The postgame report: UAB 30, East Carolina 17 (OT)

"Six seconds at a time."

That's what Ryder Burton told his teammates as they huddled in the shadow of their own goal line Thursday night, the length of the field and an eight-point deficit staring them in the face, less than two minutes and no timeouts left on the scoreboard. East Carolina had led from its first possession. UAB hadn't scored a touchdown all night.

And now here they were, last chance, thanks to a defense that had at least kept them in striking distance after a rough first quarter.

A false start backed them to the 4. Burton's first pass fell incomplete. Second-and-13. East Carolina's win probability, according to ESPN's Gametracker: 99.8 percent.

"O-line, let's block inside out," Burton said, "and I'll make us right from there."

He drove them 93 yards in 62 seconds, hit Bam McReynolds for the tying touchdown with 35 seconds left and ran in the two-point conversion himself.

In overtime, Burton threw a 6-yard touchdown to Roderick Robinson II, and Delvon Gulley sealed it with an 80-yard pick-six. UAB 30, East Carolina 17. Twenty-one unanswered after trailing the entire game, in front of 19,834 on homecoming.

It happened because the defense kept the game within reach when the offense couldn't find the end zone. After allowing 139 yards in the first quarter, UAB held ECU to 165 over the final three quarters and overtime. Jonah Delange's three field goals kept the Blazers within a score. And when Burton finally got the ball with a chance, his poise held. "It kind of felt like an old football game tonight," Mortensen said. "It was like defense, field position."

WHAT IT MEANS

UAB is 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the American — 4-0 at home for the first time since 2022 and 9-1 on homecoming since returning to play in 2017. It was the program's first overtime win since 2018. The Blazers enter a 17-day bye needing two wins in five games to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2022. Mortensen said UAB's offense entered the year in the bottom ten percent nationally in snaps played, and the offensive line in particular has limited experience. "There's opportunity to get better and grow through the year," Mortensen said. Whether that growth shows up on the road and in November will define the season.

THE TURNING POINT

Burton's tying drive almost never got started. After the false start and incompletion backed UAB to second-and-13 from the 4, Sean Persson's nine-yard catch made it third-and-4 — manageable. Ty Mims converted with a 17-yard grab that moved the chains to the UAB 30. Mims entered the game as UAB's leading receiver in yards and had one catch all night before that play. Everything that followed on that drive required him getting those 17 yards first.

The other turning point came in the third quarter when ECU had a chance to put a 14-3 game away. The Pirates had third-and-1 at their own 46. Emory Williams ran up the middle and got nothing — Muaaz Byard and Sterling Sanders stuffed him at the line. ECU lined up for a tush push on fourth-and-1. Williams ran it again. Byard and Tylin Jackson met him in the hole. Zero yards. Turnover on downs. "Those interior D linemen are stout and played with great pad level," Mortensen said. "There's technique and all those things, there's scheme, but man, there's also will. There's will to win, will to fight." UAB took over at the ECU 46. On third-and-10, Burton found Kaleb Brown on a 32-yard catch down the left sideline to the ECU 14 and Delange hit from 26 to cut it to 14-6.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

Good: The defense forced three fumbles in the first half and held ECU without a rushing touchdown for the game. Oliver Straw averaged 48.3 yards on six punts with three of 50 or more, extending his streak of multiple 50-yard punts to four straight games.

Bad: UAB left two explosive plays on the field in the first half. Burton hit tight end Scott Isacks on a pass that went 81 yards to the ECU 3 before an ineligible-man-downfield penalty on Cooper Young wiped it out. On a separate drive, EJ Reid dropped a pass at the UAB 36 with nothing but open field ahead of him. "A couple of times we had opportunities for really big explosive plays got taken from us," Mortensen said. UAB trailed 14-3 at the half with one field goal to show for it. Mortensen also acknowledged the staff was "a little bit stubborn with some aspects of the run game where we were struggling."

Ugly: Both teams had reason to question the officiating, but two plays from a UAB perspective are hard to ignore. On fourth-and-2 in the fourth quarter, right guard Barry Walker had his helmet ripped off mid-play on what looked like an uncalled hands-to-the-face. UAB didn't convert. On the tying drive, Burton threw toward CJ Smith near the goal line and Smith was grabbed before the ball arrived, right in front of an official. No flag. UAB scored anyway, but neither play should have gone uncalled.

