Alex Mortensen’s UAB Blazers earned an upset in his debut as interim coach thanks to quarterback Ryder Burton’s impressive first collegiate start and a last-second defensive stand to beat No. 22 Memphis 31-24 on Saturday in Birmingham, Ala.
Burton, tabbed as the starter after the Blazers announced quarterback Jalen Kitna would miss Saturday’s game due to an upper-body injury, completed 20 of 27 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns. UAB (3-4, 1-3) also got career games from Iverson Hooks (11 catches, 172 yards, 3 TDs) and Solomon Beebe (five carries, 106 yards and a TD) to snap a three-game losing streak that led to the school dismissing coach Trent Dilfer last weekend.
Memphis (6-1, 2-1) trailed 31-17 with 4:06 to go but got a 37-yard Christian Ross touchdown reception from backup quarterback AJ Hill with 2:19 left. The Tigers then got to the Blazers’ 1-yard line with a minute left. However, they committed three penalties to push them back 10 yards and turned it over on downs with 15 seconds left.
Hill entered in the third quarter when starter Brendon Lewis sustained an injury after taking a sack on the first drive after halftime.
The loss snapped Memphis’ 10-game winning streak and dealt a significant blow to Memphis’ chances for a College Football Playoff berth. Entering Saturday, the Tigers were considered one of the favorites to earn the automatic bid for the highest-ranked school from a Group of 5 conference.
UAB had five drives that took at least five minutes off the clock. That helped keep the Memphis offense, which ranked 13th nationally while scoring 40.5 points per game, off the field. The Tigers’ rushing attack, which ranked 10th nationally gaining 238.7 yards per game, tallied just 119 yards off a Blazers team that was fifth-worst nationally (213.2 yards per game).
Greg Desrosiers Jr. got 41 of those on a last-minute run that was initially ruled a touchdown. However, the scoring review showed a sprinting Tariq Watson tackled the Tigers back at the UAB 1.
Hill completed 13 of 25 passes for 175 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Desrosiers added 74 yards and a score on 11 carries.
–Field Level Media
