The Opponent: The University of Alabama at Birmingham was not formally founded until 1969. It did exist as the Medical College of Alabama long before that. UAB is actually Alabama’s largest employer in the state, mostly thanks to its massive medical reach. The school did not start playing football until 1991, as powerful Alabama boosters saw its existence as some mild threat to the Tide. Blazer football was temporarily killed in 2015, a move that sparked public outrage. That death blow only lasted two years, as the school resumed playing football in 2017. They got a brand new stadium in 2021, Protective Stadium, one of the nicest in the Group of 5 ranks. The Blazers compete in the American Conference. They are coached by Super Bowl-winning quarterback Trent Dilfer. His hiring in late 2022 was viewed as very outside of the box. Through 2+ seasons, the results have been nothing short of disastrous.
Are they any good?: No, this is not a very good football team. Yes, the Blazers are 2-1 on the season. Those two wins are over FCS Alabama State and Akron. The Zips are still considered one of the worst teams at the FBS level. The real concern with UAB is its defense. The Blazers gave up 514 yards to Alabama State and 441 yards to Akron. Former Florida QB Jalen Kitna leads a very productive offense, though. The Blazers are averaging close to 300 yards per game passing. RB Jevon Jackson is off to a productive start, but has not faced a defense close to Tennessee’s caliber. Backfield mate Solomon Beebe is a threat both rushing and receiving for UAB.
What will this tell us about Tennessee?: This game will tell us how much of a hangover remains from the Georgia heartbreaker. Tennessee’s players said all the right things this week following the loss to Georgia. It has to be tough getting up for another mediocre opponent after that game, though. This game should once again show us Tennessee’s depth, as the Vols will look to rotate heavily amongst its defense. In particular, Tennessee’s secondary will be tested against a potent UAB passing attack. How do the Vols’ young defensive backs – Kaleb Beasley, Tim Merritt, Sidney Walton, and others – fare when their number is called?
What does Vegas say?: This line opened at -41.5 at most books, but now sits around -39.5. The Blazers are now 1-2 against the spread, but covered their one game as an underdog. Tennessee is 3-0 ATS on the season now. Josh Heupel has a history of covering these large spreads against inferior opponents, but Saturday will take a lot of points against a decent UAB offense. The Over/Under sits at either 68.5 or 69.5 at most books.
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Matchup to watch on Offense: Rotate bodies and protect the football. The reality is, Tennessee does not need to do anything fancy against UAB while on offense. This may be the worst defense the Vols face this season, so avoiding self-inflicted wounds is a priority. It is a good opportunity to work in some fresh faces with the first team. The Vols’ tackle play has been very solid so far. With David Sanders’ lingering injury concerns, it would be wise to get Bennett Warren more game reps. William Satterwhite is another body to work into that first team on Saturday. Both players are just one snap away from being starters in the SEC. Travis Smith Jr has made appearances at wide receiver in all three games, but has only 2 catches against ETSU thus far. Look for #1 on the field more on Saturday afternoon. Chris Brazzell is becoming too valuable to play 60+ snaps in a game like this anyway. With Radarious Jackson sidelined for several weeks, Tennessee also needs to find its fifth option at receiver. That is likely walk-on Trey Weary, but freshman Joakim Dodson could also see opportunities. Expect the rotation theme to continue at running back as well. It is a big opportunity for sophomore Peyton Lewis, who is clearly running third in Tennessee’s running back platoon. The Vols just need clean execution on Saturday against a defense that has shown little ability to stop anyone thus far in 2025.
Matchup to watch on Defense: Make the Blazers one-dimensional. UAB has been relatively balanced on offense thus far, 100 passing attempts to 94 rushing attempts. That balance has helped protect quarterback Jalen Kitna, who has only been sacked four times on the season. Kitna is not a mobile quarterback, though. He needs to operate from a clean pocket. The Vols’ first priority needs to be taking away the Blazers’ ground game. Tennessee gave up too many chunk runs against Georgia last weekend. UAB will not present near the same challenge, but the Vols have to be sharper in run defense moving forward. This is a potent Blazer passing attack if Kitna has time to operate. UAB boasts two quality receivers in Corri Milliner and Iverson Hooks. Don’t be surprised to see either make some plays against this secondary. If the Vols can make UAB one-dimensional, how do the Blazers hold up in obvious passing situations? It is a big opportunity for the Tennessee pass rushers. It starts with shutting down the run first and foremost.
Fun Fact: Saturday will be just a few days shy of the 15th anniversary of a classic game between these two programs, Tennessee’s 32-29 overtime win in 2010. The Blazers outgained the Vols 544 to 287 yards. A Prentiss Wagner interception was the sole turnover of the day. UAB threw the ball all over Tennessee otherwise. David Oku led the Vols in rushing with just 33 yards. Zach Rogers led the Vols in receiving with just 78 yards. The very next game, the Vols would travel to Baton Rouge as major underdogs. Tennessee’s defense played inspired and appeared to make a goal-line stand as time expired. The Vols’ 14-10 victory would be short-lived, though, as Tennessee had 13 defenders on the field for a botched snap. LSU would score on the final play, an untimed down, and win 16-14.
So what happens?: If Tennessee does not come out focused, then UAB has the offensive firepower to make the Vols uncomfortable. I do expect a lot of bodies rotated on defense, similar to the opener against Syracuse. We saw a dropoff in that game, especially from the back seven for Tennessee. I do expect Tennessee’s defensive front to control the line of scrimmage in this game though. The Blazers will find little success on the ground against Tennessee, which will put a lot of pressure on QB Jalen Kitna. While UAB will string together some first downs in the game, they will struggle consistently driving the ball against the Vols. It could be a good opportunity for Tennessee to improve on its Red Zone defense, which just has 1 stop on 12 opponents’ attempts for the season.
UAB gave up 36 points per game last season, dead last in the American Conference. While the defensive staff saw an offseason overhaul, the results so far have not changed much. I expect Tennessee to gash UAB on the ground, and let that feed the Volunteer passing attack. Look for Tennessee to rush for just over 270 yards, spread fairly evenly amongst its three main backs. The Blazers will be forced to commit extra men to stopping Tennessee on the ground, and that is where you will see several downfield plays from Joey Aguilar. The Volunteer quarterback will eclipse 200 yards passing in less than 20 attempts, operating from a pretty clean pocket all afternoon. Unless Tennessee shoots itself in the foot, it will be a very light day for punter Jackson Ross. A special teams touchdown will make sure the Over hits, but UAB will flirt with a backdoor cover against Tennessee’s third-string defense. The final score will be Tennessee 63, UAB 20
