It’s been 336 days since UAB’s last FBS win.

The Blazers are going to have to wait at least 14 days for another shot at one, as they enter the bye week following a 35-25 loss to South Florida in Tampa on Saturday in a back-and-forth scoring game.

Self-inflicted wounds once again killed UAB, as turnovers and drive-killing flags took away the Blazers’ bid at a win in what was their best performance in over a month.

UAB fell to 1-6 on the season, 0-4 in AAC play. USF jumped to 3-4, winning its first AAC contest of the season against two losses.

Here are three takeaways from Saturday afternoon:

Kitna’s talent is clear, but so is his turnover problem

Jalen Kitna eclipsed the UAB season-high passing mark by 143 yards on Saturday, having the best day by a Blazers quarterback by far this season.

The redshirt junior went 33-for-56 passing for 384 yards and threw two touchdowns against a struggling South Florida pass defense. His gunslinger style of play has opened new doors for a Blazer offense that’s been held to almost exclusively utilizing the short-yardage pass.

While the Blazers still threw the ball short of the sticks and behind the line often, Kitna’s ability to extend plays and find open receivers when structure breaks down has been a breath of fresh air for UAB. His risky style of play has its shortcomings, however.

The ball was put into defenders’ hands on a few occasions, but Kitna was lucky to come away only having one pass intercepted by a defense that has shined at creating turnovers. His luck ran out late in the third quarter on a critical drive, as Kitna scrambled and picked up enough yardage to convert a third-and-10, but fumbled the ball away.

Kitna has thrown six interceptions and lost one fumble through his three starts.

Of note: Credit needs to be given to redshirt freshman Jordan Hall, who made his first career start at left tackle today. It was a far from perfect game, but he gave Kitna plenty of opportunities in pass protection today.

UAB pass rush steps up

For the first time since their Aug. 29 win over Alcorn State, this UAB pass rush made a huge impact.

Sophomore linebacker Everett Roussaw Jr. led the way with two sacks of USF’s Bryce Archie and was consistently in the backfield or making a play on a ball carrier. He finished the game with seven tackles.

On the line, defensive end Desmond Little totaled five tackles and got home for one sack, but the numbers don’t even begin to tell how disruptive he was today. Neither of South Florida’s tackles could contain him, and he had Bryce Archie on the run on multiple occasions.

The Blazers need to find production on the line from their other pass rushers if they want to get consistent disruption — namely from Kendall Johnson and Joker Gill — but getting Roussaw and Little going is a great step back for a group that has a ton of potential.

UAB’s Delange cementing claim as one of the top kickers in America

Entering Week 7, Jonah Delange was one of four kickers in the country that had still not missed a field goal on a minimum of 10 attempts. He added four more to that record on Saturday afternoon, adding 12 crucial points on 41, 29 ,32 and 48-yard field goals.

The redshirt sophomore was a kickoff specialist in 2023 behind former Blazer kicker Matt Quinn. And Delange’s his accuracy has never wavered, there were questions in training camp as to whether he had the leg to hit long-range kicks for the Blazers.

Just past halfway through the season, it’s safe to say Delange isn’t only the best kicker in Birmingham, but one of the best in the nation. Should his hot streak continue, expect to see his name among the Lou Groza Award finalists.

NEXT UP: UAB enters a bye week and will next face Tulsa at Protective Stadium in Birmingham on Nov. 2. The game will be the Blazers’ homecoming.