30-Point Loss To USF Punctuates Awful Day For UAB Athletics
By Steve Irvine
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - November 22, 2025
For the UAB football team, Saturday was supposed to be out sending a group of nearly 30 seniors out with a win in their final game at Protective Stadium.
That changed on Saturday morning at the UAB Football Operations Building when two UAB defensive lineman were injured in a stabbing. Teammate Daniel Mincey, a redshirt freshman offensive lineman Daniel Mincey was arrested after the attack and is now facing charges of aggravated assault and attempted murder. Both of the injured players were taken to the hospital and were listed in stable condition on Saturday afternoon. The injured players have not been identified to the media or public.
UAB interim head coach Alex Mortensen said the team decided to play Saturday’s game, which began with a pregame ceremony for the seniors and ended with a 48-18 loss to a South Florida team that is one week removed from being booted from the race for the G6 slot into the college football playoffs.
“The team as a whole decided they wanted to play today, but we did have several players who understandably chose to sit out, and we certainly respect that decision,” Mortensen said. “Our priority remains the health and well-being of our student athletes, and we want to make sure they have access to take advantage of the support and resources available to them. I'm really proud of this team. The way they came together and competed today, even with heavy hearts, this allowed our seniors to compete in their last game at Protective and it's a testament to our team's dedication to each other and to UAB.”
UAB, which had a depleted roster of available players, played well in the first 30 minutes but eventually wilted in the second half. The Blazers fell to 3-8 overall and 1-6 in American Conference play.
WHAT IT MEANS: What happened in the morning made the game seem unimportant. But it does means is the seniors didn’t walk away with a victory in their final game at Protective Stadium.
WHEN THE GAME TURNED: UAB kept the game close in the first half, entering halftime trailing by a touchdown. The tone changed on the opening drive of the second half when a pair of UAB defenders missed a tackle on what turned into a 60-yard touchdown pass from Byrum Brown to Mudia Reuben. UAB countered with an impressive drive but came away empty when Jalen Kitna threw an interception in the corner of the end zone on first-and-goal from the 7-yard line.
WHY UAB LOST: The Blazers turned the ball over three times and were penalized 10 times for 94 yards. That’s a familiar recipe for failure. Now, USF was penalized 13 times for 104 yards but the Bulls turned the ball over just once.
WHAT ARE THE KEY STATS: Byrum Brown threw for 353 yards, rushed for 63 yards and accounted for five touchdowns. Jalen Kitna was 20-for-36 for 230 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions.
WHO GETS THE GAME BALLS: As with each loss, no UAB player gets a game ball. But Iverson Hooks was a shining light on a dark day. Hooks finished with 10 catches for 146 yards and became the first player in school history to have double digit receptions in two games during the same season. Hooks now has 67 catches for 881 yards. He is currently fourth in the program’s single season receptions list and is 119 yards short of becoming the fifth player in school history to reach 1,000 receiving yards in a season.
WHAT DID COACH MORTENSEN HAD TO SAY IN HIS POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE:
Opening statement: I'm going to start with a statement. Before we talk about the game, I do want to address what happened this morning. As you've heard, we have one player in police custody and two players who are in stable condition after sustaining injuries. More than anything, I'm grateful that those two players are in stable condition and we will make sure that they have the support that they need. I hope you will join me in lifting them and their families in your thoughts and prayers, as our team is doing right now, too. I also ask that you will please respect their privacy as they deal with what happened. Due to privacy concerns and the ongoing nature of the police investigation, I can't provide any further details about the incident or the individuals involved.
The team as a whole decided they wanted to play today, but we did have several players who understandably chose to sit out, and we certainly respect that decision. Our priority remains the health and well-being of our student athletes, and we want to make sure they have access to take advantage of the support and resources available to them. I'm really proud of this team. The way they came together and competed today, even with heavy hearts, this allowed our seniors to compete in their last game at Protective and it's a testament to our team's dedication to each other and to UAB.
The first thing, obviously, again, as I just mentioned, it was definitely a tough day outside of football, but getting to the football. South Florida, obviously, is a very good team. This is a team that came in here, highly regarded. They beat Florida earlier in the year. They're the fifth best offense in the country. I have a lot of respect for them and for Coach (Alex) Golesh and the job they've done there. You know, we obviously this was a tight game for a half. I think it was a one-score game going in the half. It was 17-10. I thought our defense had a tall order today. I thought they competed really well in the game. And I think offensively, we tried to play complementary to help them a little bit. We had some guys make plays, let me say that. I thought our backs ran hard. The offensive line tried to compete as hard as they could. And South Florida did a good job. They really loaded the box today and played tight, a lot of tight man coverage. We were without Corri Milliner at receiver. We were also without Xavier Daisy and Kaleb Brown out there today, too. So those are things that we obviously had to work and game plan around. I thought the guys that were out there did step up as much as they could. Obviously, Iverson Hooks had a pretty big day. But I think we missed some opportunities. While there were some good things that kept us in that game, we had opportunities where we were able to get some people open that maybe we couldn't get it to them, whether that was a decision (by the quarterback) or whether that was protection related. You go back on the iPad and see it. I think our staff, we did a good job putting some things together and guys did a good job executing their part minus a player or two on a play. And then some of it too, we also have to win (matchups). You know, South Florida, a lot of it, they turn it into a man-to-man game and a game about winning those matchups. They did a good job in the game on winning on some of those, and we won on some of ours. But we've got to win on a more consistent basis when someone says they're going to challenge you in that manner and not play softer zone. But again, it was a tough day. It was a tough day for a lot of our guys, and I really appreciate the way that they fought and competed. I really did.”
