The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Photo by: Ken Shepherd
UAB to Host North Texas on Saturday at Protective Stadium
11/10/2025 3:41:00 PM | Football
BIRMINGHAM – The UAB football team returns to Protective Stadium this Saturday, Nov. 15, to host North Texas. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW:
INTERIM HEAD COACH ALEX MORTENSE:
Opening statement:
"Obviously, coming off this last game (was) frustrating, (a) very disappointing game from an outcome standpoint. (We) had an opportunity to win the game and did not. I think, when you look at it, there are a lot of things to evaluate and assess and dig into, but let's start with the good thing. The good news is I do think we are starting to play closer to the level of effort that we want; toughness, competitiveness for four quarters. I think that is showing up. I think you saw it with our defense in terms of their production, particularly in the fourth quarter. So, that is one thing that we have really emphasized is the first thing we have to get right, straight up, is our effort. We have to get our effort right and that is, I think, moving in the right direction in terms of guys playing hard and tough. I think the area we really have to improve is our discipline and I think that is what ultimately cost us the game. I think that discipline manifests itself in a couple ways. One way, most obviously to anyone that watched the game, was second half penalties. I think we went into the half with three penalties, and I think we came out in the second half with eight, which I think got us to 11 (penalties) total in the game. A lot of those, the discipline part, if you were to say, hey, defense and special teams kind of reared their head through penalties, which really kept the other team on the field and gave them opportunities when we were actually playing pretty good and putting ourselves in position to get stops. On offense, that discipline shows itself in a different way. It shows itself through execution. Some of these may not be obvious to a TV viewer, or if you are sitting in the stands, but just basic execution of guys doing their job. We made some plays in the game, we went into the half with 17 points, and we made a couple of off schedule plays, which is good. We have guys that can make plays, that can compete for the ball, we can extend plays at the quarterback position, but we also had a lot of routine plays through all four quarters of the game that we did not make. Whether that is as simple as, and ultimately, this is my responsibility, I have to get our offense to play better, but this goes way beyond playcalling, plans, scheme, it is really getting the guys to play better inside the confines of the offense. Ryder (Burton) is still a young player, it was his second collegiate start, but getting him to make better decisions, to process better when we have some simple things, when we have people open, getting his eyes in the right place and some of these things, we are not talking about five and six yard gains, we are talking about missed opportunities to generate explosive (plays). Getting the receiver to run the route the way he is coached to run it, and 'hey, you ran it that way in practice, why are we changing in the game, can we trust our training?' That is a lack of discipline. Whether it is a running back, good players, some of the best players on our team, but if we coach you, 'hey, we have to follow the second puller on a counter play, and we are going to split the defense wide open, we have to follow the second puller on a counter play. So, effort, toughness, will to win, competitiveness, really good place. I think we made strides there, but the discipline to execute down in and down out is an area we are still working to improve, and it cost us Saturday. We are not here to try to criticize our players, we are here to teach them. When they get in today, we are going to show them these things, we are going to teach them these things, and sometimes that can be painful for a little bit, too, but we talked about, hey, you either deal with the pain of discipline of the effort and the focus to have discipline, or you deal with the pain of regret, and unfortunately, a lot of guys will have to deal with the pain of regret, but it is going to be an opportunity to learn from (it), and we are really going to show them some things. We are going to show them, hey, here is this play against the coverage you got in the game, and we do the wrong thing, whether the route is incorrect, or we do not run it with the right technique and detail, or we do not throw it to the right guy, or our eyes are not in the right place, and here it is two years ago on an offense that set a school record here against the same coverage, the same look, and it went for a 60-yard touchdown. Not by doing anything extraordinary, but by simply doing your job. I am really pleased with how the effort and toughness part has gone, and competitiveness, but we have to make strides in this discipline area both as I mentioned from penalties. We have to eliminate dumb penalties and then on offense we have to play with fundamental discipline, and I think our guys (are expected) to be receptive and learn from that. I touched on the quarterback, again in his second start, and did some good things. I still believe he is going to have a bright future, but I also think there are things to correct and things to improve and move on from and I think he will be prepared to do that. Moving on