UConn Beats UAB 38-19
By Steve Irvine
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - November 1, 2025
At the beginning of Saturday, UConn was the best FBS football team in the country in turnover margin. That certainly won’t change after the 38-19 victory over UAB at Pratt & Whitney Stadium in Hartford, Conn.
UAB quarterbacks Ryder Burton and Jalen Kitna combined for three interceptions, all of them caught by UConn’s Cam Chadwick. On the other side, for the eighth time in nine games, UConn finished the game without a turnover. UConn quarterback Joe Fagnano extended his streak without an interception this season to 304 passes.
“Well, they do a good job on offense to not turn the ball over,” said UAB interim head coach Alex Mortensen after the Blazers fell to 3-5. “Give them credit. I think we deserve every bit of responsibility for the turnovers we had on offense. One of them was a really poor decision at quarterback. The other one we have a receiver that stops running a route. And there's others. Those are the causative things of the turnovers. We've got to do a better job being disciplined and having the discipline to execute.”
The warm feeling over the upset win over Memphis two weeks ago melted away in the first 30 minutes on a cloudy day in Connecticut. Kitna’s interception ended a promising first drive for the Blazers and Burton threw an interception on his first throw of the day. By the end of the first half, UAB trailed 24-0.
WHAT IT MEANS: The road woes continue for the Blazers. UAB saw its streak of road losses grow to 15. It also means the momentum created by the win over Memphis is long gone.
WHEN THE GAME TURNED: There was a lot of football left but the tone was set on UAB’s offensive snap of the game. UAB had just stopped a promising UConn opening drive with a pair of nice defensive plays on third and fourth down. The offense had a chance to build off that on the second offensive play when wide receiver was open on a short slant. If he makes the catch, there was nothing but green grass ahead on what could have been a 76-yard touchdown pass. But quarterback Jalen Kitna threw the ball behind Brown and it was nearly a UConn interception. UAB regrouped to drive it deep into UConn territory before the drive ended on a UConn interception. That was just the start of a frustrating afternoon.
WHY UAB LOST: UAB turned the ball over three times and did very little right in the first half. The Blazers also hurt themselves with timely penalties and allowed too much third down success.
WHAT ARE THE KEY STATS: UConn’s Cam Chadwick had as many interceptions (3) in this game as UAB has in the first eight games. UAB also had no answer for UConn quarterback Joe Fagnano (23-of-30 for 267 yards, four touchdowns) and wide receiver Skyler Bell (eight catches for 149 yards, three touchdowns). UAB’s running game worked well but the scoreboard limited the Blazers’ opportunities to run the ball. UAB had 154 yards on 34 carries but the total yardage number is skewed by 51 lost yards on five sacks. Jevon Jackson had 61 yards on nine carries. Ryder Burton was 21-of-30 for 209 yards with two touchdown passes and two interceptions. Jalen Kitna was 2-of-5 for nine yards with one interception. Corri Milliner, who was playing for the first time since the third week of the season, had four catches for 26 yards and Iverson Hooks had four catches for 28 yards. Kaleb Brown had four catches for 25 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown reception.
WHO GETS THE GAME BALLS: Obviously, the game balls go to the winner but UAB wide receiver Brandon Hawkins Jr. had a productive game with one rushing touchdown and one receiving touchdown. Hawkins had four catches for four catches for 89 yards, including a 68-yard touchdown, and one carry for 32 yards.
WHAT COACH MORTENSEN HAD TO SAY IN POSTGAME INTERVIEW ON BLAZER SPORTS NETWORK FROM Learfield:
On his team’s effort: “Yeah, I think by and large, most of the team did compete really well to the end. We put ourselves in a pretty big hole. I do think we've got some guys that still have to continue to develop the emotional maturity when it's not going their way, not going our way. But I think by and large, guys fought to the final play.”
On quarterback play: “Well, I do think we're capable of better quarterback play. I thought we started the game off controlling the tempo of the game, running the ball well, got ourselves down in the red zone. And on the second down, there are no good interceptions, but we had an especially bad one there. So that's something we can't do. We felt like with some of the pass rush, Ryder's ability to create play extensions was going to be a little bit of an advantage for us going through the going to the rest of the game. I do think he was able to keep us alive. But I think top to bottom, all three guys really can play better, need to play better. And that starts with me.”
On Ryder Burton keeping plays alive: “There were a couple of times that he and I looked at it on the iPad, he probably could have stayed in the pocket where we had some guys that were maybe breaking open. But on the flip side, there are a lot of positives that came with some of his extensions as well. So there's a fine line there at quarterback. You don't want to chase ghosts. And I think he could probably stay in a little bit more than what he did.”
On the UAB run game: “It is (encouraging), but I think at the end of the day, we had an opportunity to control the game on offense. I know people are going to look at the score and see that we gave up points. I think we put the defense in a tough position. We had two turnovers. We had a ball end up on the on the minus one we had to punt out of. So really and truly, I think if with the way we're running the ball and we don't turn the ball over, we could continue to be more patient with the run for four quarters and kind of control the game. So that 150 or whatever, it could have been could have been another 50 or 100 yards if we play the way we want to play.”
On UConn receiver Skyler Bell: “He's a really good player. And obviously, they generated a variety of sacks on the day. Now, part of that, again, we put ourselves in a hole and they can pin their ears back in pass rush the way they want to. But no (Bell is a) really good player. Give him a ton of credit and their staff.”
On next week’s trip to Rice: “They've changed offensive philosophies with their staff change and it's unique. There's some triple option components to it, so it certainly will be a challenge. They do a good job on both sides of the ball.”
On the locker room mood afterwards: “Well, I think guys are disappointed and we're disappointed as a staff. But I also think there's a resiliency. We know there's a lot of football left and we want to bounce back. I think everyone knows what the ceiling is after the Memphis game. But we got to go back and try to build on that.”
WHERE IS UAB’S NEXT ASSIGNMENT: It’s back on the road next Saturday for UAB as the Blazers travel to Houston for an American Conference game against Rice.