An occasional series looking ahead to what USF will face in its American Conference schedule
UAB vs. USF, October 31 at Raymond James Stadium. Kickoff time TBA. TV: TBA
UAB has occasionally been almost decent in football but that looks increasingly like even the blind-squirrel-finds-an-acorn theory.
First, the university shut down the program after after a 6-6 season in 2014, only to bring it back three years later. The Blazers proceeded to run off six consecutive winning seasons and jumped to what was then called the American Athletic Conference in 2023.
Oops.
UAB hired Trent Dilfer as its head coach straight out of his high school head coaching gig.
Double oops.
The Blazers are a combined 11-25 overall since joining the Amerian. Dilfer was 9-21 before the plug was pulled midway through last season, replaced by Alex Mortenson. He went 2-4, although one of those wins was 31-24 over Memphis and, well ... USF has had long-standing issues when it comes to beating Memphis.
Anyway, the Blazers are back to try again. Maybe Mortenson can restore a sense of order to the program after the chaotic Dilfer era. But this is a total rebuild from the ground floor up, which is why people outside of the program expect very little this season.
We'll see.
Why UAB could be really good: Well, if you believe in miracles anything is possible. For the time being, modest improvement should be enough to satisfy burned out Blazers fans.
It starts at quarterback, where last year's starter, Jalen Kitna, is out of eligibility. Ryder Burton will probably get the job after throwing seven TDs (and five picks) in parts of nine games last year. UAB is Burton's third stop after stays at BYU and West Virginia.
The Blazers had a decent run game last year and they're hopeful this year it will be the same.
Roderick Robinson comes to Birmingham after three seasons at Georgia, but that experience includes only 17 games, including 10 last year. He didn't show much in 2025, however, logging just eight plays from scrimmage.
Ja'Vin Simpkins had almost 600 rushing yards last year Coastal Carolina. Bam McReynolds from ULM is another option.
Why UAB might struggle. Start with the defense. The Blazers gave up more than 38 points per game in 2025, including 48 in a 30-point loss to USF.
Todd Grantham takes over as defensive coordinator. If his name sounds familiar, perhaps it's because he served in the same position at Florida before then-coach Dan Mullen fired him after three consecutive losses.
Grantham was at Oklahoma State last year and became available after the Cowboys cleaned house after the season.
He has his work cut out for him at UAB. The Blazers hit the portal hard on defense, bringing in multiple bodies who could be immediately thrust into starting roles.
Two names to keep an eye on: edge rushers Marlin Dean (Georgia State) and Tylin Jackson (Eastern Washington).
The good news is, the pass defense can't get worse (maybe). The Blazers had the worst unit in the country last season, allowing nearly 10 yards per attempt -- atrocious.
X factors: The Bulls will have only two games remaining at Ray-Jay after this outing, so there should be lots of nostalgia in the air and hopefully a festive crowd that comes to experience what should be a relatively easy win by the home team.
It's also on Halloween night, so naturally USF designated it as a Black Out game.
This game is in the latter part of the season, so if the Blazers have had some injuries that could magnify their lack of depth.
From USF's standpoint, if first-time head coach Brian Hartline has had any hiccups in adjusting to his new role, they should be smoothed out by now.
Previously in this series:
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