to this game, we are taking on North Texas, who is a very good team. They are 8-1, and I think they are receiving some top 25 votes. A lot of their wins are with a pretty large margin of victory, and they have been dominant. Their head coach is Eric Morris, and he has been there for three seasons, and they have done a really good job there. They have done a really good job recruiting, they have recruited the right way, they have done a good job with their roster, they are a well-coached team, they are explosive and dynamic on offense. Their quarterback, Drew Mestemaker, is a really good player and is at the top of the country in a lot of categories, and Coach Morris has had a reputation of doing job with his quarterbacks for some time, or he has at least been around good quarterback play. Then defensively, they do a really good job, too. They have made some strides on defense, again, (I) talked about the roster, I think they have recruited well, they have really good players at all three levels, they have good athletes, it is their first year in a new system, but it is a good scheme. It is sound, it is well thought out, so, they do a really good job. They have made real strides there defensively. It is definitely going to be a challenge to take these guys on. We are obviously playing them at home. One thing I will say is the support from Blazer alum has been really encouraging, and we are really appreciative of that. People who have reached out to help and extend their support. I think when you look back at the Memphis game, which was our last home game in a game we won against a top 25 team, I do think our crowd and our fans played a factor in the game. We were really grateful and appreciative of them showing up and being as loud as they were, so I certainly want to encourage our fanbase to be involved and active in this one, too.
On the growth of the defense:
"I think the defense played really well. They played well enough, despite the penalties, which are inexcusable, and it is not the kind of football we want to play. (Our defense) played really well, and they played well enough to win that game if the offense does their job. I think that is a good thing, and again, our defensive staff has done a good job with their planning, but I also think the kids playing with relentless effort, playing competitive and playing tough, I think you have to acknowledge that shows up. Even the offense not playing well as they needed to, defensively, now imagine if you get rid of those penalties. Now imagine how dominant that performance is. To me, (there were) a lot of good things there from an effort standpoint and execution standpoint, but their discipline errors, like I said on offense, showed up more on execution, defensively it shows up more in these unforced errors and penalties, and I think guys have to understand the value in eliminating those, especially when you do all that work, you did all that work to get the stop, you did all that work and put the effort in to, really in a sense, kind of erase it. I think, hopefully, guys will learn from that."
On the overall performance of the offensive line on Saturday:
"I think when you talk about the sacks, pass protection is an all-encompassing endeavor. Obviously, everyone is going to talk about the offensive line and how well did they protect. It is also going to involve, did the receiver run the route to the right depth at the right landmark on time where he is supposed to be. The backs have a responsibility in protection, sometimes the tight ends do, and then the last part is quarterback decision-making. Everyone has a role in protecting the quarterback. The short answer is this: (the sacks) are not all on the offensive line. There are quite a few times where if we are, take a drop, throw the ball on time, on rhythm, to someone who is pretty open, I might add, there is no sack. So now you are going from maybe having a negative play that puts you in a pretty difficult situation to overcome to gaining a first down. Who knows, maybe you spin out of it, maybe you break a tackle, the more times you do that over and over, the good things are going to happen. Really, our offensive line, I am not going to say they are without fault, we are going to keep coaching them better and better, but a lot of those sacks are not on them. There are other parties involved with a lot of those, and frankly, a lot of those things, as I said can be routine, and that is my job as an offensive coach is it is my job to get our guys to understand how to execute the plays properly and I am going to continue to coach and teach to try to make those steps forward."
Click here to watch the entire press conference.
Click here to purchase tickets to Saturday's game against North Texas.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW:
- The Blazers (3-6, 1-4 American) welcome a North Texas team (8-1, 4-1 American) that is in contention for the American Conference title and a berth in the College Football Playoff. UAB is 3-1 at home this season and is 39-10 in Birmingham since returning to action in 2017. Additionally, UAB holds a 6-2 series advantage over North Texas.
- UAB's defense is coming off its best performance of the season in which they held Rice to just 232 yards of total offense. Over their last three games, the Blazer defense is allowing just 322.6 yards per game and will have to rise up against a UNT team that ranks fifth nationally in total offense (487.8) and second nationally in scoring offense (44.4).