On the process to make the decision to play: “Without going into a lot of detail, we spoke as a team and we spoke with the team. Those guys really wanted to play today and really the conversation went back to the seniors. You know, with it being Senior Day, they wanted to go play for them and give them an opportunity to go out and compete and play. So that was probably the biggest thing.”
On handling pregame emotions: “One, I think we wanted to be very sympathetic to what everyone's going through and make sure everyone understood they had an opportunity to seek counseling or anything that they needed or wanted. And we were here to help them, the university was here to help them. I thought our administration, you know, Mark Ingram and then the whole staff really stepped up to try to support our players and help them. So they knew that there was help available if they needed it and wanted it. And then upon guys deciding they wanted to play, you know, it was really just getting focused back on the task at hand. We obviously we have a process and a routine that we go through in pregame. I think staying committed to that probably helped guys just get refocused on the job.”
On the last month: “Look, one, the team has been through a lot, certainly over the last couple months. At the end of the day, you know sympathetic to what some people have been through on our team and will continue to be. We've got things in place to do that. And then two, there's a game next week. We're going to go compete. You know, that's the way I'm wired. It's the way I've always been wired, so we're going to get to work and I think the guys will too. Part of our job is coaching but coaching is about teaching too. There's a lot to learn from this game and we'll do that. We'll talk about, hey, here are the things we did well and here's the things that would have helped you win this game or would have kept us in it into the fourth quarter. So it's no different from that standpoint. The technical corrections we've got to make to help these guys, help our team, and then help these guys develop as players. That part will be status quo. We'll just try to do it better.”
On whether a depleted defense wore down during the game: “Yeah, the guys that weren't there (I) understand. And the guys that were there, I think it's admirable what they did. I think they probably did wear down a little bit. We were a little bit concerned about the fatigue part of it. If you look at time of possession, you know, we tried to hold on to the ball as much as we could. Maybe even more conservative in some respects than we wanted to be. But I do think that (fatigue) happened a little bit. But give South Florida credit. They're a very good team, so I don't want to make an excuse. One hand on offense, the receiver attrition of having three really good players out. And then on defense, obviously the guys that we weren't able to have today presented some challenges. But you've got to be ready to adapt if you're going to do this.”
On postgame emotions: “I think the thing that was very evident to me is these guys love each other. And I think the team is close. They really care for each other. And look, I would say this too, I'm not one to lecture fans or any of that. This is a profession and a business that's about winning and competing. I know there are going to be people that are frustrated. Like, believe me, I am too. And there are things that I know we can fix and get better at. But I do hope that everyone, the guys that went out there today and fought, I hope they respect what they did and understand what they went through today and how hard they fought and how much they care about each other and represent this university and this program well. I thought they went out and did that and did it with class today. I really did.”
On turnovers and penalties: “To me, once you get in the game, you've got to get focused on the game. I think part of the challenge of football is you talk about, and again, this is an unusual situation, so I want to be sympathetic to it, but you have to try to block out external factors. Once you step between the white lines, you've got to try to block out external factors, so I'm not going to put that on anything else, I think we have to do a good job of executing there. I think on offense, what I can say specifically is there was a comedy of errors there for a stretch on third down, where we had a multitude of false starts. It was really bad. South Florida was stemming their front pre-snap. They have verbal calls. It's legal. As long as they're not simulating your account, you can do that. That's something we work on. We actually do it daily. But it's something where we've got to just stay more focused and not so anxious in a situation like that and make sure we're in tune with each other's voice and each other's cadence. That was really the underlying cause there. I don't think there was anything other than that.”
On the players emotions: “I think one, there was real cause and concern for their teammates. That's really genuine and, again, without going into a lot of detail. The thing that I've always felt, and I think most people that would tell you that have been involved in any sports at any point in your life, whether it's Pee Wee football all the way up to the NFL, is the best teams are usually player-led teams. It's something that we’ve tried to create, something I've wanted to try to create a little bit. But I will say this, there were a lot of guys that stepped up and led today, vocally, verbally, that maybe in the past that's really not been their nature, their personality. I thought they really banded together. I think making it about something other than themselves. You know, thinking about, okay, some of these guys, this is going to be their last time to run out in the Protective. They've got two college football games left. And making it more about (the seniors), not making it about their own ambitions or their own goals. But making it about (the seniors) and then making it about the school and the university. That was a lot of the rhetoric that I heard. And the other part I heard, too, is just how no matter what we're staying together. We're not going to let anything tear us apart.”
WHERE IS UAB’S NEXT ASSIGNMENT: UAB closes the season at Tulsa next Saturday. Tulsa is coming off a victory at Army on Saturday.