10 things you didn't know: UAB at South Florida

Every week before a game, the sports information staffs at both schools put together game notes — thick packets full of stats, rosters, history and stories about their players. The UAB and South Florida SID staffs produced 20 and 16 pages, respectively, for Saturday's game. They're detailed, they're fascinating and almost nobody outside of the press box ever sees them. Honestly? A lot of media don't dig through them, either. We do. We went through every page of both sets of notes to find the most interesting things about the most interesting people on both sidelines. Here are 10 things you might not have known about Saturday's game.

We already published our Really Big Preview for Saturday's game and a deep dive into the 2003 game that started the series. And if you're in Birmingham, join us for the Diehard watch party at Swing Away Golf. This is the stuff that didn't make it into any of those stories.

1. UAB is 1-4 all-time on Halloween — and every game has been on the road.

The Blazers have never played a home game on Oct. 31. Their five previous Halloween appearances produced a 49-3 loss at Samford in 1992, a 20-14 loss at Northeast Louisiana in 1998, a 22-9 loss at SMU in 2006, a 38-33 win at UTEP in 2009 and a 37-34 double-overtime loss at Louisiana Tech in 2020. Quarterback Joe Webb accounted for four touchdowns in three different ways: he threw touchdown passes of 34 and 6 yards, scored on a 53-yard run and caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from David Isabelle. Webb finished with 304 total yards — 163 rushing, 127 passing and 14 receiving. Marquis Coleman added a 99-yard interception return for a touchdown, the longest scoring play in program history at the time. Saturday marks UAB's first Halloween game under head coach Alex Mortensen.

2. South Florida is 2-2 on Halloween — and hasn't played one since 2015.

The Bulls shut out Charleston Southern 24-0 in 1998, beat Cincinnati 24-17 in double overtime in 2003, lost 35-23 at Houston in 2013 and lost 29-17 at Navy in 2015. Saturday is USF's first Halloween game since 2015 and its first at home on Oct. 31 since the 2003 Cincinnati victory.

3. USF is wearing black uniforms for its annual Halloween Black Out game.

South Florida has designated Saturday's matchup as its annual Halloween Black Out. The Bulls will wear black uniforms at Raymond James Stadium, and the first 10,000 fans will receive black-themed rally towels.

4. UAB is 5-17 all-time in games played in the state of Florida — and hasn't won a road game against a Florida school in more than 12 years.

The Blazers hold a 9-26 all-time record against seven Florida-based football programs and are 5-17 in games played in the state. UAB's last road victory against a Florida school came at Florida Atlantic on Nov. 1, 2014 — more than 12 years ago.

5. South Florida is 6-6 all-time against Alabama-based programs — including a 26-23 overtime upset at Auburn.

Three of the Bulls' six victories against Alabama schools have come against UAB. Among the most notable was a 26-23 overtime upset at Auburn in 2007, the only meeting between the Bulls and Tigers. South Florida is 3-4 in games played in the state of Alabama.

6. UAB kicker Jonah Delange kicked four field goals against South Florida last year.

Jonah Delange connected on four field goals in the Blazers' 35-25 loss to the Bulls in 2024, matching his career high. He has since equaled that career high twice this season, connecting on four field goals against both ULM and Samford.

7. The Gramatica family has been kicking at USF since 1998 — and Nico's first career field goal attempt was a 58-yarder.

Bill Gramatica kicked at USF from 1998 to 2000 and later played for the Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants. He owns the program record for the longest field goal at 63 yards. Santiago Gramatica kicked for the Bulls from 2001 to 2004 and ranks third on USF's career scoring chart. Bill is sixth. Now Nico Gramatica wears No. 7, the same number his father Martin wore as a Lou Groza Award winner and All-American at Kansas State in the early 1990s before winning a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers in 2003. On his first career collegiate field goal attempt, Nico knocked in a 58-yarder — the second longest in program history, behind only his uncle Bill's 63-yarder against Austin Peay in 2000. Later in the same game he added a 51-yarder, becoming the first Bull with multiple 50-yard field goals in one contest. Two of the five walk-off game-winning field goals in USF history have been kicked by Gramaticas.

8. USF's new on-campus stadium will feature the longest bar in the state of Florida, running from end zone to end zone.

The rooftop deck of USF's new 35,000-seat on-campus stadium will feature the longest bar in the state of Florida, running from end zone to end zone. USF Athletics received the largest gift in its history when Tampa General Hospital gave $25 million to name the TGH Center for Athletic Excellence.

9. UAB's Adam Lepkowski and USF's Terrell Jones were teammates at Hoover High School — and UAB's Bam McReynolds and USF's Amarion Fortenberry were teammates at South Alabama.

UAB offensive lineman Adam Lepkowski and South Florida defensive end Terrell Jones both played on Hoover High School's 2020 team under head coach Josh Niblett. Lepkowski has spent his entire collegiate career at UAB. Jones played four seasons at Virginia before transferring to South Florida in 2026. On the other sideline, UAB running back Bam McReynolds and South Florida cornerback Amarion Fortenberry were teammates at South Alabama in 2024. McReynolds spent three seasons with the Jaguars before stops at ULM and UAB. Fortenberry recorded 45 tackles and two interceptions as a freshman at South Alabama before spending the 2025 season at Kansas State — where he was teammates with current UAB offensive lineman Amos Talalele.

10. USF's 330-pound nose tackle started at Division II, played for Michael Vick and weighed 415 pounds during COVID.

Major Dillard started at Division II Fayetteville State, where his stay was brief. Next was Division II Chowan University in Murfreesboro, N.C., a place of 15-hour bus rides to some road games. He then got the attention of Norfolk State, an HBCU program where he played one season for head coach Michael Vick, the former NFL quarterback. Dillard weighed 100 pounds in the first grade. At age 7 he wore a size-11 shoe — it's now 16. During the COVID-19 quarantine his eating habits and conditioning fell apart. When he finally made it to a football camp at William & Mary, he stepped on a scale. It read 415 pounds. He's now a 6-2, 330-pound team captain. Defensive coordinator Josh Aldridge's nickname for him: Sweet Feet.