Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years: 109. UAB
Back from the dead, and better than ever before
On December 2, 2014, UAB President Ray Watts officially announced that UAB had decided to close down the football program. The decision came to the dismay of everyone but Watts and Paul Bryant Jr., so just 3 years later, UAB football returned for the 2017 season. Led by coach Bill Clark, they’ve had much more success since their return, and the football program’s termination has turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
Best Seasons and Highlights
+------+--------------------+------+--------------+--------+
| rank | team | year | resume score | record |
+------+--------------------+------+--------------+--------+
| 35 | Alabama-Birmingham | 2018 | 10.83 | 11-3 |
| 42 | Alabama-Birmingham | 2020 | 3.952 | 6-3 |
| 42 | Alabama-Birmingham | 2021 | 3.933 | 9-4 |
| 44 | Alabama-Birmingham | 2000 | -0.932 | 7-4 |
| 58 | Alabama-Birmingham | 2019 | -7.977 | 9-5 |
| 64 | Alabama-Birmingham | 2022 | -9.412 | 7-6 |
| 56 | Alabama-Birmingham | 2004 | -9.475 | 7-5 |
| 71 | Alabama-Birmingham | 2017 | -10.692 | 8-5 |
| 69 | Alabama-Birmingham | 2001 | -14.632 | 6-5 |
| 72 | Alabama-Birmingham | 1999 | -15.934 | 5-6 |
| 83 | Alabama-Birmingham | 2014 | -16.451 | 6-6 |
| 78 | Alabama-Birmingham | 2005 | -17.416 | 5-6 |
| 77 | Alabama-Birmingham | 2003 | -19.314 | 5-7 |
| 86 | Alabama-Birmingham | 2009 | -25.938 | 5-7 |
| 77 | Alabama-Birmingham | 1997 | -26.004 | 5-6 |
| 92 | Alabama-Birmingham | 2010 | -28.608 | 4-8 |
| 84 | Alabama-Birmingham | 1996 | -29.2 | 5-6 |
| 88 | Alabama-Birmingham | 2002 | -31.544 | 5-7 |
| 87 | Alabama-Birmingham | 1998 | -33.552 | 4-7 |
| 101 | Alabama-Birmingham | 2006 | -36.774 | 3-9 |
| 103 | Alabama-Birmingham | 2008 | -39.175 | 4-8 |
| 103 | Alabama-Birmingham | 2011 | -41.989 | 3-9 |
| 109 | Alabama-Birmingham | 2012 | -43.022 | 3-9 |
| 111 | Alabama-Birmingham | 2013 | -55.118 | 2-10 |
| 115 | Alabama-Birmingham | 2007 | -56.09 | 2-10 |
+------+--------------------+------+--------------+--------+
Overall Score: 1690 (109th)136-161 record
2 conference titles
3-3 bowl record
0 consensus All-Americans
15 NFL players drafted
We’re getting so close to a program not named James Madison with a winning record. UAB was pitiful before their return in 2017, making 5 of their 6 bowls since and winning both conference titles while going 50-26 in that stretch. Notable NFL players include Atlanta Falcons Ring of Honor WR Roddy White, QB/RB/WR/KR/PR/weapon Joe Webb, and 4.28 40 speed WR JJ Nelson. Pro Bowl RB Jordan Howard also was on the 2014 team that was shut down, forced to transfer to Indiana if he wanted to continue his football career.
Top 5 Seasons
Worst Season: 2007 (2-10 overall, 1-7 Conference USA)
The Neil Callaway era (18-42 overall) began with a wet fart, finishing last in the C-USA East. This wasn’t actually as bad as some of the worst seasons we’ve seen on this list so far. A 24-34 loss at Florida State was solid, and they only lost 13-30 to an 8-5 Mississippi State team. UAB met with 2-9 Marsall on the last week of the season to determine who would get last in the East Division, but Marshall took it in a barn burner 46-39. UAB ranked 105th in both offense (19.6 PPG) and defense (35.1 PPG). Starting QB Sam Hunt completed less than 50% of his passes for 1905 yards 10 TD 14 INT, but backup Joe Webb showed he was the QB of the future, throwing 5 TD to just 1 INT to go with 288 rushing yards. He was a weapon that year, playing time at WR as well, catching 30 passes for 459 yards and 3 TD.
5. 2019 (9-5 overall, 6-2 Conference USA)
Get ready for a lot of Bill Clark seasons. Coming off a conference title, their division was expected to be a lot tougher in 2019, as despite receiving 2 first-place votes, UAB was picked just 4th in the West. At 6-3 (3-2 in C-USA), UAB needed help to make the conference title game, as Louisiana Tech was atop with an 8-1 (5-0) record. An LT loss to Marshall and UAB win over UTEP set up Louisiana Tech (8-2, 5-1) vs UAB (7-3, 4-2) to claim the lead in the West. UAB’s vaunted defense came to play, holding LT to just 270 yards in a 20-14 win. It took a 26-21 win over C-USA preseason favorite North Texas the next week, but UAB made their 2nd straight C-USA title game at 9-3 (6-2). A 6-49 loss to FAU in the title game and a 17-31 loss to #20 Appalachian State in the bowl was a sour end to the year, but still great compared to what UAB was used to. The defense was one of the best in the country, ranking 9th in YPG allowed (294.1), 13th in rush YPG (107.2), and 14th in pass YPG (186.8). DT Garrett Marino, DB Kristopher Moll, and DE Jordan Smith finished All-CUSA.
