3 takeaways from UAB’s 30-10 loss to South Florida

UAB fell 30-10 to South Florida at Raymond James Stadium on Saturday, and the story was a familiar one. The Blazers’ defense did enough to win. Their offense did not.After jumping out to a 10-0 first-quarter lead, UAB (4-4, 2-2 American) was outscored 30-0 the rest of the way, gaining three total yards over the second and third quarters. The Blazers missed two field goals and ran for just 17 net yards. Although USF (6-2, 2-2) had its own offensive struggles, its defense scored twice on fumbles by UAB quarterback Ryder Burton. Those touchdowns accounted for 14 points, more than UAB’s entire output.UAB head coach Alex Mortensen was blunt in assessing his team’s performance.“Our first thing is don’t beat yourself,” he said. “The offense gave them 14 points … That’s completely unacceptable in a game where our defense played really well today, and pretty darn dominant, to be frank … I could not be much more disappointed or, frankly, angry in our performance in terms of giving the game to the other team.”The Blazers are now two games out of first place in the American Conference and need to win two of their final four games to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2022. They host struggling Charlotte (1-7, 1-3 American) and travel to Temple (2-6, 1-3), then face league leaders UTSA (7-1, 4-0) and North Texas (6-2, 4-0).Here are more takeaways from Saturday’s loss:Blazers lose line of scrimmageUAB’s passing attack was disrupted by USF in key moments. According to Pro Football Focus, Burton dropped back 35 times and was pressured on 15 of them, a rate of almost 43%. He has now been pressured on 112 of his 246 dropbacks this season, the sixth-most of any quarterback in the FBS.The Bulls sacked Burton six times for 48 yards, and five of the six came on third down. Two of the sacks also resulted in turnovers: Burton fumbled at the UAB 17 and again at the UAB 19, and USF returned both for touchdowns.The Blazers were down a starter, with Barry Walker replacing an injured Calib Perez at right guard, but Mortensen pointed to the line as a whole.“[We] had to control the line of scrimmage and pass protection,” Mortensen said. “And yeah, we’re going to look at every strategy to continue to do that better, and different protection methods and schemes and all that, but at the same time, at some point guys have to develop and get better too.”Mortensen also said Burton needs to protect the ball better.“You know, look, [the] quarterback’s got to protect the ball when he’s getting sacked,” Mortensen said. “Okay, there’s no doubt. Or throw the ball away.”UAB’s running game offered no reprieve: the Blazers’ running backs gained 54 yards on 23 carries, 2.3 per attempt, and the team had three rushing first downs to USF’s 10. Mortensen said the problem started up front.“We have good backs, OK, and about the only time the backs aren’t productive is when they stop them before they get started,” he said. “And so we’ve got to do a much better job of letting our backs get started.”Defense does its partUSF’s quarterback runs were the main thing UAB’s defense struggled with, as backup Luke Kromenhoek accounted for 92 of the Bulls’ 191 rushing yards. One of his runs, a 42-yard scramble on which he broke multiple tackles, set up USF’s first points of the game.However, 77 of Kromenhoek’s rushing yards came in the second quarter; in the other three quarters, the Blazers held him to just 15.“I think the only time they really moved the ball it felt like was when they had quarterback runs,” Mortensen said. “Some of them were by design, and some of them were him scrambling. And I think through the course of the game, we adjusted pretty well to that.”Against the pass, the Blazers were even better. UAB entered Saturday allowing 126.0 passing yards per game, the fewest in the FBS, and that streak of stingy play continued: USF’s quarterbacks completed 8 of 12 passes for just 46 yards. The Blazers sacked USF’s quarterbacks three times, forced four three-and-outs and limited the Bulls to one offensive touchdown. Edge Marlin Dean had 2.5 of the sacks.Safety Jo’Tavion Pierce set the tone physically. He made 11 tackles, tying defensive back Jeremiah Jordan for the team high, and delivered several hard hits on USF starting quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. in the first quarter. Kromenhoek replaced Van Buren early in the second quarter.USF reached the red zone four times and came away with one touchdown and three field goals. Its other 14 points came on the fumble returns.“I think our defense ultimately really dominated them,” Mortensen said. “That’s what really frustrates me, is you give them 14 points and good field position.”Not a narrativeUnder former head coach Trent Dilfer, UAB never won away from Protective Stadium; only during Mortensen’s interim tenure did the Blazers end the drought with a season-ending victory over Tulsa. Now 4-0 at home and 0-4 on the road, UAB has continued to struggle away from Birmingham, but Mortensen is uninterested in dwelling on the split. “I’m just not ready to start that narrative,” Mortensen said. “I think it’s too early for that.”Mortensen noted that UAB has struggled at home too, needing a fourth-quarter rally against East Carolina to force overtime, and concluded that the Blazers simply “need to play better” wherever they are.“That stuff becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when you start thinking about it and talking about it too much,” he said.UAB returns to the field on Saturday when it takes on Charlotte at Protective Stadium. The game kicks off at 2:30 p.m. Central and will be streamed live on ESPN+.