Tulane dominates uab 71-20 in record-setting loss for blazers
By Steve Irvine
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - October 6, 2024
TULANE 71, UAB 20
WHAT IT MEANS: It’s a rock-bottom moment for Trent Dilfer and his football team. At least they hope it can’t get worse. The Blazers allowed more points than they’ve ever allowed as a Division I-A or FBS team. Where do the Blazers go from here?
WHEN THE GAME TURNED: On a day that featured a ton of points, perhaps no touchdown was bigger than the 100-yard kickoff return by Tulane’s Rayshawn Pleasant. On the next step, Tulane intercepted a pass. Three plays later, Makhi Hughes scored on a 1-yard run. Suddenly, a 7-3 Tulane lead was a 20-3 Green Wave advantage.
WHY UAB LOST: Once again, the Blazers were decidedly beaten in every phase.
WHAT ARE THE KEY STATS: Tulane rushed for 317 yards and averaged 6.3 yards per carry. UAB rushed for 75 yards and averaged 3.4 yards per carry. UAB quarterback Jalen Kitna, making his first college start with Jacob Zeno out with a left shoulder injury, threw three interceptions.
WHO GETS THE GAME BALLS: Nobody from UAB gets a game ball. But Jonah Delange does deserve a little attention for remaining perfect this season on field goals (9 for 9) and extra points (11 for 11). It was also a good moment for true freshman running back Solomon Beebe when he scored his first college touchdown.
What did Coach Dilfer say in postgame
Opening statement: I don't really know what to say. I don't know. Honestly, an embarrassing result. Humiliating is maybe a better word. What I told the players was, you know, this is, there's no manual for this as a head coach. But I do know I've been through a lot of storms. I've been booed out of stadiums, Outbacks, and other places. Now what they can't do is blame each other. They need something to blame, they can blame me. I apologize to the team for not getting them ready for that type of physical nature of football. And I'll say to the fans, I think you deserve more. The City of Birmingham deserves more. If you're going to be angry, please be angry at me. Don't be angry at our kids. Our kids are giving us everything they have and that's my job to make sure something like this never happens again.
On what he could have differently in preparation: I don't know. I felt we had a good plan. We practiced really hard, had a really intense week of practice trying to prepare for physicality. But (Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall) just does a great job, it’s part of his culture. Toughness is his culture. It's a one-word culture. And they were just so much more tougher, more physical. It just kind of overwhelmed this.
On Jalen Kitna: I thought he was a warrior, an absolute warrior. He had very little protection. He took a lot of big hits. I mean some hits where I didn't think you'd get up. (He) popped up. He made some really nice plays under duress, extended some plays. Now, was careless with ball at times, he hasn't started a game in four years. So we did expect there might be some carelessness there. It was less than anticipated. You know, the first interception is not his fault. So he's a very talented kid, a very tough kid, and he showed that today.
On not getting Kitna snaps in the first four games: I don't like doing that to the starter. Jacob (Zeno is) so respected, he's invested so much into this thing. I've always thought it was weird to take your starter out of the game, to get somebody reps. I'm not saying it's wrong. I just personally always thought it was a tough situation to put on the starting quarterback, especially when he gets in a rhythm. So, it really never came up. Jalen's done a phenomenal job preparing in the shadows, and knowing that at some point, for whatever reason, he may get a chance to play. With Jacob being banged up, he got a chance today.
On the temperature of the team after the loss: (Tulane is a good team), they are, right, but Arkansas is a good team, too. And Navy is a good team, Army is a good team, everybody's a good team. You have a 70 spot on you, five first downs at halftime or something like that. I would hope that the messaging since the time I got here is resonating in this storm that we're in, which is making sure that they're not blaming each other, making sure they're staying close together. And that's why, I do think, listen, I'm not just saying this, coach speak, when you give up 70 points and have no success offensively until junk time, it's the head coach's fault. It's not the coordinator's fault, it's the head coach's fault. So, I've been on the other end of that, and I knew at the time, you don't tell your kids to stop playing. Like (Sumrall) apologized for the (late) pass. I said, ‘No, Jon, it's our job to stop you.’ But my point being is that if they need somebody to blame, they can blame me. I want these kids to stay close together, I want them to have lifelong relationships. Now, I do think they need to look in the mirror as we look at the film, and I'm sure they'll be as critical as we are to try to improve some things. But this does not need to be a finger pointing contest.
On his message to Birmingham: Just that, they deserve more, they deserve a better product. They deserve more out of me. So I'll continue to try to do the best I can. It hasn't been for a lack of effort.
On Jacob Zeno: I planned the whole week is that Jacob wouldn't play. We'll take it day by day, and we'll know more next week.
On the late timeouts: No, trying to play as much football as possible. You get better at football by playing football. I've always believed in trying to play the game as long as I can possibly go, because you get to play more football. You get to evaluate more, get more players in. I've just believed in that forever. Trying to slow the game down and all that stuff. You know, these kids work really hard and they want to play football. You know, your receivers still want to have an opportunity to catch the ball. We need to evaluate offensive linemen. We want to get other running backs in the game. So we want to get the ball back. When I called the second one, I thought we had stopped them. You know, when I went to the ref, I'm like, hey, you don't have to call that one. It was too late at that point. But, you know, I wanted to get the ball back with a minute to go and work on our two-minute offense.
On moving forward: The secret's always in the dirt. I think it's in the work. You know, I've seen miraculous turnarounds in football. People don't want to hear it, Iget it. You know, I was part of the worst franchise in football, in the NFL, and a few years later, we were winning playoff games. So it's doable. It always seems so dark when you're in the middle of the storm, and it seems hopeless. But if you keep working, you keep believing, you keep treating people right, keep getting support, you know, things can turn. They really can. But, you know, you're sitting here today, and if you're on the outside looking in, you know, there's no reason to believe any of that. You know, you can only go to evidence that you have, and evidence isn't very good. But, you know, internally, it's not as hopeless as it seems.
WHERE IS UAB’S NEXT ASSIGNMENT: Up next is a trip to Army to play a team that has dominated all five of its opponents.