss of the season. Boise State outscored Memphis, 21-0, in a 38-20 win over the Tigers.

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From Alex Mortensen’s point of his view the UAB offense took a step forward in the passing game last week against Navy. Now, the UAB head coach didn’t say they were perfect in that area but it was a step forward nonetheless.

“We're still not protecting to the degree that we're capable, but I think if you're watching the game on TV or if you're in the stands, you probably saw us run out the back of the pocket a couple times,” Mortensen said earlier this week as they began preparing for Saturday’s non-conference matchup with Samford at Protective Stadium. “I turned into a fan a couple times and was going, ‘What are we doing?’ But I'll say this, there were actually some positive strides in pass protection despite a couple of those plays, so that was good. And then I think the route detail and the quarterback timing and rhythm was good. I think Ryder has a really high ceiling and he's doing a lot of things really well. I think we have the receivers to do it. I think we're very capable (with) tight ends, backs. I do think it was a step up. The exciting thing for us is like there's still a lot of steps that we can take and I think we just continue to get a lot better.”

The numbers still suggest that there is a long way to go for UAB to reach its potential in the passing game. After four games, UAB is 122^nd nationally in passing offense (163 yards per game), 119^th in team passing efficiency, tied for 116^th in sacks allowed per game (2.75) and tied for 124^th in total sacks allowed (11).

Improving pass protection is the first step. Quarterback Ryder Burton has proven if given time the passing game can click. As Mortensen has said several times, though, improving the pass protection doesn’t solely land on the shoulders of the offensive line. It’s a matter of all 11 players on the field doing their job. For Burton, that doesn’t just mean delivering the ball to the right receiver.

“Look, Ryder's a good athlete and there's been times this year he's put us in positive situations by scrambling,” Mortensen said. “A lot of times that involves him scrambling forward. Like I said, there were a couple times we went out the back and you don't want to totally take it away from him. I think going back to the ULM game, the big touchdown pass that we threw to take the lead was set up by a scramble that he had. So you don't want to take that away from him completely. But I do think there are different kinds of scrambles. I think there's situational awareness, understanding ‘Hey, if it's first-and-10 and we have a relatively aggressive call on, protect us, protect yourself from the standpoint that you want to be able to play from as advantageous down and distance as possible.’ So having an idea of when to find the checkdown, when to throw it away, having a plan on those things.”

On Saturday, the Blazers are facing a Samford defense that has 10 sacks in four games, which is 24^th best in FCS. The Bulldogs also allowed a pair of big play touchdown passes against an explosive Tennessee Tech team and a 95-yard touchdown pass in the opening game loss to UNA. Overall, though, the Bulldogs are 21^st in FCS in passing yards allowed per game (168).

It will be the next opportunity for UAB to get the passing game working and the offense rolling.

“We have so much more to offer,” said wide receiver CJ Smith. “We’re kind of just scratching the surface, as Coach Mort says, with all the players that we have. There’s a lot more to come.”