UAB stuns No. 22 Memphis with goal-line stand, an emotional win for interim coach Alex Mortensen

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- , UAB used a goal-line stand in the final seconds to upset No. 22 Memphis 31-24 on Saturday in the debut of interim coach Alex Mortensen, the son of late ESPN reporter Chris Mortensen. The Blazers fired head coach Trent Dilfer last week, and Mortensen delivered as a 21 1/2-point home underdog. “We wanted to play with fanatical effort, and the second thing was poise and the third thing was we talked about staying together no matter what,” Mortensen said. UAB did that down the stretch. Memphis (6-1, 2-1 American Athletic Conference) reached the 1-yard line twice in the final minute, but two false starts and a delay-of-game penalty stalled the drive. Memphis threw incomplete into the endzone on fourth-and-goal from the 11. UAB was powered by a new starting quarterback, Ryder Burton , who completed 20 of his 27 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns.