UAB wins a hard fought game with Akron 31 to 28

September 13, 2025 – BIRMINGHAM, AL – The UAB Blazers got maximum effort from the hard charging Akron Zips but ultimately UAB prevailed in a 31 to 28 game led by the throwing arm of Jalen Kitna and defensive tenacity in the second half.

The Blazers wasted no time electrifying the home crowd. Solomon Beebe took the opening kickoff 96 yards to the house, giving UAB a 7–0 lead just seconds into the game. Akron responded with points of their own when Akron QB Ben Finley connected with Israel Polk on a 75-yard touchdown pass on the Zips' first offensive play.

Just minutes later, the same duo struck again, this time on a 5-yard TD pass, putting Akron up 14–7.

UAB answered with a methodical drive capped by Nate Rogers' 8-yard touchdown run, tying the game at 14–14. Akron added a 36-yard field goal to take a 17–14 lead, but the Blazers weren't done yet.

UAB Quarterback Jalen Kitna settled in in the second quarter and began carving up Akron's secondary. He led two scoring drives, tossing short-yardage touchdowns to Jevon Jackson and Corri Milliner. UAB added a 44-yard field goal by J. Delange to give UAB a commanding 31–20 halftime lead.

Kitna's precision was on full display-he completed 30 of 45 passes for 341 yards and 2 touchdowns, spreading the ball to nine different receivers. Milliner finished with 6 catches for 70 yards, while Iverson Hooks added 5 receptions for 84 yards.

The third quarter was a defensive stalemate, with neither team scoring. Akron finally broke through in the fourth, as Sean Patrick punched in a 1-yard touchdown run with 12:38 remaining. Akron converted the two-point conversion to narrow the gap to 31–28.

With the game on the line, UAB's defense stepped up to the challenge. Akron's final drive stalled on a 4th-and-19 from their own 26-yard line, sealing the win for UAB. Despite the offense being shut out in the second half, the Blazers' defense held firm when it mattered most.

"I don't think we played our cleanest football," UAB head Coach Trent Dilfer said afterwards. "But what I loved tonight was that our guys didn't flinch. They kept responding. That has been the message since January-reset and respond-and tonight we finally did that in a tight game."

This is Dilfer's third season leading the Blazers.

UAB improves to 2 and 1 on the season. Akron falls to 0 and 3.

The Blazer travel up the interstate on Saturday to play the SEC's Tennessee Volunteers who lost in overtime to Georgia last week. This is a significant upgrade in class for the Blazers; but provides the team the opportunity to play one of the elite programs in the country. ESPN's analytics give number 15 Tennessee a 99.1% chance of winning the game.

The game will be Saturday, September 20, 2025, at 11:45 a.m. CDT. The game will be played at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, and will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

(A.I. contributed to this report.)

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