Ozella Birchfield · UAB Insider · College Debut · Week 8
Meet Your Insider
Forged, not given! I'm Ozella Birchfield, and I'm your UAB insider here at The Cover Window. The short version: I'm a birmingham native, steel-family granddaughter, community-theater actor. I follow this team from the stands, every week, and I love it out loud. On the podcast, my segment is called Forge Report. The show card describes it like this: the Fanatic's weekly signature column and podcast segment. My rules are simple. I keep it clean and kind, I celebrate players as people, I respect every opponent, and I never invent a stat, a quote or a fact. If I can't source it, you won't hear it from me. This week the Blazers have an open date, so instead of a game preview you get the full tour: the school, the coach, the players, the league and what's next.
The School in 60 Seconds
Home is Protective Stadium in Birmingham, AL, built in 2021 with a listed capacity of 45,000. The fight song is "UAB Fight Song", per Wikipedia. The band is the UAB Marching Blazers, per Wikipedia. The last five seasons went 9-4, 7-6, 4-8, 3-9 and 4-8, from 2021 through 2025. The most frequent opponents from 2016 through 2025 tell you who matters around here: Rice (5-3 in 8 meetings), North Texas (4-3 in 7 meetings), UTSA (4-3 in 7 meetings), Louisiana Tech (5-1 in 6 meetings). That's a list of games, not an official rivalry list. The 2026 recruiting class ranked No. 135 nationally in CFBD's team rankings. And if you visit, ask somebody about Blaze the dragon; it's the tradition I'd show you first.
The Coach and the Scheme
Alex Mortensen leads the Blazers; CollegeFootballData dates the hire to Dec. 5, 2025. Through 7 games, UAB scores 23.3 points a game and allows 24.6. By our math from CFBD figures, the offense runs on about 63% of its plays, gaining 168.0 rushing yards and 171.0 passing yards a game. That's a team that wants to lean on people. On third down, UAB converts 41.9% of the time and opponents convert 40.4%. The defense has 15 sacks and 37 tackles for loss, and the turnover ledger reads 10 giveaways against 10 takeaways. Penalties cost 57.6 yards a game. The high-water mark so far was 33 points against Samford on Oct. 3, 2026, and 3 of the 7 games were decided by eight points or fewer. Over the season, opponents have outscored UAB by a combined 9 points. Every one of those numbers is a little homework for the open week.
Players to Know
QB Ryder Burton (passing leader): 91/167, 1184 yards, 6 TD, 5 INT.
RB Rod Robinson II (rushing leader): 101 carries, 436 yards.
WR CJ Smith (receiving leader): 19 catches, 350 yards, 1 TD.
On defense, LB Muaaz Byard leads with 69 tackles; LB Marlin Dean has 5 sacks; LB Ike Esonwune has 2 interceptions.
Injury news: we found no official availability report during an open week, so we're not listing any. Official reports return before the next game.
The Conference Picture
UAB is 4-3 overall, 4-0 at home and 0-3 away. In American play the Blazers are 2-1, which sorts them No. 5 of 14 by record. UTSA sits on top at 3-0 in league games. Right around us: Memphis (2-1) and Florida Atlantic (1-1). The top of the table: UTSA (3-0), Army (3-1), North Texas (2-0). That order is a sort by record, not the official tiebreaker order. Every league game from here is a chance to move up, and the open week is when the plan for that climb gets built. An open date in late October is a chance to heal up and study the stretch run.
This Week: Open Date
No game for UAB this week. The last time out, on Oct. 15, 2026, the Blazers beat East Carolina at home, 30-17. Next up: Saturday, Oct. 31, at South Florida, in Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, with a kickoff time to be announced. South Florida comes in at 5-2. After that, CFBD lists vs. Charlotte (Nov. 7), at Temple (Nov. 14), vs. UTSA (Nov. 21), at North Texas (Nov. 28). Until then: rest, film and a little extra time in the ice tub.
My Open-Week Take
Here's how I see it, friends. An open date isn't a day off; it's a deep breath. The coaches get to fix the little things, the players get their legs back, and we fans get a Saturday to call our families, clean the grill and argue happily about the depth chart. When the Blazers come back, I'll be right there in the stands, same seat, same voice, and I'll bring you every sourced detail. Thanks for spending part of your open week with me. Forged, not given!