Last season, Alex Mortensen's first game as UAB's interim coach ended with a 24-point underdog shocking an undefeated, ranked Memphis team. A year later almost nothing about either roster looks the same, and Mortensen gets his rematch.
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UABMEM
UABMEM
OverUnder
Best BetMemphis
Memphis brings the better coaching résumé in Charles Huff and a portal class stacked with skill talent, which is why the Tigers should be the side to back outright. The catch is Memphis is rebuilding almost the entire roster at once, and UAB has already shown it can win this exact game as a massive underdog.
UAB
+Mortensen already has a statement win over Memphis
+No longer interim, full offseason to install system
+OC continuity since 2023 despite coaching change
−Finished 4-8, just 2-6 in AAC play
−Fired Dilfer mid-season, program in turmoil
−First full season as head coach for Mortensen
Memphis
+New coach Huff won Sun Belt title at Marshall
+Loaded portal haul at QB, RB, WR
+Went 8-5 last year before this rebuild
−21 of 22 starters gone, essentially a new team
−Unsettled QB battle between Stokes and Noland
−Was the 24-point favorite UAB upset last season
Memphis is basically starting over. New coach Charles Huff, hired away from Marshall in December, inherited a roster that lost 21 of its 22 starters and nearly all of its offensive production from a year ago. He rebuilt through the portal, bringing in QB Marcus Stokes from West Florida, QB Air Noland from South Carolina, and running backs Dallan Hayden, Manny Covey and Jaylin Carter.
Fall camp will decide who's actually behind center, but Huff has already called the Stokes-Noland competition a 'heavyweight' fight. UAB's transition is less chaotic by comparison. Mortensen spent three seasons as the Blazers' offensive coordinator before taking over on an interim basis after Trent Dilfer was fired in October, and he's no longer wearing the interim tag after that statement win over Memphis last year.
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UAB still finished 4-8 overall and 2-6 in AAC play, so there's plenty to fix, but Mortensen isn't installing a brand-new offense from scratch the way Huff is in Memphis. That gap in continuity is really the whole story here — Memphis has more name-brand talent walking in the door, but new coaches, new quarterbacks and a near-total roster overhaul take time to gel.
UAB, meanwhile, has already proven it can find magic in exactly this matchup, and Mortensen's players know what it looks like to beat this program when nobody expected it.
UAB Blazers
Oct 3?vs Samford—
Sep 25?vs Navy—
Sep 19?@ Louisiana—
Sep 12?vs UL Monroe—
Sep 3?@ Illinois—
Memphis Tigers
Oct 2?@ Charlotte—
Sep 19?vs UT Martin—
Sep 12?@ Boise State—
Sep 5?vs Arkansas State—
Aug 29?@ UNLV—
Recent form.
Both rosters carry the kind of turnover that makes preseason depth charts more of a suggestion than a guarantee. Memphis needs its retooled offensive line and secondary to catch up in live reps, while UAB is banking on Mortensen's system continuity to produce fewer of the breakdowns that got the previous coaching staff fired midseason.
UAB Blazers
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Memphis Tigers
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Whichever team looks more settled by Friday, October 9 gets the practical edge, but this is exactly the kind of spot where the team that already has a signature win in its pocket has real reason to believe it can do it again.
