UAB Heads to Lafayette, louisiana Looking for Another Step Forward
By Steve Irvine
UAB (1-1) AT LOUISIANA (1-1)
OUR LADY OF LOURDES STADIUM
SATURDAY, 7 P.M. CST, ESPN PLUS
When Louisiana has the ball: Starting quickly would be a welcome change for the UAB defense. Piece together the first two drives of each game thus far and the opposition has 25 plays for 247 yards and four touchdowns. Last week against ULM, the Warhawks had 142 yards and two touchdowns on the first two drives and 115 yards on 44 plays the rest of the way. The ‘rest of the way’ numbers include an 11-play, 59-yard drive to start the second half and not much else. Digging a hole on Saturday night in Lafayette wouldn’t be a good idea. It’s well documented that quarterback Lunch Winfield is the leader and the leading playmaker on this offense. His presence is the main reason that the Ragin’ Cajuns have shown balance the first two weeks while averaging 221.5 yards passing and 194.5 yards rushing per game. Winfield throws for 200 yards and rushes for 87 yards per game and accounted for four of the team’s nine touchdowns this season. What’s a defense to do while trying to stop the dual threat quarterback? “I think just trusting the other 10 guys around you and do your job,” said UAB cornerback Darrell Sweeting. Winfield has been sacked just twice this season. Obviously, his ability to escape pressure is a big reason for that. But UAB needs to find a way to get him uncomfortable, even if they don’t sack him. Winfield can make mistakes if he is uncomfortable. He threw a pair of interceptions in the season opener against Lamar and had seven interceptions last season. Running backs Darrell Smith (10-84, 2 TDs) and Anthony Reagan Jr. (14-60, TD) complement Winfield in the running game. Russell Babineaux, a 5-foot-9, 178-pound redshirt freshman, is the team’s leading receiver with seven catches for 95 yards and a touchdown. Louisiana also puts pressure on a defense by utilizing the tight end trio of 6-foot-6, 265-pound Caden Jensen, 6-foot-2, 230-pound Teddy Gawlik and 6-foot-5, 252-pound Brock Chappell. They combined on 13 catches for 182 yards in the first three games.
When UAB has the ball: UAB’s plan thus far has been to let the running game carry the load. By doing that successfully the Blazers have controlled time of possession and limited possessions for the opposing offense. At some point, though, the passing game needs to carry a bigger load and provide some chunk plays. USC threw the ball with success against Louisiana last week, netting 269 yards but it was all on short and intermediate routes. Lamar took one deep shot against Louisiana in the season opener but it was incomplete. The Ragin’ Cajuns had three interceptions against Lamar and another against USC. Three of the interceptions came from the secondary – cornerbacks Avery Demery and Brent Gordon Jr. and safety Collin – with the other coming from linebacker Jake St. Andre. Protecting Ryder Burton has been an issue thus far for UAB. He’s been sacked four times in two games and had several other times that he saved a sack by escaping pressure. The game-winning 43-yard touchdown pass from Burton to EJ Reid, which included a nice pass rush pickup by running back Bam McReynolds, showed what the offense is capable of providing if the quarterback is given time. But still expect the Blazers to begin by trying to establish the run and continuing to do so if they have success. Roderick Robinson II is coming off his first 100-yard game in college and McReynolds has been outstanding in his first two games at UAB. The Blazers average 230 rushing yards per game, which is 26th best in the country. Louisiana allows 135 rushing yards per game, which looks good on paper. But Louisiana had success against the run against Lamar (29 carries for 56 yards) and didn’t fare as well against USC (40 carries for 214 yards). It will be interesting to see what happens on Saturday.
Special teams: If given opportunities Ty Mims could be one of the better punt returners in the American Conference. The 5-foot-9 redshirt senior had a punt return for a touchdown in 2023 while playing for Southern Miss. Is career punt return touchdown No. 2 on the way for Mims? Through two games, he has three returns for an average of 13 yards per return, which is 27th best in the country. Louisiana allowed 100 yards on four punt returns thus far. USC’s Trent Mosley had most of that on an 86-yard punt return touchdown in the win over Louisiana last Saturday. UAB’s kickoff return game could also finally get a chance on Saturday. UAB has just one kickoff return opportunity in two games and that resulted in a 15-yard return by EJ Reid. Louisiana kicker Mason Golding has no touchbacks on seven kickoffs this season. But Louisiana has been solid on kickoff coverage, allowing 18.13 yards per return.
Hello my name is: Ja’Vin Simpkins. The shifty 5-foot-9, 185-pound Coastal Carolina transfer is part of the three-man rotation at the top of the UAB running back depth chart. But Rod Robinson and Bam McReynolds have the bulk of the running back touches thus far. At some point, perhaps on Saturday, Simpkins is going to get his chance to shine. To this point he has 11 offensive touches for 35 yards.
Trend to follow: Jonah Delange made all seven of his field goal attempts in the first two weeks. That’s the good news. The bad news, obviously, is that he attempted seven field goals in two games with many coming in the red zone. UAB needs to convert more drives into touchdowns and give Delange more opportunities at extra points. Delange has made 64 consecutive extra points since taking over as the program’s field goal kicker in 2024.
How Louisiana wins: It begins with Lunch Winfield putting on a Superman cape and includes limiting the UAB running game to a season-low in yards, winning the turnover battle and keeping Ryder Burton uneasy in the pocket.
How UAB wins: Limit the penalties and turnovers, throw the ball with success, limit Lunch Winfield’s success and play with confidence on the road.
Coach’s corner: UAB cornerback coach Lionel Stokes will feel at home on Saturday at Cajun Field. Stokes is a former Louisiana defensive back and assistant coach. Stokes had 135 tackles and five interceptions in his career and was part of the 2011 New Orleans Bowl winning team.
One more thing: UAB was able to break the Game 2 woes last week with the win over Louisiana-Monroe. The victory over ULM improved UAB’s record to 2-8 in Game 2 since the return to football in 2017. The only other UAB win during that stretch came in 2019 at Akron. Now, they turn to the third game of the season, which has been a different story. UAB is 7-2 in the third game of the season since The Return with the losses coming in Trent Dilfer’s first two seasons. One of those losses was a 41-21 setback to Louisiana in 2023 at Protective Stadium.