Steve Irvine Previews UAB Vs North Texas
By Steve Irvine
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - November 14, 2025
NORTH TEXAS (8-1, 4-1) VS. UAB (3-6, 1-4)
PROTECTIVE STADIUM
SATURDAY, 1 P.M. CST, ESPN-PLUS
When North Texas has the ball: A North Texas offense built for quarterback Drew Mestemaker to beat a defense is also prepared to win with Caleb Hawkins and the running game. Limit one area and they can beat you with the other. In the 31-17 win over Navy, for example, North Texas ran the football 44 times and attempted 32 passes. Hawkins had 197 yards and three rushing touchdowns in that game. In a win over UTSA, the Mean Green had 270 rushing yards on 44 carries. On the year, North Texas has 30 rushing touchdowns, which is third most in the American Conference. So, this offense isn’t just about Mestemaker throwing it all over the yard. But when he does throw, spectacular things happen. The 6-foot-4, 211-pound former walk-on, who was a safety and punter in high school, played sparingly in the regular season as a true freshman. His first start came in the First Responder Bowl when he was 26-of-41 passing for 393 yards with two touchdowns and had 14 carries for 87 yards with a 70-yard scoring run in a loss to Texas State. That success carried over into this season. Coming into Saturday’s game, Mestemaker is 214-of-310 for 2,702 yards with 21 touchdowns and four interceptions. He also has four rushing touchdowns. Mestemaker threw for 608 yards against Charlotte and has three games with four touchdown passes. Sophomore Wyatt Young (40 catches for 368 yards, seven touchdowns) and senior Cameron Dorner (35 catches for 544 yards, four touchdowns) are the team’s leading receivers. As a team, North Texas leads the American Conference in total offense (487.8 yards per game) and scoring offense (44.4 points per game.). UAB’s defense took a step forward last week by limiting Rice to 232 yards. This week’s challenge is much tougher, especially for a pass defense that has produced just 14 sacks and three interceptions in nine games.
When UAB has the ball: UAB has started the same players on the offensive line in all nine games this season. Baron Franks II got his first start of the season last week but the Blazers were in a heavy package on the first play, which meant they brought in an extra offensive lineman. So, the lineup of Brandon Sneh and Calib Perez on the left side, Adam Lepkowski at center and JonDarius Morgan and Brandon Sneh on the right side remained intact. However, Franks eventually got the bulk of the left guard snaps and Kyrik Mason was in at right tackle in the fourth quarter. Keep on an eye the starters and the rotation on Saturday. No matter what, though, the line will play a key role against a North Texas defense that has been effective throughout the season. Establishing the run is a focus each week for the Blazers. It will be extremely important on Saturday against a North Texas defense that is eighth in the country in passing yards allowed per game (160.3) and 128th in rushing defense (204.1 ypg). The first option could be establishing a running game. That begins with getting the ball to Jevon Jackson, who has 142 yards on 24 carries over the past two games, including a 51-yard run at Rice. Jackson is ninth in the conference with 592 rushing yards on 112 carries. Seventeen is the most carries that Jackson has in a game this season. That happened twice and he turned those carries into a career-high 166 yards and two touchdowns in the season opener against Alabama State and 54 clock-eating yards against Memphis. In case you didn’t notice, those are two of UAB’s three wins this season. UAB also needs explosive plays in the run game from Solomon Beebe. Ryder Burton has been solid at quarterback for UAB but has not matched the consistency over the past two games that he showed in upset victory over Memphis by throwing for 251 yards and three touchdowns. Big plays in the passing game, whether it’s Burton or Jalen Kitna throwing the ball, remain important in the game plan.
Special teams: Solomon Beebe and the UAB kickoff return team will probably get the opportunity to make an impact in Saturday’s game. Can they take advantage of that opportunity? North Texas kickers have 69 kickoffs this season with 31 touchbacks. UAB opponents kicked off 61 times this season with Beebe returning just 17 of those kickoffs. When he does get an opportunity, Beebe averages 25.3 yard per return, which is 16th in the country, and has the ability to take it the distance like he did against Akron.
Hello my name is: Bowl eligibility and playoff dreams. One more loss and UAB is officially eliminated from bowl contention. One more loss for North Texas and the Mean Green’s playoff dreams are probably cooked. Sure it’s a long shot for the Blazers, who are a 17.5-point underdog, but they were facing a similar scenario when Memphis came to town on Oct. 18.
Trend to follow: Turnovers and penalties. North Texas is tied for fourth in the country in turnover margin at plus-1.11 per game. The Mean Green has 20 takeaways and 10 giveaways in nine games. Only Texas Tech (12) has more fumble recoveries than North Texas (11). UAB is 118th in the country in turnover margin at minus-0.78 per game. UAB has six takeaways and 13 giveaways in nine games. Those numbers are a pretty good indicator of why one team is 8-1 and the other is 3-6. As far as penalties are concerned, UAB is generally better behaved at home. The Blazers average six penalties for 47 yards at Protective Stadium and nine penalties for 84 yards on the road. UAB has double digit penalties in four games with three of those coming on the road. North Texas is 40th in the country in fewest penalties per game (5.67) while UAB is 132nd with 8.22.
How North Texas wins: Move the ball offensively with the run and the pass, create explosive plays and remain efficient in the red zone and win the turnover battle. In other words, do what the Mean Green has done for most of the season.
How UAB wins: The Blazers won’t have the element of surprise at quarterback, unless Jalen Kitna gets the nod, but perhaps the same recipe they used against Memphis is in order. That includes an efficient run game, playmaking at quarterback and receiver, timely defense and the football bouncing UAB’s way. Is it likely? Nope, but it wasn’t likely against Memphis either.
Coach’s corner: Eric Morris won 11 games in his first two seasons as the North Texas head coach. If his team closes out the season with three more wins then he matches that total. It might be long before Morris, who guided Incarnate World to the FCS second round in 2021, takes an upward step in the coaching world.
One more thing: UAB wide receiver Iverson Hooks is on the cusp of entering the school’s single season top 10 in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. He needs three catches, 160 yards and one touchdown to enter the top 10. Hooks has 51 catches for 677 yards with six touchdowns this season.