The UAB football team cannot stop a turtle on defense and is searching for answers following a 41-21 loss to Louisiana, Saturday, Sept. 16, at Protective Stadium in Birmingham.

The Blazers were outgained by Louisiana on offense, 513-386, and could not put together an organized scoring drive until far too late in the game.

Jacob Zeno finished 27-of-38 for 280 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, and led the running game with 17 attempts for 52 yards and a score. Isaiah Jacobs was held to 38 yards on nine carries and Jermaine Brown Jr. was eerily absent with only three attempts for six yards. Lee Beebe scored on his only attempt of the game inside the final two minutes.

Samario Rudolph led the receiving effort with eight catches for 66 yards and a touchdown, followed by true freshman Amare Thomas with three receptions for 53 yards. Tight end Bryce Damous added three catches for 47 yards.

Keondre Swoopes led the defense with 10 tackles, followed by Michael Moore with nine and Mac McWilliams with eight and a pass breakup.

Offense Hits the Wall

The Blazers entered the game as a top-30 offense, ranked 10th in the passing game, but were held to 386 total yards for a 5.3 average per play. Along with a 3-for-13 performance on third down, UAB also went 2-of-3 on fourth down and gave up two turnovers.

In the first half, UAB went 1-for-7 on third down and managed only 48 passing yards, along with 105 yards on the ground. The most glaring issue was offensive line play, which allowed four first-half sacks and seven total for the game. Zeno was not comfortable in the pocket at any point and developed happy feet while bouncing around waiting to scramble.

The second half saw as many mistakes and unfortunate bounces as there were in the opening half, non-more egregious than on a 64-yard touchdown run by Brandon Buckhaulter on UAB’s initial drive of the third quarter. The scoring play was called back on a holding penalty and made worse by unsportsmanlike conduct, placing UAB at its own 15-yard line. The Blazers were able to drive into the red zone on the back of a late hit call and a 40-yard pass to true freshman Amare Thomas, but came away empty-handed as Matt Quinn fell to 0-of-3 on the season with a miss on a 28-yard field-goal attempt.

Despite attempting everything in its power to be shutout for the first time since 2011, UAB was able to put points on the board on a 40-yard field goal by Matt Quinn with 2:09 left in the third quarter and three touchdowns late in the final frame.

Atrocious Defense

The defensive woes for UAB continued against Louisiana and may have been even worse when considering how much the defensive line was pushed around and dominated by the Ragin’ Cajuns. The Blazers gave up 513 total yards for an 8.3 average per play and allowed Louisiana to rush for 198 yards in the first half alone.

The Blazers did not adjust in the second half and were gutted for another 118 yards on the ground, giving up 305 total rushing yards in the game, and allowed Louisiana to march the field at will throughout the contest. All of this after Louisiana starting quarterback Ben Wooldridge went down with an injury early and did not return to the game. In Wooldrige’s stead, Zeon Chriss finished 14-of-20 for 174 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 103 yards and two touchdowns.

UAB was able to force three turnovers and collect three sacks, as well as hold the Ragin’ Cajuns to 5-of-11 on third down, but its defensive line was manhandled by Louisiana’s offensive line despite missing its starting right tackle. The UAB defense has now allowed more than 40 points in consecutive games for the first time since the 2013 season.