# 2023 UAB Blazers football team

The 2023 UAB Blazers football team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham as a member of the American Athletic Conference (AAC) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by first-year head coach Trent Dilfer, the Blazers compiled an overall record of 4–8 with a mark of 3–5 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for eighth in the AAC. UAB played home games at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama. The UAB Blazers football team drew an average home attendance of 21,543 in 2023.

## Offseason
### NFL Departures

One Blazer was selected in the 2023 NFL Draft.
| Player | Position | Team | Round | Pick |
| DeWayne McBride | RB | Minnesota Vikings | 7 | 222 |

### Outgoing Transfers

| Player | Position | Destination |
| Antwan Massie | CB | Unknown |
| Maleak Bryant | TE | LIU |
| Mike York | TE | Valparaiso |
| Dylan Hopkins | QB | New Mexico |
| Dylan Mehrota | QB | Southern |
| Quincy McGee | IOL | Ole Miss |
| Tyetus Smith-Lindsey | RB | Nicholls |
| Brody Dalton | TE | Troy |
| Damon Stewart | QB | Alabama State |
| Codey Martin | CB | Lamar |
| Charles Daniels | LB | Unknown |
| Xavier Lanier | CB | Tulsa |
| Jordan Palmer | WR | Unknown |
| Jaylen Key | S | Alabama |
| A.J. Gates | RB | Alabama State |
| Kybo Jamerson | LB | Lamar |

### Incoming Transfers

| Player | Position | Previous Team |
| Armani Diamond | CB | Auburn |
| Brian Mayes | CB | Incarnate Word |
| Landry Lyddy | QB | Louisiana Tech |
| Dazalin Worsham | WR | Auburn |
| Malachi Holt-Bennett | WR | Indiana |
| James Smyre | LB | Marshall |
| Will Parker | OT | Tennessee |
| Brandon Buckhaulter | WR | Ole Miss |
| Antavious Woody | IOL | Florida State |
| Andrew Ogletree | DL | Alabama State |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 7:00 p.m. | North Carolina A&T* | Protective StadiumBirmingham, AL | ESPN+ | W 35–6 | 25,363 |
| September 9 | 5:00 p.m. | at Georgia Southern* | Allen E. Paulson StadiumStatesboro, GA | ESPN+ | L 35–49 | 20,103 |
| September 16 | 6:00 p.m. | Louisiana* | Protective StadiumBirmingham, AL | ESPN+ | L 21–41 | 21,673 |
| September 23 | 6:30 p.m. | at No. 1 Georgia* | Sanford StadiumAthens, Georgia | ESPN2 | L 21–49 | 92,746 |
| September 30 | 11:00 a.m. | at Tulane | Yulman StadiumNew Orleans, LA | ESPN2 | L 23–35 | 20,102 |
| October 7 | 3:00 p.m. | South Florida | Protective StadiumBirmingham, AL | ESPN2 | W 56–35 | 23,792 |
| October 14 | 7:00 p.m. | at UTSA | AlamodomeSan Antonio, TX | ESPNU | L 20–41 | 23,582 |
| October 21 | 11:00 a.m. | Memphis | Protective StadiumBirmingham, AL | ESPN2 | L 21–45 | 20,269 |
| November 4 | 2:00 p.m. | Florida Atlantic | Protective StadiumBirmingham, AL | ESPN+ | W 45–42 | 20,676 |
| November 11 | 2:30 p.m. | at Navy | Memorial StadiumAnnapolis, MD | CBSSN | L 6–31 | 29,078 |
| November 18 | 2:00 p.m. | Temple | Protective StadiumBirmingham, AL | ESPN+ | W 34–24 | 17,486 |
| November 25 | 1:00 p.m. | at North Texas | DATCU StadiumDenton, TX | ESPN+ | L 42–45 | 14,628 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, from the date when issued) - Released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||

## Game summaries
### Louisiana

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| UAB –2 | 59.5 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Louisiana | 0 | 24 | 10 | 7 | 41 |
| UAB | 0 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 21 |
at Protective Stadium • Birmingham, Alabama
* Date: Saturday, September 16, 2023
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Sunny • Wind: W 3 MPH
* Game attendance: 21,673
* Referee: Trennis Livingston
* TV announcers (ESPN+): James Westling (play-by-play) and Doc Holiday (analyst)
| Statistics | ULL | UAB |
| First downs | 22 | 21 |
| Total yards | 64–513 | 73–396 |
| Rushing yards | 40–305 | 35–116 |
| Passing yards | 208 | 280 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 16–24–1 | 27–38–2 |
| Time of possession | 29:05 | 30:55 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Louisiana | Passing | Zeon Chriss | 14/20, 174 yards, TD |
| Louisiana | Rushing | Jacob Kibodi | 7 carries, 108 yards, TD |
| Louisiana | Receiving | Harvey Broussard | 3 receptions, 65 yards |
| UAB | Passing | Jacob Zeno | 27/38, 280 yards, TD, 2 INT |
| UAB | Rushing | Jacob Zeno | 17 carries, 52 yards, TD |
| UAB | Receiving | Semario Rudolph | 8 receptions, 66 yards, TD |

### at No. 1 Georgia

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| UAB | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| No. 1 Georgia | 7 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 49 |
at Sanford Stadium • Athens, Georgia
* Date: Saturday, September 23, 2023
* Game time: 7:30 p.m. EST
* Game weather: -
* Game attendance: 92,756
* Referee: David Smith
* TV announcers (ESPN2): Brian Custer (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (color) and Lauren Sisler (sideline)
| Statistics | UAB | UGA |
| First downs | 20 | 31 |
| Total yards | 77–336 | 76–582 |
| Rushing yards | 26–86 | 36–188 |
| Passing yards | 250 | 394 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 32–51–1 | 28–40–1 |
| Time of possession | 25:35 | 34:25 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| UAB | Passing | Jacob Zeno | 32/51, 250 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| UAB | Rushing | Isaiah Jacobs | 10 carries, 27 yards |
| UAB | Receiving | Amare Thomas | 9 receptions, 60 yards, TD |
| Georgia | Passing | Carson Beck | 22/32, 338 yards, 3 TD |
| Georgia | Rushing | Daijun Edwards | 12 carries, 66 yards, 2 TD |
| Georgia | Receiving | Brock Bowers | 9 receptions, 121 yards, 2 TD |

### at Tulane

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blazers | 3 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 23 |
| Green Wave | 7 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 35 |
at Yulman Stadium, New Orleans, LA
* Date: September 30, 2023
* Game time: 11:00 a.m. CDT
* Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 85 °F (29 °C) • Wind: NE 14 mph
* Game attendance: 20,102
* Referee: Luke Richmond
* TV announcers (ESPN2): Roy Philpott (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (color), Alex Chappell (sideline)
Game information :
First Quarter
(9:19) UAB – Matt Quinn 31-yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 65 yards, 5:36; UAB 3–0)
(2:50) TUL – Yulkeith Brown 15-yard run, Valentino Armbrosio kick (Drive: 6 plays, 52 yards, 2:01; Tulane 7–3)
Second Quarter
(13:08) UAB – Isaiah Jacobs 2-yard run, Matt Quinn kick (Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 4:42; UAB 10–7)
(10:15) UAB – Isaiah Jacobs 17-yard run, Matt Quinn kick (Drive: 2 plays, 24 yards, 0:39; UAB 17–7)
(5:05) UAB – Matt Quinn 48-yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 37 yards, 3:38; UAB 20–7)
(0:46) TUL – Makhi Hughes 1-yard run, Valentino Armbrosio kick (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 4:19; UAB 20–14)
Third Quarter
(13:35) TUL – Makhi Hughes 18-yard run, Valentino Armbrosio kick (Drive: 3 plays, 63 yards, 1:18; Tulane 21–20)
(2:50) TUL – Alex Bauman 14-yard pass from Michael Pratt, Valentino Ambrosio kick (Drive: 5 plays, 56 yards, 1:55; Tulane 28–20)
Fourth Quarter
(5:05) UAB – Matt Quinn 36-yard field goal (Drive: 9 plays, 55 yards, 3:08; Tulane 28–23)
(0:47) TUL – Lawrence Keys III 32-yard pass from Michael Pratt, Valentino Ambrosio kick (Drive: 9 plays, 61 yards, 3:55; Tulane 35–23)
Win Probability
Tulane 80.4%
Line
Tulane –22.5
Over/Under
59.5 :
| Statistics | UAB | TUL |
| First downs | 25 | 24 |
| Total yards | 434 | 448 |
| Rushing yards | 170 | 264 |
| Passing yards | 264 | 184 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 30:05 | 29:55 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| UAB | Passing | Jacob Zeno | 27/35, 236 yards |
| UAB | Rushing | Isaiah Jacobs | 18 carries, 95 yards, 2 TD |
| UAB | Receiving | Amare Thomas | 8 receptions, 99 yards |
| Tulane | Passing | Michael Pratt | 14/23, 184 yards, 2 TD |
| Tulane | Rushing | Makhi Hughes | 22 carries, 123 yards, 2 TD |
| Tulane | Receiving | Lawrence Keys III | 3 receptions, 54 yards, 1 TD |

### at Navy

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blazers | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Midshipmen | 7 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 31 |
at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, Maryland
* Date: November 11th
* Game time: 2:30 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Temperature: 54 °F (12 °C) • Wind: SW at 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h) • Weather: Clear
* Game attendance: 29,078
* Referee: Kevin Randell
* TV announcers (CBSSN): John Sadack (play-by-play), Randy Cross (analyst) & Sheehan Stanwick Burch (sideline reporter)
| Statistics | UAB | Navy |
| First downs | 19 | 16 |
| Plays–yards | 66–321 | 57–363 |
| Rushes–yards | 30–115 | 47–269 |
| Passing yards | 206 | 94 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 25–36–2 | 7–10–1 |
| Time of possession | 26:45 | 33:15 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| UAB | Passing | Jacob Zeno | 25/36, 206 yards, 2 INT |
| UAB | Rushing | Jermaine Brown, Jr. | 15 carries, 55 yards |
| UAB | Receiving | Bryce Damous | 1 reception, 42 yards |
| Navy | Passing | Xavier Arline | 7/10, 94 yards, TD, INT |
| Navy | Rushing | Xavier Arline | 19 carries, 109 yards, TD |
| Navy | Receiving | Regis Velez | 1 reception, 45 yards, TD |