UAB Finds Encouragement, Feels Frustration in loss to Illinois

By Steve Irvine

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - September 4, 2026

CHAMPAIGN, IL. – What if?

That certainly appeared to be a logical question, at least from a UAB standpoint, after the Blazers opened the season with season with a 42-23 loss to Illinois on Thursday night at Gies Memorial Stadium.

The list of reasons for the question includes three red zone trips that ended in Jonah Delange field goals. Two of those trips included first-and-goal situations inside the 5-yard line. It also includes a Hail Mary connection from Illinois quarterback Katin Houser to receiver Ty Robinson that covered 54 yards and turned a one-point Illini lead into a 21-13 advantage at halftime. There was an Illinois pick six that came when UAB quarterback Ryder Burton was trying to make a fourth down play while being pressured. And also a holding call that negated a run by Bam McReynolds that would have put the Blazers in a first down situation at the 12-yard line.

Add all of that up and it seemed natural to ask what would have happened if those things didn’t happen.

But, from a player’s standpoint, what if is not a logical way to look at those things.

“I’m not into the what if games,” said linebacker Muaaz Byard, who had a team-high seven tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss. “I mean, we got to get stops. We got a strong offense. That’s just how it goes in football. Whoever scores more points wins the game. So all the what ifs, it’s cool and everything to make you feel good about yourself. But we’re not in this for moral victories. We want to win, so that’s how it is.’

UAB fell into a 14-3 hole early on after Illinois scored twice on its first six plays. But the Blazers fought back to cut the deficit to one the first of three Delange field goals and a 10-yard scoring pass from Burton to running back Roderick Robinson with 18 seconds left in the first half. The 14-13 deficit should have held up heading into halftime but Houser stood in the pocket while facing a two-man rush and then delivered the ball into the end zone.

“We gave up a touchdown on a Hail Mary situation of all things before the half when we've got to bat the ball down and get it down,” said UAB head coach Alex Mortensen. “We had a technique error there.”

It got worse when the Illini drove down the field on the first possession of the second half and built the lead to 28-13 on a 14-yard scoring pass from Katin Houser to Collin Dixon. Ultimately, that was too much for UAB to overcome.

WHAT IT MEANS: It depends on the response. Learn from Thursday night and the lessons could be beneficial down the road. That’s the plan right now.

WHEN THE GAME TURNED: The simple version is the Hail Mary that ended the first half. But the Illinois touchdown drive to open the second half was just as critical. What had been a tenuous 14-13 lead for the Illini was quickly – when it comes to time on the scoreboard – a comfortable 15-point lead. UAB was climbing uphill from that point.

WHY UAB LOST: Three red zone field goals cost UAB 12 points. The Hail Mary at the end of the first half cost another seven points. Add them up and that’s 19 points. What was the margin of victory for Illinois?

WHAT ARE THE KEY STATS: UAB won the statistical battle in total yards (413-332), rushing yards (194-50), first downs (24-17), total plays (79-43) and time of possession (41:03 to 18:57). UAB was also 13-for-23 on conversion downs, including 3 of 4 on fourth down. But nine penalties for 69 yards and just two touchdowns in five red zone trips was also costly. Illinois was penalized once for four years. Ryder Burton was 18-of-31 for 219 yards and a touchdown and rushed 12 times for 38 yards and another score. Rod Robinson was the team’s leading rusher with 59 yards on 14 carries.

WHO GETS THE GAME BALLS: UAB had plenty of players who played well but the game balls go to the winners.

WHAT DID COACH MORTENSEN SAY IN HIS POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE:

Opening statement: “I think the good thing is I think we played really hard. We played with the kind of toughness that we're looking for as a team from a tangible standpoint. From a discipline and poise standpoint, I think it took us some time to settle into the game. We had a penalty in the red area. We had a couple of offensive line penalties. I think, you know, Illinois stems their front some, they make calls up front some. I think even though we did give them crowd noise (in practice), I think there were some times early where the crowd noise affected us a little bit when our guys were in their stances. That's an area I think we settled into the game eventually but would have liked to have seen us perform better from that standpoint. You look at the game I think we had more first downs. I think we were over 50 percent on third down. I think we were 3-for-4 on fourth downs. So there are a lot of good things. We had 413 yards to their 332. I know they had some short fields but the point being is that there's some critical situations where I think if we handle them better, that game's competitive to the end and likely we win it or have a chance to win it. We ended up having a penalty in the red area, which I mentioned. We gave up a touchdown on a Hail Mary situation of all things before the half when we've got to bat the ball down and get it down. We had a technique error there. Then we had a sack fumble late. Now on that one, I, I take responsibility for that one. I think I gotta give the quarterback a better ball out answer, something faster. But anyway, a lot positives too in how our guys played. If you look at the stats, I think you'd say if we can eliminate the critical penalties, there's a lot of areas we probably edge them out. A ton of respect to their program. Coach (Bret) Bielema does a great job and I think they've got a really good team.”

