UAB-Illinois: Matchups, Questions and Keys to the Game
By Steve Irvine
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - September 2, 2026
UAB (0-0) VS. ILLINOIS (0-0)
GIES MEMORIAL STADIUM
THURSDAY, 8 P.M. CST, BIG TEN NETWORK
When Illinois has the ball: The addition of quarterback Katin Houser from East Carolina helps ease the loss to proven quarterback Luke Altamyer. Houser was sensational at ECU, where he started the past two season. Houser threw for for 6,438 yards and 43 touchdowns and rushed for 15 more scores in his four college seasons, including two at Michigan State. Houser has 26 career starts. Obviously, the offense will start with Houser, who is one of the team captains. But the Illini might try to control the game against the Blazers on the ground with experienced running backs Ca’lil Valentine and Aidan Laughery. Valentine, who is explosive, led the team in rushing with 614 yards and four touchdowns last season. Laughery rushed for 382 yards and three touchdowns last season. Kaden Feagin, a 6-foot3, 260-pound senior, who rushed for a team-best seven touchdowns last season is now playing tight end. UAB’s revamped defensive front will be tested against a Big Ten offensive line. The defensive ends and edge rushers have deservedly garnered a ton of attention during fall camp. But a key to the performance of guys like Marlin Dean, Blanche Gold, Tylin Jackson and the rest of a talented group could very well be help from the interior. “In order for my guys like Marlo, (Chris Burge) and (others) to be to really get their pass rush off, they got to have some type of distraction to hold the guards and hold the center so they don’t leak out,” said defensive tackle Noah Nelson. “In order for that guy to be doing that, the guy inside has to be elite. We have an elite group of interior defensive linemen.” Obviously making Houser uncomfortable, if possible, would be huge. Illinois will be without injured FAU transfer Jayshon Plott, who had 46 catches for 720 yards with five touchdowns for the Owls last season. He had two catches for 74 yards with a 48-yard touchdown reception in a 53-33 win over UAB. Experienced wide receivers Collin Dixon and Hudson Clement combined for 71 catches 1,012 yards and eight touchdowns last season. Houser threw 17 interceptions over two seasons at ECU but only six of those came on 480 attempts last season. The UAB secondary did a good job in fall camp of coming up with interceptions. They need that to carry over to games.
When UAB has the ball: Incoming defensive coordinator Bobby Hauck will employ a 3-3-5 defense. Will UAB open up by trying to attack the defense with the running game? Roderick Robinson III, the 6-foot-1, 235-pound Georgia transfer is making his much anticipated debut at UAB. He’ll share the backfield with smaller backs Bam McReynolds and Ja’Vin Simpkins. The diversity of their styles just might make it possible for UAB to run against what should be a physical Illinois defense. “I think we're gonna play physical,” quarterback Ryder Burton said. “I think that's where everything starts for us. We gotta establish the run game. We gotta play physical up front, be efficient on first down, stay ahead of the sticks. The word that I hope that after Thursday night we can say is we played efficient football.” That includes moving the chains with both the run and the pass and hitting a deep ball when the opportunity arises. This could be a game where the tight end position, most notably Antonio Ferguson, plays a big role in moving the chains. Ferguson is part of a deep tight end position. Illinois linebacker Daniel Brown is expected to miss the game because of an injury. Giving Burton time throw is critical for the Blazers. For much of fall camp it appeared that the offensive line starters were Payton Kirkland at left tackle, Donovan Lawrence at left guard, Rimington Trophy candidate Adam Lepkowski at center, Calib Perez at right guard and either Kyrik Mason or Barrett Maddox at right tackle. Then the first depth chart was released on Monday and the lone position that listed just one possible starter was at center with Lepkowski. Perhaps it was released that way to confuse the Illinois defensive staff but it will be interesting to see how far the rotation extends in the game.
Special teams: Illinois is expected to start brand new specialists at each spot. UAB returns reliable kicker Jonah Delange and kickoff specialist Owen Simpson. Evan Bishop in the new long snapper and LSU transfer punter Badger Hargett will get his first start on Thursday. UAB’s kick and punt return rotation is still a work in progress. For now, running backs Ja’Vin Simpkins and Bam McReynolds are listed at the top of the depth chart at kickoff return and wide receiver CD Gill is the leader at punt return. Freshmen Jayson Moll and Hudson Higgins and dynamic wide receiver Ty Mims could also factor into the return game.
Hello my name is: Nate Rogers. If things go well then Rogers’ role will be limited. Rogers is the team’s backup quarterback. A healthy and effective Ryder Burton means Rogers spends most of his time on the sideline. We have seen what Nate Rogers can do with his legs. It would be surprising if Alex Mortensen doesn’t use a package for Rogers against the Illini. But listen to Burton talk and Rogers has developed into much more than someone who is in the game to solely attack a defense with his legs. “I think Nate has always been a special athlete,” Burton said. “What I'm most proud of is I think Nate's become a much better quarterback this year. There is a little bit last year he was an athlete playing quarterback, this year he's a quarterback playing quarterback.”
Trend to follow: UAB won its past 10 season opener. This is the first time since 2014 that UAB begins the season against a FBS opponent. UAB beat Troy, 48-0, in Bill Clark’s first game at UAB on Aug. 30, 2014. Since the return to football in 2017 the Blazers played nine consecutive FCS teams to open the season. This is also the first time UAB has gone on the road to open the season since losing at Troy, 34-31 in overtime, in 2013. UAB is 4-13 against FBS opponents in the opener since moving to Division I-A (now FBS) in 1996.
How Illinois wins: Flex their muscles and play Big Ten football. Controlling the line of scrimmage is the key for the Illini.
How UAB wins: Win the turnover battle decisively, limit penalties and mental errors and win the chunk play category. It’s not often that four-touchdown underdogs win a game but playing with confidence is necessary.
Coach’s corner: How helpful is the six-game introduction to being a head coach for Alex Mortensen? How much did he learn about being a head coach while serving as UAB’s interim head coach for the final six games of the 2025 season? It’s hard to imagine that isn’t an advantage for him to get the head start but this is still a difficult test for Mortensen and his team.
One more thing: UAB defensive tackle Nigel Tate probably won’t play in the season opener, even though he is listed on the depth chart as a possible starter with Chris Spencer. Tate spent the past year working his way back from an Achilles injury in 2025 fall camp. He has been limited this August but still has played a big role in getting the defensive line ready to play. “Even with him not being on the field with us, he still comes to stretch with us,” said fellow defensive tackle Noah Nelson. “He still calls my phone. We still talk. I still see Nigel outside of the facility. He's still a very involved person in our group. His leadership is very valuable to our group. He still pushes us, he still helps us with play calls. He still does all these different things. When we were in spring doing OTAs, he was who was giving out the calls and stuff like that in the player-led practices.”