4. 2000 (7-4 overall, 3-3 Conference USA)
2000 UAB had a MONSTER defensive line with 3 future NFL draft picks. Nick Saban and LSU found that out quickly. The Blazers marched into Death Valley in week 3 and held LSU to just 14 first downs and 263 yards, and forced 6 turnovers in a 13-10 win. This was Nick Saban’s first year at LSU and he’d win a national title just 3 years later. They held Kansas to just 23 points in a 20-23 loss a week earlier. 3 of UAB’s next 4 games would see them hold their opponents to under 10 points with a 47-2 win over UL Lafayette, 13-9 win over Memphis, and 14-9 over Middle Tennessee State. They finished the year 7-4 and placed 5th in Conference USA, missing a bowl, but it was their best year in the FBS up to that point (first year being 1996). While they averaged just 21.6 PPG, the defense ranked 9th in the country with 17.5 PPG and held opponents to 15 points or less 7 times. The defensive line featured future 1st round DE Bryan Thomas, 2nd round DT Eddie Freeman, and 6th round DE Otis Leverette.
3. 2021 (9-4 overall, 6-2 Conference USA)
Bill Clark’s last year. A strong defense again saw them give up just 6 points to North Texas, 14 to FAU, and 0 to Southern Miss. A late season matchup between UAB (7-3 overall, 5-1 CUSA) and #22 UTSA (10-0, 6-0) determined who’d get into the C-USA title game. UAB was looking to establish a dynasty with their 3rd title in 4 seasons, but UTSA was unbeaten and looking to earn a possible NY6 bid. Up 31-27 with 1 minute to go, UAB needed to just prevent UTSA from going 78 yards for a winning TD. With just 7 seconds left, UTSA QB Frank Clark lobbed a soft pass to the end zone, TIPPED by senior LB Noah Wilder…and right into the hands of TE Oscar Cardenas for the game winning TD!! UTSA barely escaped with the win and won the C-USA title, while UAB would win their last regular season game and upset #13 BYU in their bowl 31-28. RB DeWayne McBride was the team MVP with 1371 rushing yards and 13 TD.
2. 2020 (6-3 overall, 3-1 Conference USA)
Once again, they continued to doubt UAB. The media’s C-USA West division prediction for 2020 was 1. Louisiana Tech 2. North Texas 3. Rice 4. Southern Miss and finally 5. UAB. Despite playing just 4 conference games due to weird covid scheduling and cancellations, they were 5-3 and 3-1 in conference, getting the nod for the C-USA championship game over…UTSA (7-4, 5-2) and Louisiana Tech (5-4, 4-2). UAB beat UTSA but lost to Louisiana Tech. And played 2-3 less games than both. Take your pick for who deserved to go to the title game. They made the most of the CCG opportunity though with a 22-13 win over 4.5 point favorites Marshall. In traditional UAB fashion, it was a dominant defensive performance, holding Marshall to just 10 first downs. Their 2nd conference title in 3 years! Pretty good for a team that didn’t exist 4 years prior. The bowl game against South Carolina was cancelled, so they finished 6-3 with a C-USA title. 5 players on offense made 1st/2nd Team All-CUSA along with 6 players on defense, the most in the conference with 11 total.
1. 2018 (11-3 overall, 7-1 Conference USA)
2018 is when it all came together for UAB and they turned decades of frustration into their first ever conference title. I don’t know what it is about UAB, but they always have a great defense and just a good offense at best. Maybe it’s a Bill Clark thing. They ranked 7th in the nation in PPG allowed with just 17.0 while scoring 29.9 PPG. A 9-1 start saw them receive the 2nd most AP Top 25 votes for a team outside the top 25, ranking them #27 in the country. Losses to Texas A&M and Middle Tennessee would finish their regular season at 9-3, but set up an immediate rematch with MTSU in the C-USA championship game. Nick Vogel kicked a 28 yard FG with 3:23 left to put UAB up 27-25, and the defense held for the victory and UAB’s first conference championship ever. A 37-13 win over MAC champion Northern Illinois cemented this as their best season ever, finishing ranked #35 in my rankings. The QBs combined for just 18 TD 16 INT but RB Spencer Brown carried the load with 1227 yards and 16 TD.
5th Quarter
Do you think UAB will continue their success under Trent Dilfer? Is Bill Clark a future college football HOF coach? What do you think of when you think of UAB football?
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