3 takeaways from UAB’s 71-20 loss to Tulane

Bald.

That’s the word that comes to mind to best describe this UAB team’s season.

Bleak also describes the gray jerseys they wore on Saturday. And the exposed concrete of the Protective Stadium beneath the tens of thousands of empty seats.

And coach Trent Dilfer’s comments after last week’s stunning loss.

Things look even bleaker after a historic loss to Tulane.

UAB suffered another defeat today, losing 71-20 to the Tulane Green Wave, who are now 4-2 on the year.

The Blazers fell to 1-4 on the season and 5-12 overall in the Trent Dilfer era.

Here are the takeaways:

These blazers have no fire

As the clock began ticking in the second quarter, Tulane’s Makhi Hughes hit a 51-yard run right after UAB put its second field goal on the board.

As the UAB players returned to the sideline, heads hung, shoulders slumped and players sat staring at the floor.

The game felt like it was already over even though only fourteen seconds had passed in the second quarter.

This team is uninspired. There are no players cheering on their teammates and the coaches seem to have lost all motivation to get the players into the best possession of the ball to be successful.

This goes far beyond talent levels, beyond recruiting budgets, beyond the Xs and Oes. That comes from within.

This Blazers squad is talented and full of speed, but that doesn’t matter. There is no direction for them to run.

This city, these players deserve better.

Dilfer, Mortensen’s offensive was wasted again

Even with their starting quarterback, Jacob Zeno, this offense has been at its best this season.

Backup quarterback Jalen Kitna stepped in and threw for 239 yards on 20 of 41 passes. And the Blazers’ rushing offense gained just 75 yards in the entire game.

It was a confusing development in 2024. A UAB offense that set school records and garnered national attention is gone.

Trent Dilfer admitted that losing Tejhaun Palmer to the NFL in the offseason left a big production gap in the passing game, but for a team whose claim to fame lies on offense, they still haven’t managed to close that gap close.

The playbook is admittedly extensive and complex, so there’s a chance it could be easy to Complex, to large. Against Arkansas, they went back to basics, using the short-yardage forward passing game and relying on the run. It worked.

This offense has not been observed since. The offensive line hasn’t done them any favors, but the big losses from trick plays and taking sacks need to stop if this team wants to stay in games throughout the year.

It’s going to be a long year in Birmingham

The road back to the win column won’t get any easier for UAB in the next few weeks.

They travel to West Point to face the undefeated Army Black Knights next week, who run a similar offensive system to the one that dismantled them on Sept. 26, when Navy scored 41 points.

The following week they face the South Florida Bulls in Tampa.

Army just wrapped up its 49-7 win over Tulsa thanks to a perfect passing performance from quarterback Bryson Daily.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to imagine when the next win might come for Dilfer’s Blazers given what the rest of their schedule is shaping up to be.

They begin their game at Army next Saturday at 11 a.m. on CBS Sports.