On not scoring touchdowns in the red area: “One of the things you always look at from an analytics standpoint is touchdowns vs. field goals in the red zone. If you can finish with touchdowns, it is one of the determining factors and one of the things that correlates very close with winning. It does hurt you obviously in the long run and we've got to do a better job down there. I think there are a couple of times we had good field position and we took ourselves out of good field position where we're inside the five. Then there are other times, where even when that happens, we still have an opportunity to score down there. I think the thing you don't see, too, uh, we had a couple protection errors where, we did get open. We got open twice in the end zone or actually three times in the end zone. Then I don't want to put that on the offensive line. Protection is a collaborative effort. We've gotta finish those drives with touchdowns. Now, I don't want to diminish the importance of kicking field goals. I think it's still (points). I don't think you gotta go for it on every fourth down either. I'm glad we had a good field goal percentage tonight.”

On the response after quickly falling down 14-3: “I really like the way we responded, you know, uh, at that point. We talk about having a no scoreboard mentality. Each play's got a history and life of its own. We play with relentless effort. Like, it doesn't matter what the scoreboard says. I thought our guys did that. And then lo and behold, you fight your way back in it. If we don't give up a touchdown before the half, it's like you're really in it big time. Anyway, yeah, I did like the way the guys bounced back. But again, we didn't come here for like a moral victory or to feel like, ‘Hey, we, we, we kept it close for a little while.’ You know, we wanted to compete to try to win this game.”

On what the Hail Mary did emotionally to the team: “Emotionally what it does is whatever you allow it to do. My mindset is ‘So what, now what?’ It happened, there's a half of football left. OK, let's make the correction if we end up in a Hail Mary situation again, talk through the technique errors, and let's go compete. I think our guys did that by and large. I think if you're mentally weak those things can really put you behind.”

On the defense: “You know, I think we played well defensively. As the game went on, I think we played better against the run, as we got going. I think the front did a good job of controlling the run the best they could. I think we affected the quarterback some. But, all in all, I thought if you don't give up the score before the half and we do the things we're capable of doing on offense, it's probably good enough.”

On running 79 plays to Illinois’ 43 plays: “Again, we've got to just do a better job situationally, like I said. If you look at time of possession, again people would say they had a couple short fields or big plays that can tilt it that way a little bit. But we had 41 minutes when we had the ball. We had more first downs. We were able to move the chains and keep the ball moving. We ran for 194 yards, so alot of positive things. I thought Ryder Burton, he's his biggest critic. I'm sure he's gonna come back and say, ‘I should have done this. I should have done that.’ I thought he played his tail off. Man, the guy's a competitor. I love the way he competes. I thought he had great poise tonight. He handled the stage well and made some really good throws and then helped us a lot in scrambling to extend plays. I think also to throw the ball and then scrambling to run it as well. That was very positive.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Quarter

• 7:55 - ILL | Collin Dixon grabbed 18-yard touchdown pass from Katin Houser. Ethan Moczulski added the extra point. Drive lasted 3 plays and covered 30 yards. The score came after a 65-yard punt return by Mac Resetich. (7-0, Illinois)

• 2:24 – UAB | Jonah Delange hit a 26-yard field goal. The scoring drive lasted 12 plays and covered 67 yards. (7-3, Illinois).

• 1:18 – ILL | Ca’Lil Valentine burst 51 yards for a touchdown. Ethan Moczulski was successful on the extra point. The scoring drive lasted three plays and covered 75 yards. (14-3, Illinois).

Second Quarter

• 5:50 - UAB | Jonah Delange made a 23-yard field goal. The scoring drive lasted six plays and covered 27 yards.  (14-6, Illinois).

• 0:18 – UAB | Roderick Robinson III caught a 10-yard scoring pass from Ryder Burton. Jonah Delange was successful on the extra point. The scoring drive lasted 10 plays and covered 50 yards. The score came one play after a 14-yard scramble by Ryder Burton. (14-13, Stallions)

• 0:00 – ILL | Ty Robinson grabbed a 54-yard Hail Mary pass from Katin Houser. Ethan Moczulski added the extra point. The scoring drive lasted three plays and covered 66 yards.

Third Quarter

• 10:15 - ILL | Collin Dixon grabbed a 14-yard scoring pass from Katin Houser. Ethan Moczulski was successful on the extra point. The scoring drive lasted 11 plays and covered 75 yards. (28-13, Illinois).

• 3:58 – UAB | Jonah Delange hits a 35-yard field goal. The scoring drive lasted 11 plays and covered 58 yards. (28-16, Illinois).

• 12:25 – ILL | Katin Houser scrambled in from 6 yards out. Ethan Moczulski was successful on the extra point. The scoring drive lasted 11 plays and covered 58 yards. (35-16, Illinois)

Fourth quarter

• 5:48 – ILL | Kante Ismael intercepted a pass and returned it 58 yards for a score. Ethan Moczulski was successful on the extra point. (42-16, Illinois)

• 0:09 – UAB | Ryder Burton scored on a 5-yard run. Jonah Delange added the extra point. The scoring drive lasted 12 plays and covered 75 yards. (42-23, Illinois).

WHERE IS UAB’S NEXT ASSIGNMENT: UAB welcomes Bryant Vincent and Louisiana-Monroe to Protective Stadium in the Blazers home opener a week from Saturday.