THE STATS THAT MATTER

0:00 — Time UAB held a lead in regulation. The Blazers trailed from the opening kickoff and didn't tie it until 35 seconds remained. Their first lead came in overtime. Gulley's pick-six was his first career interception return for a touchdown. "He played with great technique there and trapped it and finished on the play," Mortensen said.

9 — Jonah Delange's regulation points. Delange hit from 41, 26 and 50 yards. His three field goals accounted for nine of UAB's 17 regulation points. The other eight came on Burton's touchdown pass to McReynolds and his two-point conversion run. "This was not a shootout," Mortensen said. "Those field goals mattered." Delange is 17-of-19 on the season (89.5%) and leads the team in scoring with 65 points, 35 more than the next Blazer.

16 — Jo'Tavion Pierce's tackle total. Pierce had 10 solo and 16 total, a career high, with nine in the first half. Muaaz Byard added 15, also a career high. The two combined for 31 tackles in a game the defense carried for three quarters.

WHAT THEY SAID

Alex Mortensen on the fight in his team:

"What I'm so pleased and proud of our players for more than anything is just the fight to the end and the don't quit, staying together. ... There was no negativity, and there was no negativity defense to offense or any of those things. We stayed as one team, and guys just stayed focused and played the next play one play at a time."

Mortensen on Burton:

"His demeanor was great through the game. Kind of that sweet spot of being the tough, fiery competitor that he is, and then also keeping his poise when everything wasn't perfect around him. And then made some big throws. Made some really, really big throws at points in critical situations, and then also took some shots while he did and kept his eyes in the right place."

Burton on his mindset:

"Just because the moment's big doesn't mean we all of a sudden change how we approach a drive. So just go out there, execute, block inside out, and then me get my eyes in the right place, throw the ball, and let the receivers catch it and do their thing."

Pierce on what this team is building:

"I just tell the people in the city of Birmingham, we're trying to make a change, and we want you to be here. And whoever come out, we appreciate y'all, but we want the city of Birmingham to come out, 'cause new Blazers is coming."

3 STARS

1. Ryder Burton, QB, UAB — 19-of-37, 262 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT. Mortensen compared his poise to Bryce Young's in the 2021 Iron Bowl.

2. Jo'Tavion Pierce, S, UAB — 16 tackles (10 solo), 1.5 TFL, 1 forced fumble, 1 PBU, 1 QB hurry. Second straight game with at least 12 tackles.

3. Jonah Delange, K, UAB — 3-of-3 FG (41, 26, 50 yards), 10 points. Now 48 career field goals, fourth in program history. The 50-yarder was his fourth career make of 50 or more yards.

FINAL TAKEAWAYS

Burton threw zero interceptions after five in his first six games and credited the improvement to work with his receivers. "A lot of the interceptions haven't been poor decisions," Burton said. "It's been a lack of us being on the same page, to be honest with you." The scheme adjustment helped — Mortensen said the staff tilted toward the pass after ECU's front stifled the run, and Burton credited Mortensen for the late-game execution. "Really the secret to the sauce is just listen to [Coach Mort] and send in Ryder shut up," Burton said. "It's a pretty good recipe usually."

Marlin Dean added a sack and a forced fumble, giving him six sacks and four forced fumbles on the season — both team highs. Dean, Pierce, Byard and Gulley form a defensive core that carried the team through three quarters while the offense searched for footing.

UAB also announced a partnership with UAB Medicine, which appeared on the team's helmets Thursday. "This has been a big week for us, the homecoming, Thursday night game, nationally televised game, UAB Medicine being announced," Mortensen said. "A lot of positive things going on with the program, and so to punctuate it with a win like that is great." Five games remain: at South Florida (Oct. 31), Charlotte (Nov. 7), at Temple (Nov. 14), UTSA (Nov. 21) and at North Texas (Nov. 28).

NEXT UP

UAB visits South Florida on Saturday, Oct. 31, at Raymond James Stadium. Kickoff TBA.