It took one play for UAB’s defense to throw in the towel against Army.
The Blazers lined up offsides, and then watched Black Knights quarterback Bryson Daily blow by them for a 29-yard touchdown. After that first defensive play for the Blazers in a disastrous 44-10 loss, CBS Sports Network sideline reporter Tina Cervasio took stock of the situation.
“Right as Army scored the touchdown, I looked at the UAB sidelines,” Cervasio said. “A lot of downtrodden faces. They just looked sad.”
With the state of the program under Trent Dilfer, who can blame them?
Two years ago, this was one of the truly ascendent programs in the Group of Five. UAB put together six straight winning seasons under coach Bill Clark and rode the wave from Conference USA to the AAC. The Blazers captured two conference championships, won three straight division titles and opened the brand new Protective Stadium.
That’s the UAB that many of these players committed to represent. Instead, the Blazers are perhaps the biggest disappointments in college football.
Against Army, the Blazers kicked a field goal early in the first quarter and then gave up a 27-0 run to end the first half. Seven of Army’s first eight drives ended with points, and the Black Knights averaged 8.0 yards per play with 413 yards on the ground. UAB’s few promising first-half drives ended with an interception and a turnover on downs near the goal line.
But really, UAB’s 34-point loss to Army was only the latest embarrassment. In three AAC games, the Blazers have been outscored 156-48, including a 71-20 loss to Tulane. Amazingly, all five touchdowns UAB has scored in AAC play were in the second half while trailing by at least four touchdowns. This is a team that has been competitive for essentially…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/trent-dilfer-inherited-an-ascending-uab-program-but-its-taken-him-less-than-two-years-to-crater-it/
Author : Shehan Jeyarajah
Publish date : 2024-10-12 21:47:17
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
