CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2023 UAB

4–⁠8 (3–⁠5 American Athletic Conference), coached by Trent Dilfer.

Schedule and results

UAB in 2023, game by game: won vs. North Carolina A&T 35–6; lost at Georgia Southern 35–49; lost vs. Louisiana 21–41; lost at No. 1 Georgia 21–49; lost at Tulane 23–35; won vs. South Florida 56–35; lost at UTSA 20–41; lost vs. Memphis 21–45; won vs. Florida Atlantic 45–42; lost at Navy 6–31; won vs. Temple 34–24; lost at North Texas 42–45+29−28Won 35–6 vs. North Carolina A&T+29North Carolina …Lost 35–49 at Georgia Southern-14Georgia SouthernLost 21–41 vs. Louisiana-20LouisianaLost 21–49 at No. 1 Georgia-28No. 1 GeorgiaLost 23–35 at Tulane-12TulaneWon 56–35 vs. South Florida+21South FloridaLost 20–41 at UTSA-21UTSALost 21–45 vs. Memphis-24MemphisWon 45–42 vs. Florida Atlantic+3Florida AtlanticLost 6–31 at Navy-25NavyWon 34–24 vs. Temple+10TempleLost 42–45 at North Texas-3North Texas
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsNorth Carolina A&TW 35–⁠682%
Sep 9atGeorgia SouthernL 35–⁠4954%
Sep 16vsLouisianaL 21–⁠4159%
Sep 23at1GeorgiaL 21–⁠4912%
Sep 30atTulaneL 23–⁠3526%
Oct 7vsSouth FloridaW 56–⁠3564%
Oct 14atUTSAL 20–⁠4133%
Oct 21vsMemphisL 21–⁠4548%
Nov 4vsFlorida AtlanticW 45–⁠4252%
Nov 11atNavyL 6–⁠3150%
Nov 18vsTempleW 34–⁠2472%
Nov 25atNorth TexasL 42–⁠4542%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to North Texas 45–⁠42; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the American Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 15th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 31 on file).

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 8th in American Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
359–⁠443
Coach
Trent Dilfer
Elo
1420 −123 this season
SP+ rating
-14.7 No. 117 of 133; offense No. 64, defense No. 132, special teams No. 132
SRS
−13.7 No. 118 of 133 in FBS
Returning
40% of last season’s EPA, No. 92 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 92 roster talent No. 98 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Alex Mortensen
Defensive coordinator
Sione Ta’ufo’ou
Offense
Multiple
Defense
Multiple 3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense34th of 133
  • Defense120th of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted43rd of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted128th of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1846%1.3034th of 133
Defense0.2250%1.25120th of 133
Opponent-adjusted0.14 off
0.20 def		44% off
48% def		—43rd off
128th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.8own 2818% allowed
Defense4.5own 3316% caused

CORE rating -3.4, 79th of 133 (offense 7.8, defense 11.2).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsJacob Zeno QB3,126 yds
Passing touchdownsJacob Zeno QB20 TD
Rushing yardsJermaine Brown Jr. RB803 yds
Rushing touchdownsJermaine Brown Jr. RB12 TD
Receiving yardsTejhaun Palmer WR858 yds
Receiving touchdownsTejhaun Palmer WR7 TD
TacklesKeondre Swoopes S72 tkl
SacksDesmond Little DE6 sacks
InterceptionsBrian Mayes DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Emmanuel Waller DL★★★No. 692
Daniel Harris DE★★★No. 938
Amare Thomas WR★★★No. 1106
Guerlens Milfort DL★★★No. 1198
Everett Roussaw Jr. LB★★★No. 1271

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers22.50.825
Offensive line23.00.829
Defensive line63.00.856
Linebackers13.00.855
Defensive backs13.00.824
Athletes and specialists13.00.844
Whole class132.90.844

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2024

The 2024 draft
Rd 6Tejhaun Palmer WRArizona Cardinals

Roster 115

The 2023 roster

115 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 67 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 6

The 2023 portal
Antavious Woody OL★★★from Florida State
Armani Diamond CB★★★from Auburn
Dazalin Worsham WR★★★from Auburn
James Smyre LB★★★from Marshall
Malachi Holt-Bennett WR★★★from Indiana
William Parker OT★★★from Tennessee

Transfers out 12

Jaylen Key S★★★to Alabama
Antwan Massie CB★★★no new school on file
Brody Dalton TE★★★no new school on file
Charles Daniels III LB★★★no new school on file
Dylan Hopkins QB★★★to New Mexico
Jordan Palmer WR★★★no new school on file
Kybo Jamerson LB★★★no new school on file
Xavier Lanier CB★★★no new school on file
Codey Martin CB★★no new school on file
Damon Stewart QB★★no new school on file
Mike York TE★★no new school on file
Tyetus Smith-Lindsey RB★★no new school on file

2023 American Athletic Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
SMU8–⁠011–⁠322
Tulane8–⁠011–⁠3
UTSA7–⁠19–⁠4
Memphis6–⁠210–⁠3
South Florida4–⁠47–⁠6
Rice4–⁠46–⁠7
Navy4–⁠45–⁠7
North Texas3–⁠55–⁠7
UAB3–⁠54–⁠8
Florida Atlantic3–⁠54–⁠8
Tulsa2–⁠64–⁠8
Charlotte2–⁠63–⁠9
Temple1–⁠73–⁠9
East Carolina1–⁠72–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.