The Trent Dilfer era at UAB has been an overwhelming disaster and Saturday was not an improvement. It would be shocking if the second-year head coach makes it through another week without getting fired.
His players looked extremely sad on the sideline during yet another brutal beatdown.
Army hosted the American Athletic Conference contest in West Point as a 5-0 program with legitimate hopes to reach the College Football Playoff as one of the five highest-ranked conference champions. The Black Knights were listed as 26.5-point favorites over a 1-4 Blazers side that has not shown any signs of life since its win over an FCS school in Week 1.
One of UAB’s early losses was to Navy by a score of 41-18. Its second attempt to beat a service academy did not go any better. Dilfer’s team quickly fell behind 20-3 in the first quarter.
The Blazers were demoralized. They completely gave up less than five minutes into the game after Army quarterback Bryson Daily stiff-armed a defender on his way to the end zone.
Bryson Daily gets it going early! @ArmyWP_Football strikes first pic.twitter.com/Jt06gr7tJR
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) October 12, 2024
The linebacker needed to be peeled off of the turf.
This is a SAVAGE Stiff-Arm 😤 pic.twitter.com/PdzVClKFh2
— Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) October 12, 2024
Not long after the touchdown, CBS Sports sideline reporter Tina Cervasio offered her perspective on moral. As could be expected, Army was buzzing. Its opponents, not so much.
She said that players on the visiting sideline “looked sad.”
A Tina Cervasio sideline report in the UAB-Army game: "Right as Army scored the touchdown, I looked at the UAB sidelines. A lot of downtrodden faces. They just looked sad." Followed by discussion of Jason Riles Jr. staying pumped up. (H/T @edsbs.) pic.twitter.com/b38I44bmwb
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 12, 2024
That was after ONE touchdown!
UAB gave up.
The Black Knights were only just getting started. Daily scored three times in the first quarter. They took a lead of more than 30 points into the locker room at halftime.
UAB players officially quit on Trent Dilfer during yet another ugly blowout loss on Saturday. Their body language made it abundantly clear that any potential hope for a turnaround of any kind is gone. A bowl game is not going to happen. There is no way to win a conference championship.
The season is officially over for the Blazers and Dilfer’s employment is not far behind.