The battle of inches

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Bam McReynolds broke through the line on third-and-5 from the Illinois 32 and ran 20 yards into the red zone. UAB's opening drive at Gies Memorial Stadium had been everything Alex Mortensen wanted — balanced, physical football against a Big Ten defense. First down inside the 15. The Blazers were in business.

Then the flag landed.

UAB tight end Scott Isacks was called for holding. It was a hold. But it was the kind that happens on almost every play in college football — a hand slides an inch or two outside and catches the edge of a shoulder pad. An inch inside, and the flag stays in the ref's pocket.

Instead of first-and-10 in the red zone, UAB faced third-and-13 from the 40. Ean Rhea sacked Ryder Burton back to midfield. The Blazers punted. On the return, two UAB defenders had Mac Resetich corralled at the Illinois 5, but their angles were a step off — an Illini blocker hit one and knocked him into the other. Resetich ran 65 yards. Three plays later, it was 7-0.

One hold. One inch of hand placement. A punt that didn't need to happen and a return that broke because two coverage angles were a step wide. From potential UAB points to an Illinois touchdown. That's how inches become points.

It kept happening.

On UAB's next scoring drive, Burton hit CJ Smith deep on third-and-7 from the Illinois 45. Smith had his man beaten. He caught the ball near the goal line and went down at the 3. Illinois cornerback Tywan Cox, beaten on the route, clipped Smith's ankle as the ball arrived. Without the contact, Smith scores standing up. With it, he's at the 3-yard line.

McReynolds lost a yard on the next play. An illegal procedure penalty pushed them back further. Jonah Delange kicked a field goal. Three points instead of seven.

In the second quarter, trailing 14-3 after Ca'Lil Valentine's 51-yard touchdown run, UAB reached the red zone again. First-and-goal at the 4. A false start backed them up. Rod Robinson II gained it back and cut toward the end zone on second-and-goal — he had the edge, he had the angle. He's 6-foot-1, 235 pounds with a head of steam. But the turf got him. Robinson lost his footing without contact as he tried to turn on the burst to the end zone, and Xavier Scott brought him down for a 1-yard gain. Another field goal. Three more points instead of seven.

Five moments in the first half. Five times a hand was an inch too wide, a coverage angle was a step off, an ankle got clipped, a foot slipped on turf, an instinct went wrong. The Blazers weren't outclassed. They were out-inched.

The biggest inch came last.

UAB's defense had just made its best play of the night — Muaaz Byard stuffing Jordan Anderson for no gain on fourth-and-1 at midfield. The Blazers answered with a scoring drive finished by a well-designed play that brought Robinson out of the backfield for a 10-yard touchdown catch from Burton with 18 seconds left in the half. UAB 13, Illinois 14.

This was a different team than what occupied this program under Trent Dilfer, when one bad play often triggered an avalanche of them. These Blazers had fought back to within a point on the road against a team that has won at least nine games in consecutive seasons under Bret Bielema. All the momentum was on UAB's sideline. Just get to the locker room.

Illinois reached midfield. Katin Houser had time — UAB rushed nobody, dropping everyone into coverage. The ball went up. Multiple defenders were in position.

They went for the interception.

The ball ricocheted off a defender's hands and into the arms of Ty Robinson. Touchdown. Illinois 21, UAB 13.

The difference between a fist going up to swat and hands reaching out to catch.

The math is devastating.

Convert the two red-zone field goals to the touchdowns they should have been, and UAB has 21 first-half points instead of 13. Knock down the Hail Mary, and Illinois has 14 instead of 21. UAB 21, Illinois 14 at halftime — on the road, against a Big Ten program coached by Bielema. And that math doesn't even account for the opening drive, where UAB was in the red zone before the holding penalty and Illinois scored off the ensuing punt return.

Instead, Illinois led 21-13 and received the second-half kickoff. The Illini marched 75 yards in 11 plays. 28-13. Bielema's team played with the lead the rest of the night, and the final score — 42-23 — buries what actually happened in the first 30 minutes.

UAB outgained Illinois 413-332. The Blazers ran 79 plays to Illinois' 43, held the ball for 41 minutes, converted 10-of-19 third downs and reached the red zone on every trip. Illinois scored 42 points on 43 offensive plays. The Illini didn't grind UAB down. They cashed in on the inches the Blazers gave them.

The film from Thursday night will show a UAB team that competed at a level this program has not reached in years. The offense went into a Big Ten stadium and moved the ball. The defense made fourth-down stops and pressured Houser at times. The ground game averaged 4.0 yards per carry behind a rebuilt line.

Mortensen is building something. Thursday proved that. Thursday also proved the distance between what UAB is building and where it wants to go is not measured in miles.

It is measured in inches. And inches are closable.