Who is favored in Samford Bulldogs at UAB Blazers?

UAB Blazers are favored on the moneyline.

Samford Bulldogs at UAB Blazers

·Oct 3, 2026·2:30 PM CT·Birmingham, AL

By JR·2 min read

Samford(1-3)

UAB(2-2)

2:30 PM

TLDR: This is a Birmingham-area Saturday. UAB hosts Samford at Protective Stadium on Saturday, October 3, with first-year coaches on both sidelines, and the question is whether the FBS program can put away the FCS school from across town.

Week 5 · SAT OCT 3, 2:30 PM CT

Samford

(1-3)

WLLL

UAB

(2-2)

WLWL

Kickoff86°

First-year coaches Alex Mortensen of UAB and John Grass of Samford meet at Protective Stadium in a Birmingham-area FBS-vs-FCS game. UAB is 2-2 as of now, both wins by one score, and has been getting better on defense since giving up 42 at Illinois. The warm, rainy forecast and the FBS depth edge are what separate the Blazers from a Samford team already deep into SoCon play. No betting board has been posted yet.

Samford Bulldogs

Short trip across town, no real travel
Already a full month of games under Grass
FCS depth against an FBS roster up front
First-year staff still installing its system

UAB Blazers

Has won 2 one-score games, including 24-20 over Navy
Defense has held 3 straight opponents to 21 or fewer
8 days to recover after the Navy game
Offense managed only 14 points at Louisiana
Gave up 42 to Illinois in the opener
First-year staff under Mortensen

UAB has 4 games in the books under first-year coach Alex Mortensen and has split them. The Blazers lost 42-23 at Illinois, beat Louisiana-Monroe 26-20, lost 21-14 at Louisiana and then beat Navy 24-20. That is a team living in one-score games, and Ryder Burton is the quarterback it has leaned on to get there.

Samford is also starting over. John Grass took over the Bulldogs this year, and they have already played a full September: Southern Illinois at home in the opener, a SoCon opener at Tennessee Tech and VMI at home. With neither team's record in our data, the thing to watch is how Grass's roster holds up against FBS size up front for 4 quarters. A week out, the board has nothing posted on this one yet.

Burton's stat line from the Illinois game shows the gap UAB still has to close. He went 18-of-31 for 219 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception against a Big Ten defense, which is fine, but not the kind of game that runs away from anyone. Against ULM, he found Roderick Robinson II for a score, and that connection is one Samford's secondary has to account for.

The UAB defense deserves a closer look. It gave up 42 points to Illinois and has held its 3 opponents since then to 21 or fewer. Beating Navy means the defense got through a week against an option offense, and that's a different kind of physical toll than a normal week. The Blazers get 8 days between the Navy game and this one, so the bodies should have time to recover.

Weather could play a part. As of Sunday, the forecast for Protective Stadium is 88 degrees with light rain and a 51% chance of precipitation, with wind at only 5 mph. A wet, sticky early-October afternoon tends to favor the team that runs the ball and has depth to rotate, and FBS depth is exactly what UAB has over Samford.

For UAB, this is a chance to get above .500 heading into October with a young staff that has already won 2 close games. For Samford, it's a free swing across town at a program one level up, and a chance for Grass to show what his first team can do against a bigger opponent. The picks go up once the board posts a price.

Samford Bulldogs at UAB Blazers

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