Home Opener Brings Plenty of Storylines for UAB
By Steve Irvine
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - September 11, 2026
LOUISIANA-MONROE (0-1) VS. UAB (0-1)
PROTECTIVE STADIUM
SATURDAY, 2:30 P.M. CST, ESPN PLUS
When ULM has the ball: Perhaps the biggest question for UAB coaches this week in preparation is how much do things change with first-year offensive coordinator Jesse Montalto leading the offense instead of head coach Bryant Vincent? Now, Vincent certainly still has a big part in coordinating the offense but it should come with some differences. Another important question is what the ULM quarterback rotation will look like. You would think that Aidan Armenta has solidified himself as the starter and Vincent said during his weekly press conference that Armenta “did a lot of good things” in the lopsided loss to Mississippi State. But Austin Carlisle, a speedy 5-foot-10, 190-pound dual threat transfer quarterback from Houston, also did good things against the Bulldogs. Carlisle had a team-high 50 rushing yards, threw for 73 yards and a score and led the Warhawks on all three of their scoring drives. It wouldn’t be surprising to see both get quality time on Saturday. UAB needs to keep both quarterbacks from getting comfortable. The Blazers didn’t do a great job of doing that against Illinois quarterback Katin Houser. UAB had no sacks in the loss to Illinois and linebacker Ike Esonwune was credited with the only two quarterback hurries. The ULM front line may have been the offensive bright spot against Mississippi State. Preseason All-Sun Belt conference offensive tackle AJ Vinson leads a group up front that is large and has some experience. They were able to open up rushing lanes at Mississippi State that allowed the Warhawks to gain 157 yards overall. UAB needs to find a way to force turnovers, which they didn’t do against Illinois. For ULM to have sustained success the Warhawks need to do a better job executing on third down. ULM was 3-of-16 on third down in the loss at Mississippi State but the Warhawks did convert 2-of-3 fourth down situations. UAB linebacker Muaaz Byard offered his scouting report earlier this week. “Number three (Derrick Jameson) is a bigger back and No. 25 (Bryson Roland) is a smaller back but he's very quick. Kind of reminds me of our backs, actually. I like the tight end, No. 8 (Bryce Anderson). I feel like he's a good player. The offensive line, they're pretty good. They're getting to the second level. Obviously, Mississippi State runs a very different defense than us. They have a three-down front and we have four-down front, so it's a little bit different with the blocking scheme. But they look good out there. I'm ready to play and see what they're about.”
When UAB has the ball: Can the ULM defense limit missed tackles on Saturday? That is perhaps the question of the day. The Warhawks had 26 missed tackles, according to Pro Football Focus, against the Bulldogs, which played a critical role in Mississippi State piling up 762 offensive yards and scoring eight touchdowns. They need to do better against a UAB offense that showed the ability to make defenders miss in the opener. Illinois, according to PFF, had 24 missed tackles in the win over UAB. The Blazers game plan against Illinois called for a heavy dose of the run game and running backs Roderick Robinson II, Bam McReynolds and Ja’Vin Simpkins delivered. UAB gained nearly 200 yards on the ground against Illinois. Expect more of the same on Saturday, at least until ULM proves they can stop the running game. UAB also showed the ability to move the ball through the air. Take away the desperation fourth down forward lateral that turned into a Pick-6 and Burton had a solid beginning in his first time as an opening day starter in college. Burton was 18-of-31 for 219 yards with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Rod Robinson. He also hit CJ Smith on a 40-yard pass to put the Blazers inside the 5-yard line. The play of the receivers was encouraging with Ty Mims leading the way with four catches for 52 yards. Mims, EJ Reid, Kaleb Brown and Smith each had at least two catches. ULM had trouble stopping Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor but he is probably the best player at that position that the Warhawks defense will face all season. Linebacker Noah Flemings earned All-Sun Belt third team mention last season after contributing 80 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble, two quarterback hurries and a pass breakup. The 6-foot-4, 250-pound Flemings had a team-best nine tackles in the opener. Red zone success will be a big factor in today’s game. UAB scored two touchdowns in five red zone appearances at Illinois. If they convert all five into touchdowns then it would have put more pressure on Illinois late in the game. Mississippi State scored four touchdowns in six red zone trips against ULM.
Special teams: UAB has some players who could make an impact in the kickoff return game. Running backs Bam McReynolds and Ja’Vin Simpkins were lined up deep most of the time in the loss at Illinois. But they never got a chance for a return. Illinois kickoff specialist Ethan Moczulski put all six of his kickoffs into the end zone for a touchback. UAB’s Owen Simpson had five of his six kickoffs travel into the end zone for a touchback. He other one was followed by a 31-yard return to set Illinois up at the 34-yard line for it’s quick Hail Mary drive at the end of the first half. ULM kicker Abram Murray had touchbacks on all four of his kickoffs at Mississippi State.
Hello my name is: Muuaz Byard. The Middle Tennessee transfer had a steady outing in his first game with the Blazers. Byard, who is in his final college season, led the team with seven tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss against Illinois. Two of his tackles came with Illinois backed up inside its 5-yard line after a tremendous punt by Badger Hargett. UAB’s defense forced a 3-and-out that helped set up the touchdown to cut the Illinois lead to 14-13 late in the half.
Trend to follow: If you’ve followed UAB football since The Return then you don’t need to be reminded of the second game of the season troubles for the Blazers. Since the ball was kicked off in 2017, UAB is 1-8 in the second game of the season. The lone win in that stretch was a 31-20 triumph at Akron in 2019. One of the losses was a 32-6 setback at Louisiana-Monroe in 2024. This is the first time that UAB plays a home game in the second game of the season during that stretch. However, the second game struggles didn’t begin with the return to football. UAB is 5-23 overall in second games of the season since joining Division I-AA (now FBS) in 1996. The last time the Blazers won in the second week prior to 2019 was a 17-12 win over ECU at Legion Field in 2006. That win was preserved by Chris Felder’s forced fumble just before the goal line in the final minute of the game. Will Evans recovered the ball in the end zone.
How ULM wins: Win the running game on both sides of the ball, force UAB into mistakes and take advantage of every opportunity.
How UAB wins: Clean up the drive-altering penalties, score touchdowns not field goals when in the red zone and control the clock like the Blazers did against Illinois.
Coach’s corner: Motivation won’t be a problem for Bryant Vincent in his return to Protective Stadium. He was integral part of the best stretch in the program’s history and was disappointed when he didn’t get to shed the interim head coach tag after his team won the Bahamas Bowl in 2022.
One more thing: Only three FBS teams ran less plays than the Illinois offense in the season opening games. Illinois ran 43 plays against the Blazers. Missouri State had 40 offensive plays while East Carolina and Toledo each ran 41 plays. Obviously, UAB did a great job of controlling the clock in that game but Illinois was the only one of the bottom four in total plays to win the game. Illinois scored five offensive touchdowns on the 43 plays while the other three combined for four touchdowns. Toledo had three of those touchdowns in a 30-20 loss to Michigan State.