Memphis explodes in 4th, runs away from uab 53-18
By Steve Irvine
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - November 17, 2024
MEMPHIS 53, UAB 18
WHAT IT MEANS: The Battle for the Bones Trophy will stay in Memphis for at least another year. But it’s hard to imagine a scenario where the trophy returns to Birmingham any time soon. These are two programs headed in different directions. Memphis is 9-2 and bowl eligible for the 11th consecutive season. UAB is 2-8 and not eligible for a bowl in back-to-back seasons.
WHEN THE GAME TURNED: UAB had an opportunity to slice into an 18-8 deficit on the opening possession of the second half. The Blazers had some momentum after scoring on a 10-yard pass from Jalen Kitna to Kam Shanks and adding a two-point conversion run by Terrell McDonald late in the first half. But that momentum evaporated quickly. UAB went three-and-out on the opening drive. That was compounded by a 38-yard punt return to the UAB 45-yard line by Koby Drake. Six plays later, Memphis quarterback Seth Henigan found Greg Derosiers Jr. for a touchdown. UAB never recovered. Memphis outscored the Blazers, 35-10, in the second half.
WHY UAB LOST: Defense and special teams had their moments of struggle. But, once again, an inconsistent offense and turnovers put the Blazers in bad spots. Jalen Kitna lost a fumble, nearly lost another and threw two interceptions. UAB also had botched snap that was recovered by Memphis to end a red zone trip.
WHAT ARE THE KEY STATS: Memphis was plus-four on turnovers, which is a winning formula. The Tigers also dominated the ground game with 229 yards on 40 carries while UAB had 48 yards on 20 carries. Memphis averaged 5.7 yards per carry while UAB averaged 1.4 yards. Memphis quarterback Seth Henigan threw for 299 yards and four touchdowns. The 299 yards were the most that UAB has given up in a game this season. Amare Thomas didn’t get into the end zone but he had eight catches for 68 yards.
WHO GETS THE GAME BALLS: You should know by now that game balls go to the winners. But senior tight end Terrell McDonald, who has been one of the most versatile offensive players for UAB, got his first career rushing touchdown and also had a two-point conversion run. Jonah Delange was perfect on a field goal and extra point to continue pushing toward a shot at the Lou Groza award. Delange is now 19 of 20 on field goals, which is tied for fourth in the nation in field goal percentage, and is perfect on 24 extra point attempts. Iverson Hooks had a 71-yard pass to Malachi Holt-Bennett to set up McDonald’s touchdown run.
WHAT DID COACH DILFER SAY IN POSTGAME INTERVIEW WITH THE BANNER
General thoughts on the game: It’s the same story, right? You know, there's some glimpses. It's not reflective, you see it, of how we practice. You know, what hit me in the game was, I just think guys try too hard. You know, they're trying to do too much, and they try to do too much, and make silly mistakes. You know, I've never seen Brady Wilson snap it to nobody. I know this for a fact for as many great things as Jalen does, he also tries to put on the Superman cape too often and try to get the game back in one play. That's caused some issues with turnovers. Dropped balls. You know, we don't drop a lot of balls in practice, and I think we had four or five tonight. Three of them were huge, you know, third downs, where we're gonna convert. Defensively, they get big stops in the first half and then they allow a 3rd-and-14 on a flat route. So, just self-inflicted errors and things that we don't see every day. That's the most frustrating thing is I don't think they show up on Saturdays and decide to do these things. They don't want to do these things. But we just have not played as well as we practiced.
On the possibility of coaches doing too much: We thought that early in the season. We've really simplified. You know, we've pulled back a ton. So, I mean, something we look at every week is volume of calls. How much we're asking them learn, are they making too many in-game decisions. We've asked them, many of them have said no. You know, they feel comfortable with the load. You know, we've probably changed this in Week 4 (or) 5. It's something we’ve always look at, but no that's not what they've told us and that's not what we feel at this point.
On the end of the first half and start of second half: Well, I think how we came out in the second half was terrible. We wanted to establish the run again. We were trying to be pretty stubborn with the run in the first half, keep it balanced, especially on first down. We had a little safe reverse play called and it's not trickeration, it's actually really safe play. We allowed penetration, which we were aware could be an issue. We don't handle it and now you're stuck in a tough situation. But yeah, to get the ball in the second half and not capitalize on the drive is a big deal.
On keeping the team together: Well, it's been shocking, but throughout the year, we've been able to stay together. I thought a player had a really good message in the locker room about if you need motivation, think of these seniors, play hard for these seniors. But I think there's always something to play for, in my personal opinion. I just always believed that there's something to play for. We've really preached on growing up and being men of character. Life's hard, right? You've had tough things in life. Everybody's had tough things in life. You've got to not quit when those tough things happen. I think this next two weeks is a great opportunity to just grow human skills as well as football skills.
WHERE IS UAB’S NEXT ASSIGNMENT: UAB returns to Protective Stadium for the final time this season. The Blazers celebrate Senior Day with an afternoon AAC game against Rice. The Owls are 3-7 and will be coming off a bye week.