On Saturday, a football team was utterly dominated at Protective Stadium, and for the first time in a long time, it wasn’t UAB.

The Blazers defeated the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes 59-21. It was the most points UAB has scored in the Trent Dilfer era, and the first time they defeated an FBS opponent since Nov. 18, 2023.

UAB’s offense led by redshirt junior Jalen Kitna produced 537 total yards on the day.

The Blazers moved to 2-6 on the season and will take on the UConn Huskies at home next week.

These are this afternoon’s takeaways:

The UAB offense finally put it all together

After quarterback Jacob Zeno’s injury was made public, it looked like a UAB offense already in limbo would sink even further.

For a few games it looked like that might happen, but after a building block of a game last week that included a handful of avoidable mistakes, people saw on Saturday what this offense was capable of.

Aside from one play, where he scrambled and took a shot in the ribs, which caused a fumble, Jalen Kitna had by far his safest and most efficient game as the Blazers’ starting quarterback.

He finished the game 25 of 32 passing for 404 yards with six touchdown passes and no interceptions. His downfield processing, decision-making and overall accuracy were at their best today.

His six touchdown passes tied a school record.

It was a return to form for Alex Mortensen’s attack, which hasn’t quite reached the heights it looked like it could reach after 2023.

Shanks has cemented himself as UAB’s most electric playmaker

When UAB needed plays, Kam Shanks delivered.

Throughout the season, we’ve seen glimpses of just how dominant a playmaker the redshirt freshman receiver can be.

On Saturday he did it all. On four punt returns, he averaged 35 per return, the longest coming on a 59-yard touchdown return in the second quarter.

He broke the UAB punt return distance record (129 yards) in the first half of the game.

As a receiver, he hauled in five passes for 153 yards and three touchdowns, culminating in a play where he walked a tightrope down the sideline after catching a ball on a crossing route and somehow stayed in bounds to scoring a touchdown from 67 yards.

He racked up 296 yards and four touchdowns that day in what was the most dominant single-game performance of the year for any Blazer player.

A performance like this is a momentum builder for the Blazers

It’s been a dismal season in Birmingham, but a game like this could give the Blazers life with five games remaining.

If the offense can continue to take care of the football and play at a level close to what they did today, UAB has a legitimate chance to break even with their 2023 record or even pick up another win .

Moving forward, they face UConn at home, Memphis on the road, Rice at home and Charlotte on the road to close out the season. The Battle for the Bones rivalry game in Memphis is clearly the toughest game there, but it gives UAB a chance to salvage something of the season.

They have been on the other side of these games all season, but this young team and coaching staff have now seen that they can also be on the winning side in dominant games at the FBS level.