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Stay hydrated with Joe’s free newsletter, SPORTS! Happy Hour. Here’s the link to sign up. This is an opinion column. ____________________ The college football world is still buzzing about UAB’s victory against rival Memphis last week. The Blazers were named the national “crazy-good” team of the week and new quarterback Ryder Burton was voted national quarterback of the week, too. Now there’s a quarterback controversy at UAB and a new wrinkle in the search for the team’s next coach. It’s never dull on the Southside. Allow me to solve the quarterback mystery for everyone. UAB’s new starter is Burton, who led the Blazers to its shocking win on homecoming. I attended UAB’s practice on Wednesday and interviewed Burton about his big win. He’s a natural-born leader and has swagger for days. Mortensen hasn’t officially named Burton his new starter, but the appeal is obvious. I went down to UAB because I wanted to figure out how Mortensen delivered one of UAB’s all-time wins with just six days to prepare as the team’s interim head coach. After spending a few minutes with Burton, I had my answers. UAB (3-4, 1-3 in the AAC) is off this week and then plays at UConn and then Rice. There is a very real chance that the Blazers will come home to Birmingham on Nov.15 with an opportunity to qualify for a bowl game. If UAB wins three in a row, then expect one of the biggest crowds in years for the Blazers’ game against North Texas. Two weeks ago, the only thing more dysfunctional in downtown Birmingham than the timing of the traffic lights was UAB football. Now Mortensen is the toast of college football and deserving of a shout-out on ESPN College GameDay by his longtime former boss, Nick Saban. UAB fired former coach Trent Dilfer last week. Mortensen, the team’s offensive coordinator, took over and had a handful of days to prepare for the Blazers’ biggest game of the season. He had never been a head coach before, and, on top of everything, Mortensen’s former starting quarterback, Jalen Kitna, was hurt. “I didn’t sleep much,” Mortensen said. Given a tough situation, measured Mortensen handled the week like an ultimate pro. He turned the program around in a week, inspired newfound confidence in the potential of UAB and found a star in Burton. Oh, and Mortensen embarrassed UAB’s biggest rival in the game dubbed The Battle for the Bones. The trophy of celebratory spare ribs is now back in Birmingham and UAB is a saucy 11-7 all-time against Memphis. I asked Mortensen how the Blazers capture lightning in a bottle for the rest of the season. His answer was pure Saban. MAKE YOUR PICKS It’s time make your picks for the weekly 6-0 Challenge. Go 6-0 against the spread and you’re a college-football genius. “I think the biggest thing is, hey, 24 hours, celebrate it, but it is just one game,” Mortensen said. “We’ve got to ask ourselves if we want to be a one-hit wonder, or do we want to try to build on this. And really, part of it, too, is going into the game we really weren’t even focused on winning the game. It was, hey, let’s play the way we want to play. “What’s our standard of play, and how do we get closer to that? So, I think we’ve got to take the same approach going forward. We’ve got five regular-season games left. If we can keep our focus on, what does relentless effort look like? What does competitive poise look like? What does unity look like? What are those things and how do we recreate that? “Then we’ll see where that gets us, and I think we can stay focused there, I think that’s the closest we can get to catching lightning in a bottle.” For a guy who says he’s not yet comfortable speaking with reporters, Mortensen does a great job. Let’s not beat around the bush here. Mortensen has the chops to be a head coach. His players fight for him and he has already delivered one of UAB’s Top 5 victories of all-time**. If the Blazers reach a bowl game, then Mortensen should be named UAB’s permanent head coach. Burton, the rising star at quarterback, has already said that he’s going wherever Mortensen goes next season. UAB athletics director Mark Ingram missed badly on Trent Dilfer, but the silver lining is that Dilfer hired Mortensen and made him the offensive coordinator. Mortensen has a sterling reputation with young quarterbacks. Burton is only at UAB because he called Alabama Heisman winner Bryce Young before committing and Young gave Mortensen his full endorsement. If Mortensen and Burton aren’t at UAB next season, then they’ll be together in the SEC. It’s just a prediction. I’m not saying Mortensen is going to be a head coach in the SEC in 2026, but he’s already on the national radar as one of the best up-and-coming offensive coordinators in the game. Mortensen spent nine seasons with Saban. The list of staffers who survived that long with Alabama’s legendarily demanding coach isn’t very long. There’s Kirby Smart, Derek Dooley and a couple others. UAB athletics director Mark Ingram and university president Ray Watts would be wise to hire from the Saban coaching tree. Saban has permanent ties to Birmingham and his support of UAB football would elevate the status of the Blazers. ** About that all-time Top 5 list of UAB football victories. I’m sure others will disagree, but here are my rankings. 5. The first bowl victory: Blazers 37, Northern Illinois 13 in the 2018 Boca Raton Bowl. This was a monumental win for UAB after the return of the program in 2017. 4. The first division title: Blazers 26, Southern 23 in 2018 at Legion Field. This game went to overtime. Running back Spencer Brown scored the winning touchdown. 3. UAB’s 31-28 victory against No.13 BYU in the 2021 Independence Bowl. This was Bill Clark’s last game. 2. Maybe it’s recency bias, but I’m putting UAB 31, Memphis 24 in 2025 all the way at No.2 behind coach Watson Brown’s road victory against Saban’s LSU in 2000. 1. UAB 13, Saban’s LSU 10: Rhett Gallego for the win. MAILBAG SOUND OFF Got a question for Joe? Want to get something off your chest? Send Joe an email about what’s on your mind. Let your voice be heard. Ask him anything for the reader mailbag.