- Wide receiver Iverson Hooks is having a standout year for the Blazers with 51 catches for 677 yards and six touchdowns. He is three catches and 160 yards away from cracking UAB's single season top 10 for both categories. He ranks second in the American in receptions per game (5.6) and third in receiving yards per game (75.2).
INTERIM HEAD COACH ALEX MORTENSE:
Opening statement:
"Obviously, coming off this last game (was) frustrating, (a) very disappointing game from an outcome standpoint. (We) had an opportunity to win the game and did not. I think, when you look at it, there are a lot of things to evaluate and assess and dig into, but let's start with the good thing. The good news is I do think we are starting to play closer to the level of effort that we want; toughness, competitiveness for four quarters. I think that is showing up. I think you saw it with our defense in terms of their production, particularly in the fourth quarter. So, that is one thing that we have really emphasized is the first thing we have to get right, straight up, is our effort. We have to get our effort right and that is, I think, moving in the right direction in terms of guys playing hard and tough. I think the area we really have to improve is our discipline and I think that is what ultimately cost us the game. I think that discipline manifests itself in a couple ways. One way, most obviously to anyone that watched the game, was second half penalties. I think we went into the half with three penalties, and I think we came out in the second half with eight, which I think got us to 11 (penalties) total in the game. A lot of those, the discipline part, if you were to say, hey, defense and special teams kind of reared their head through penalties, which really kept the other team on the field and gave them opportunities when we were actually playing pretty good and putting ourselves in position to get stops. On offense, that discipline shows itself in a different way. It shows itself through execution. Some of these may not be obvious to a TV viewer, or if you are sitting in the stands, but just basic execution of guys doing their job. We made some plays in the game, we went into the half with 17 points, and we made a couple of off schedule plays, which is good. We have guys that can make plays, that can compete for the ball, we can extend plays at the quarterback position, but we also had a lot of routine plays through all four quarters of the game that we did not make. Whether that is as simple as, and ultimately, this is my responsibility, I have to get our offense to play better, but this goes way beyond playcalling, plans, scheme, it is really getting the guys to play better inside the confines of the offense. Ryder (Burton) is still a young player, it was his second collegiate start, but getting him to make better decisions, to process better when we have some simple things, when we have people open, getting his eyes in the right place and some of these things, we are not talking about five and six yard gains, we are talking about missed opportunities to generate explosive (plays). Getting the receiver to run the route the way he is coached to run it, and 'hey, you ran it that way in practice, why are we changing in the game, can we trust our training?' That is a lack of discipline. Whether it is a running back, good players, some of the best players on our team, but if we coach you, 'hey, we have to follow the second puller on a counter play, and we are going to split the defense wide open, we have to follow the second puller on a counter play. So, effort, toughness, will to win, competitiveness, really good place. I think we made strides there, but the discipline to execute down in and down out is an area we are still working to improve, and it cost us Saturday. We are not here to try to criticize our players, we are here to teach them. When they get in today, we are going to show them these things, we are going to teach them these things, and sometimes that can be painful for a little bit, too, but we talked about, hey, you either deal with the pain of discipline of the effort and the focus to have discipline, or you deal with the pain of regret, and unfortunately, a lot of guys will have to deal with the pain of regret, but it is going to be an opportunity to learn from (it), and we are really going to show them some things. We are going to show them, hey, here is this play against the coverage you got in the game, and we do the wrong thing, whether the route is incorrect, or we do not run it with the right technique and detail, or we do not throw it to the right guy, or our eyes are not in the right place, and here it is two years ago on an offense that set a school record here against the same coverage, the same look, and it went for a 60-yard touchdown. Not by doing anything extraordinary, but by simply doing your job. I am really pleased with how the effort and toughness part has gone, and competitiveness, but we have to make strides in this discipline area both as I mentioned from penalties. We have to eliminate dumb penalties and then on offense we have to play with fundamental discipline, and I think our guys (are expected) to be receptive and learn from that. I touched on the quarterback, again in his second start, and did some good things. I still