Tennessee blows out UAB 24 to 56

September 20, 2025 – KNOXVILLE, TN – The UAB football team went to Tennessee to play the number 15 ranked Volunteers. The Blazers were mismatched from the start. Tennessee jumped out to a 21 to 0 lead in the first quarter, then followed that up with 21 more points in the second quarter to close out the half 42 to 7. UAB was more competitive in the second half outscoring Tennessee 17 to 14 while Tennessee rested many of its starters. The game finished with a Tennessee win of 24 to 56.

UAB Coach Trent Dilfer sad that preparing for Tennessee was difficult in practice.

"We did everything we possibly could, every tool we know in practice to prepare for it, but until you play against it, it's very hard to simulate the tempo," said Coach Dilfer.

There has always been haves and have nots in college football, but that has only gone into overdrive with paid players, NIL, and the transfer portal. The members of the Southeastern Conference bring in far more money in TV deals, sponsorships, and bowl tie in dollars than do group of five teams like UAB – a member of the All-American Conference. Tennessee also has a bigger stadium, a larger more passionate fanbase that does UAB. Direct university spending (estimated at $15.4 million for football alone) combined with third party NIL deals means that Tennessee is able to pay its players ten times what UAB can and that enormous competitive advantage showed on the field Saturday.

Coach Dilfer said that Tennessee, "Just destroying us at the line of scrimmage... They blew up our run game. They got enough pressure on the passer... It's another thing to play when your cleats aren't in the ground because you're just trying to turn around and lineup."

UAB was able to move the ball on Tennessee.

Quarterback Jalen Kitna threw for 364 yards on 38 of 51 passing for two touchdowns.

Kitna's performance was impressive even against an SEC defense.

Coach Dilfer has been criticized by some UAB fans for the 2 and 2 start and for his 9 and 19 overall record in three years at UAB. UAB had been a bowl team prior to Dilfer – though UAB made the mistake of moving from Conference USA to the much more competitive AAC prior to Dilfer's arrival.

"I continue to grow," said Dilfer. "I'm not even close to where I need to be. Obviously, the record shows that."

UAB's performance made national headlines Saturday due to UAB redshirt Senior Sirad Bryant's inexcusable stomping of the foot of Tennessee kicker Max Gilbert well after the play.

Bryant issued a statement after the game.

"First off I would like to apologize to Max Gilbert for stepping on his foot," Bryant said. "Not only that, I would like to apologize to my teammates, coaches and also to Blazer Nation. What I did was inexcusable no matter the circumstances. I am better than that and take full accountability for my actions. It is not a representation of who I am as a player and person."

Bryant is a transfer portal player from Georgia Tech. Bryant was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct but was not ejected from Saturday's game.

"He won't play in the next game," said Dilfer after the game. "He is brokenhearted. He knows he made a mistake. He is willing to take the consequences of his poor decision-making."

UAB plays Army (1-3) next. Thegame is scheduled for Saturday, October 4, 2025, with kickoff at 11:00 a.m. CDT. It will be held at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama. This matchup is part of UAB's "Salute to Service" celebration, and it will be broadcast on ESPNU.

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