Like one of his mentors, Nick Saban, Alex Mortensen didn't seem to be too fond of the celebratory Gatorade bath after his first career win on Saturday.
Mortensen, former Alabama employee during the Saban dynasty, felt unworthy of the dousing and even warned afterward that it was just one game. After all, focusing too much on the outcome would be the opposite of “The Process.”
But after an emotional week JSC football after firing third-year coach Trent Dilfer, 31–24 win over No. 22 Memphis certainly worth celebrating. In his first game as head coach, Mortensen helped the Blazers to their biggest win in years. You could see the big smiles on the players' faces as they celebrated with Mortensen on the field.
“I think they've done a great job of really refocusing and coming together,” Mortensen told CBS Sports. “You end the week a little happy to see them play the way they played in that game. It was emotional and hard, but it was also nice to see the players achieve the success they did.”
It was also a tough week for Mortensen.
Ken Shepard, UAB Athletics
After all, Dilfer gave him his first chance to become an offensive coordinator at the college level. He hoped they would have the opportunity to work together for a long time and appreciated the way Dilfer treated the staff, players and everyone else in the UAB program. Dilfer ultimately failed at UAB, taking 9-21 and never bowling a game, but Mortensen tried his best to turn things around. He wanted to become a head coach one day, but he didn't expect it to happen this way. He admits the whole experience, from Dilfer's firing to being asked to become interim head coach, left him a little shaken at first.
“It was pretty dark and disappointing at first,” Mortensen said. “It was not something to celebrate by any stretch of the imagination.”
But he wanted to take advantage of this opportunity. It was an important part of his message to a team undergoing a major leadership change in the midst of a season that had not gone as expected.
Ahead of undefeated Memphis, popular choice for tournament College football In the playoffs, Mortensen emphasized the opportunity ahead of everyone. Whatever the players had in mind regarding their future, was it NFLwhether they stay at UAB or transfer elsewhere, they will benefit from a strong performance against the Tigers. From an individual standpoint, it gave everyone a reason to play with a strong effort against a team that had a big lead (23.5 points) in the win over the Blazers. Overall, Mortensen emphasized the importance of playing with composure, putting in tireless effort and sticking together no matter what. This team had already been through a lot and needed to remain determined in the face of adversity.
If Saturday's results against Memphis are any indication, the message certainly resonated.
UAB's offense was amazing against the Tigers, totaling over 450 yards for the first time all season. In his first career Blazers start, the guard Ryder Burton threw for 251 yards and three touchdowns, all to receiver Iverson Hookswho finished with 172 receiving yards – in a debut equal to Mortensen's. Burton, who previously worked at BYU And West Virginia stepped in before transferring to UAB this season and performed admirably in place of an injured starter Jalen Kitna.
After facing Memphis in the first half, UAB took a 10-point lead in the third quarter on an 81-yard drive. Solomon Beebe touchdown. The Blazers later extended their lead to 31-17 with just 4:06 left in the game, but a furious late-game surge by the Tigers tested UAB's resilience.
First, Memphis scored on a 37-yard pass to cut the lead to 31-24 with 2:19 left. After a quick UAB three-and-out that took just 29 seconds, Memphis got the ball back with a chance to tie the game. It looked like it was on Greg Desrosiers Jr.. a run that initially looked like a touchdown but was ultimately called back at the Blazers' 1-yard line.
This raised an interesting strategic question: Do you let Memphis score and give yourself about a minute of time to try to win the game in regulation? Or do you go for the stoppage and risk Memphis being on fire the whole time, scoring and looking to get the two-point conversion to win?
Mortensen and ZAO chose door No. 2.
“At that point, we wanted to see if they could score on us,” the UAB coach said. “They'll probably go for one, and if they go for two, so be it. But let's see if we can. We feel comfortable sending the game into overtime if we need to. It was really great to see the guys come together.”
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It worked, even if getting there was very nerve-wracking. Memphis had two false start penalties and a delay of game penalty, turning what started out as a first-and-goal from the 1-yard line into a fourth-and-goal from the 11. Memphis QB AJ Hills The final pass attempt had no chance and the Blazers secured the win.
It capped an emotional and stressful week for Mortensen and everyone involved in the program. It was the first time in many years that UAB had a win of the kind that grabbed national newspapers and headlines.
And for those who saw UAB win and recognized the last name, it was reminiscent of the late, great ESPN reporter Chris Mortensen, who passed away in March 2024. Chris loved his son deeply and wanted him to become a head coach.
But thinking about his father after the victory, Alex thinks he had mixed feelings about it all. Like longtime ESPN NFL An insider, Chris had covered more than his share of layoffs and knew the human impact not only on fired coaches, but on their families as well. He would sympathize with the Dilfer family before he could get excited about what it meant for his only son.
“It would be tough for him to see a coach lose his job – a good coach and a good person,” Mortensen said. “And I also think that he will obviously want to support my efforts and our efforts as a team. But I really, really believe that’s what he would have been.”