believe he is going to have a bright future, but I also think there are things to correct and things to improve and move on from and I think he will be prepared to do that. Moving on to this game, we are taking on North Texas, who is a very good team. They are 8-1, and I think they are receiving some top 25 votes. A lot of their wins are with a pretty large margin of victory, and they have been dominant. Their head coach is Eric Morris, and he has been there for three seasons, and they have done a really good job there. They have done a really good job recruiting, they have recruited the right way, they have done a good job with their roster, they are a well-coached team, they are explosive and dynamic on offense. Their quarterback, Drew Mestemaker, is a really good player and is at the top of the country in a lot of categories, and Coach Morris has had a reputation of doing job with his quarterbacks for some time, or he has at least been around good quarterback play. Then defensively, they do a really good job, too. They have made some strides on defense, again, (I) talked about the roster, I think they have recruited well, they have really good players at all three levels, they have good athletes, it is their first year in a new system, but it is a good scheme. It is sound, it is well thought out, so, they do a really good job. They have made real strides there defensively. It is definitely going to be a challenge to take these guys on. We are obviously playing them at home. One thing I will say is the support from Blazer alum has been really encouraging, and we are really appreciative of that. People who have reached out to help and extend their support. I think when you look back at the Memphis game, which was our last home game in a game we won against a top 25 team, I do think our crowd and our fans played a factor in the game. We were really grateful and appreciative of them showing up and being as loud as they were, so I certainly want to encourage our fanbase to be involved and active in this one, too.
On the growth of the defense:
"I think the defense played really well. They played well enough, despite the penalties, which are inexcusable, and it is not the kind of football we want to play. (Our defense) played really well, and they played well enough to win that game if the offense does their job. I think that is a good thing, and again, our defensive staff has done a good job with their planning, but I also think the kids playing with relentless effort, playing competitive and playing tough, I think you have to acknowledge that shows up. Even the offense not playing well as they needed to, defensively, now imagine if you get rid of those penalties. Now imagine how dominant that performance is. To me, (there were) a lot of good things there from an effort standpoint and execution standpoint, but their discipline errors, like I said on offense, showed up more on execution, defensively it shows up more in these unforced errors and penalties, and I think guys have to understand the value in eliminating those, especially when you do all that work, you did all that work to get the stop, you did all that work and put the effort in to, really in a sense, kind of erase it. I think, hopefully, guys will learn from that."
On the overall performance of the offensive line on Saturday:
"I think when you talk about the sacks, pass protection is an all-encompassing endeavor. Obviously, everyone is going to talk about the offensive line and how well did they protect. It is also going to involve, did the receiver run the route to the right depth at the right landmark on time where he is supposed to be. The backs have a responsibility in protection, sometimes the tight ends do, and then the last part is quarterback decision-making. Everyone has a role in protecting the quarterback. The short answer is this: (the sacks) are not all on the offensive line. There are quite a few times where if we are, take a drop, throw the ball on time, on rhythm, to someone who is pretty open, I might add, there is no sack. So now you are going from maybe having a negative play that puts you in a pretty difficult situation to overcome to gaining a first down. Who knows, maybe you spin out of it, maybe you break a tackle, the more times you do that over and over, the good things are going to happen. Really, our offensive line, I am not going to say they are without fault, we are going to keep coaching them better and better, but a lot of those sacks are not on them. There are other parties involved with a lot of those, and frankly, a lot of those things, as I said can be routine, and that is my job as an offensive coach is it is my job to get our guys to understand how to execute the plays properly and I am going to continue to coach and teach to try to make those steps forward."
Click here to watch the entire press conference.
Click here to purchase tickets to Saturday's game against North Texas.
Players Mentioned
WR
/ FootballJevon Jackson with the GAME WINNING Touchdown 🙌🤩 #uabfootball #collegefootball
Sunday, December 14
Toussom comes up clutch on 4th down🚫😤
Saturday, December 13
Hooks goes UP⬆️ for this touchdown#uabfootball #collegefootball
Friday, December 12
Easy Money 🤑 Munoz hits the Buzzer Beater #uabwbb #ncaabasketball #womensbasketball
Thursday, December 11
