UAB Opens American Conference Play on Saturday at Navy

BIRMINGHAM – The UAB football team opens American Conference play this Saturday, Sept. 6 against Navy. Kickoff from Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium is set for 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT on CBS Sports Network.

Both the Blazers and Midshipmen enter the contest at 1-0 and both scored 52 points in their season openers to set up a matchup between two of the more high-powered offenses in the conference. Navy is receiving votes in both the AP and Coaches Top 25.

Who: UAB (1-0, 0-0 American) at Navy (1-0, 0-0 American)
Where: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium – Annapolis, Md.
When: Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025 – 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT
Watch: CBS Sports Network
On The Call: Chris Lewis (play-by-play), Randy Cross (analyst), Brandon Baylor (sideline)
Listen: WJOX 94.5 FM | Sirius XM Channel 380
On The Call: David Crane (play-by-play), Bryant Turner (analyst), Landrum Roberts (sideline)
Series: Navy Leads, 2-0
Last Meeting: Sept. 28, 2024 – Navy, 41-18

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:

UAB and Navy were two of 21 teams in the nation (and the only two teams in the American Conference) to have over 500 yards of total offense in Week 1. The Blazers used a balanced attack with 273 rushing yards and 247 passing yards in a 52-42 win over Alabama State. Navy rushed its way to a 52-7 victory over VMI with 464 yards coming on the ground.
The Blazers scored on eight of their nine possessions against Alabama State, and tallied touchdowns on all five of their second half possessions.
Of UAB's 273 yards, 259 of them came from the combination of running backs Jevon Jackson (166 yds, 2 TD), Solomon Beebe (51 yds, 2 TD) and Isaiah Jacobs (42 yds, TD). Jackson's yardage came on 17 carries for a 9.8 yards per carry average, while Beebe led the team in all-purpose yards by adding 110 kickoff return yards and 16 receiving yards.
Navy quarterback Blake Horvath returns as the lead signal caller and rushed for 1,246 yards and 17 touchdowns and threw for an additional 1,300 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. However, last week against VMI, it was Horvath's backup Braxton Woodson who did the majority of the damage by running for 180 yards and two touchdowns on just seven carries.
UAB also has an elite quarterback leading the way in Jalen Kitna, who had a strong start to his 2025 campaign. Against ASU, Kitna tied his career high in completion percentage by going 18-of-23 (78.3%) for 247 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. In nine career starts, Kitna is now averaging 272.9 passing yards per game.
Iverson Hooks and Corri Milliner emerged as Kitna's top targets in Week 1 as Hooks had seven catches for 73 yards and a touchdown while Milliner added five for 98 and a score. Hooks also returned two punts for 38 yards and looked dynamic every time he touched the ball.
Defensively, UAB will have to contend with the triple option, which has also evolved into a passing attack as Navy threw the ball 14 times in Week 1. Navy had the second most rushing yards nationally last week only behind BYU who had 468. They were the only two teams to have 400+ rushing yards in Week 1.
Reigning American Conference Special Teams Player of the Year Jonah Delange is off to a good start this season after making his only field goal attempt from 42 yards out, and connecting on all five of his PAT. Through 25 career FG attempts, Delange has made 22 (88.0%) and has made all 36 of his career PATs.
Week 2 has not been kind to the Blazers since returning to action in 2017 with a record of 1-7 in those contests with all of them coming on the road. UAB's only win during that stretch was in 2019 at Akron, who is UAB's opponent next Saturday in Birmingham.
Navy (2 votes) is one of four teams from the American Conference receiving votes in the AP Top 25, along with South Florida (25), Tulane (18) and Memphis (2).

Following UAB's trip to Annapolis, the Blazers return to Protective Stadium on Sept. 13 to host Akron. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+. Click here to purchase tickets.

For more information on the UAB football team, be sure to follow @UAB_FB on X, Instagram and TikTok, and like UAB Athletics on Facebook.

UAB Opens American Conference Play on Saturday at Navy

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Players Mentioned

Solomon Beebe

Jonah Delange

Iverson Hooks

Jevon Jackson

Isaiah Jacobs

Jalen Kitna

Corri Milliner

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics