There is no crying in baseball and there are certainly no silver linings in football.

Aside from two impactful turnovers and two failed fourth-down attempts, the UAB offensive revelation is in full effect but defensive miscue after miscue rendered the sparkly new high-volume attack inconsequential to an opposing force with no resistance.

The Blazers are quickly developing into an offensive juggernaut but a defensive decline is cause for concern following a 49-35 loss to Georgia Southern, Saturday, Sept. 9, at Allen E. Paulson Stadium in Statesboro.

UAB drops to 1-1 on the season and 1-6 in the second week since returning to the field from a two-year hiatus. In all six losses combined, the Blazers allowed an average of 42.5 points while averaging 20.8 points themselves.

“Sick to my stomach because we lost, losing sucks but really proud of the guys and how they responded early in the game,” UAB head coach Trent Dilfer said. “Some bad stuff happened right off the jump and we didn’t flinch, we kept fighting. Obviously didn’t play very well and you’re never going to say you played well when you get beat by two scores, give up that many points and don’t score as many points as you want. But the overall character of our team I’m pleased with and that’s what I’m emphasizing.”

RELATED: Rewinding UAB’s 49-35 loss at Georgia Southern

In the first meeting between the programs in Birmingham, UAB held the Eagles to more than 100 passing yards below their final season average and forced three turnovers that aided in building a 21-point first-half lead. Georgia Southern would go on to rush for 214 yards while the Blazers ground out 288 yards behind UAB’s single-season leading rusher DeWayne McBride.

For the return trip to Statesboro, the Eagles heaved the ball for 344 yards and UAB countered with Jacob Zeno and his cauldron of pass catchers. The redshirt junior finished 33-of-43 for 385 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, and connected with eight different receivers.

“He’s such a good player, such a good teammate and has that professional mentality,” Dilfer said. “I think he’ll respond fantastic to this adversity. I’m expecting him to have his best week of practice and play his best football next week because that’s kind of how he’s wired.”

Tejhaun Palmer brought down six receptions for 102 yards, followed by Bryce Damous with seven catches for 47 yards and a score, and Iverson “Strap” Hooks had a career outing with six receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown.

“First of all, I want to give thanks to God,” Hooks said. “My coaches, they believed in me all week, they knew I was going to have a big game. We came out ready to play and I gave my faith to God and he let me make plays on the field.”

The Blazers dug a 14-point hole in the first quarter, giving up a first-play turnover and failing to convert fourth down on their second possession, both resulting in Georgia Southern touchdowns, but eventually rallied to take a 22-21 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the opening half.

“I always tell them, we’re going to go through adversity,” Hooks said. “When we went down early, I knew it was time to step up. Everybody on offense and defense came together but just fell short. We’re going to come back and we’re going to come back stronger and harder, I promise.”

It was the only advantage UAB held and it lasted exactly 1:05 of game time.

The Eagles gracefully descended across midfield with passes to Derwin Burgess and Khaleb Hood and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 39-yard run from running back OJ Arnold, who also threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Burgess earlier in the second frame.

“Honestly, they had some good play calls and I’ll give it to them,” linebacker Jackson Bratton said. “On the other hand, we have to execute better. We had mental errors. I think everybody on the field, at one point, had a mental error. That’s just not us and not who we’re going to be.”

The second half was not any more kind to the Blazers and, outside of a fumble recovery that eventually led to a Zeno interception, Georgia Southern scored on every drive in the final two stanzas.

The most brutal gut-punch to the Blazers occurred on the opening possession of the half which saw Georgia Southern piece mail down the field before striking with a 25-yard touchdown pass from David Brin to Hood. UAB countered with its own scoring drive, capped on a 7-yard touchdown pass to Hooks, but was outscored 13-7 down the stretch with two field goals and a 6-yard scoring run from Jalen White.

Georgia Southern made plays when needed, going 10-for-13 on third-down conversions, and averaged 6.3 yards per play and 4.7 yards per rush. The Eagles maintained five drives of eight or more plays, five of more than 50 yards, and UAB forced only one punt on a three-and-out early in the second quarter.

“They were more physical than us, for one,” Dilfer said. “They took advantage of the air in the defense, the space in the defense, they broke tackles and they converted big downs. We had some opportunities to get some stops and advantageous positions and they were able to convert them. (Bryan) Ellis does a great job as an OC and their quarterback is a fantastic player. We knew going in it was going to be a great challenge offensively. They played better and made more plays on critical downs than we did.”