UAB's defense is better than it was. Is it good enough for Navy?

UAB's defense has improved every week this season. That is not opinion. The data confirms it.

Pro Football Focus graded the Blazers' defense at 53.1 in the opener at Illinois, 65.5 against ULM and 66.3 at Louisiana. The run defense grade jumped from 50.4 to 73.8 to 71.9. Pass rush went from 63.3 to 62.6 to 67.4. Tackles for loss went from two to five to seven. The unit held Louisiana scoreless in the second half, allowing 108 yards and holding the Cajuns to 1-for-6 on third down after intermission.

Three games of progress under first-year defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. Real improvement, earned by players who have competed every snap.

But Friday night is a different kind of test. Navy visits Protective Stadium averaging 376.0 rushing yards per game — second in the country — and the Midshipmen are 3-0 all-time against UAB. They haven't allowed a rushing touchdown this season. They've scored a touchdown on every red zone trip. The American Conference preseason favorite is built to exploit the exact weaknesses UAB hasn't fixed yet.

The defense is better. Friday night will tell us if better is good enough.

The good

Start here because the improvement deserves credit — and because these numbers would have been welcomed in the Dilfer Era when UAB fielded some of the worst defenses in the country.

Jeremiah Jordan has the best three-game trajectory on the defense. The veteran safety's PFF grade has climbed from 61.2 to 66.8 to 77.2, with tackling grades of 79.1, 85.9 and 83.7. Jordan has 21 tackles, a tackle for loss, a quarterback hurry and a forced fumble through three games. His 43rd career appearance and 25th start came Saturday at Louisiana, and he is playing like a man who understands what's at stake in his final season.

"Our defense played very well," head coach Alex Mortensen said of the Louisiana game. "I thought they definitely played well enough to win the game."

Tylin Jackson has been a revelation on the defensive line. The Eastern Washington transfer graded 48.5 in Week 1 — near the bottom of the roster. Three weeks later, he's at 65.3 with a tackling grade that went from 23.8 to 77.0. Jackson leads the team with 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks, ranking 44th nationally in tackles for loss per game. In three seasons at Eastern Washington, Jackson had 3.5 career sacks. He has two through three games at UAB.

The pass defense ranks sixth nationally at 116.0 yards allowed per game, first in the American. UAB has not allowed a passing touchdown in the last two games. ULM and Louisiana combined to complete 24 of 39 passes for 166 yards across those two contests.

Jo'Tavion Pierce has made his mark since moving into the starting lineup in Week 2 — 20 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a pass breakup and a forced fumble over the last two games. Chris Burge's fumble recovery and 13-yard return for a touchdown at Louisiana was the first fumble-return score for UAB since Garrett Marino against Tulane on Sept. 15, 2018.

UAB has outscored opponents 33-24 in the second half and 27-14 in the fourth quarter. The defense has gotten stronger as games progress.

The bad

Coverage grades have flatlined — 53.4, 59.7, 58.5 — and few starters have cracked a coverage grade of 70 in any individual game. Against pass-first teams, the pass rush has compensated. Against Navy's play-action wrinkles off the run game, stagnant coverage is a different vulnerability.

Ike Esonwune was the top-graded defender in Week 1 at 75.8. He has declined every week since — 64.8, then 54.7. Esonwune still has 26 tackles and ranks 32nd nationally at 8.7 per game, but the trend is heading the wrong direction at the wrong time.

Chris Spencer at defensive tackle has been a roller coaster — 37.7 in the opener, 71.9 against ULM, 38.0 at Louisiana. Against Navy's rushing attack, the interior defensive line matters more than any other position group. Mortensen was direct about that this week: "When you have good interior defensive linemen, it can really help a lot — guys that are stout in there, where they're eating up double teams, getting off blocks." Spencer needs to be the Week 2 version of himself on Friday night.

And then there are the slow starts. Opponents have outscored UAB 28-3 in the first quarter and 59-30 before halftime. The Blazers have dominated second halves, but against a Navy team that chews clock, falling behind early means you may not get a second half to dominate.

"We need to impose our will and our standard on teams," Muaaz Byard said. "I feel like we're sitting back waiting these first couple games."

The ugly

The team tackling grade has declined each week even as the overall defense improved — 67.2, 54.0, 49.5. The defense is getting to the right place. It is not finishing.

Byard leads the team with 30 tackles, 10th nationally at 10.0 per game. His overall PFF grade has climbed from 55.6 to 67.0. He is everywhere — and when you're the most active linebacker on the field, some tackles will slip. That comes with the volume. But his tackling grades — 44.0, 37.7, 35.0 — and 13 missed tackles in three games tell another story. Against traditional offenses, volume compensates. Against Navy's option, where one missed assignment turns a 3-yard gain into a 30-yard gain, the margin for error disappears.

"Tackling, that's gonna be the main thing," Byard said. "Gotta tackle and get them down to the ground."

The self-inflicted damage is the part that should concern UAB fans most. Mortensen pointed to Louisiana's opening drive as the example: "I think it took Louisiana 14 plays to score. I think we gave them 45 yards in penalties." Against a Navy offense that averages 33 minutes of possession per game, penalty-extended drives are fatal. The Midshipmen don't need the help. They just need one extra first down, and they'll eat the rest of the quarter.

UAB ranks 118th nationally in penalties per game at 8.7. Personal fouls. Offsides. Pass interference. Against a team that already controls the clock, those are self-inflicted wounds that bleed out slow.

The test

The core statistical mismatch frames Friday night. Navy's rushing offense ranks second nationally at 376.0 yards per game. UAB's rushing defense ranks 124th at 192.0. Three different Navy players have topped 100 rushing yards this season. The Midshipmen held their first two opponents to 81 total rushing yards on 64 carries, 1.3 yards per attempt.

Starting quarterback Braxton Woodson is listed as questionable after suffering a lower body injury in the third quarter at FAU. If Woodson plays, he's the most dangerous runner UAB has faced — 148.0 rushing yards per game, fourth nationally, first among quarterbacks. If he doesn't, junior Jackson Gutierrez is no consolation prize. Gutierrez came in against FAU and nearly led Navy back from a 38-7 deficit, rushing for 75 yards and a touchdown on seven carries while completing six of 12 passes for 100 yards and two more scores. Gutierrez is the only player in the FBS listed on the depth chart at both quarterback and running back in consecutive seasons. The challenge for UAB's defense does not change with the name on the jersey — Navy's scheme is the opponent.

"They have talent. They have good players, too," Mortensen said. "... It's one of the biggest fallacies going that they don't have good players. They have very good players."

Navy enters Friday night 27-13 under Brian Newberry, riding back-to-back 10-win seasons and the preseason consensus pick to win the American. The Midshipmen are 3-0 against UAB — 31-6, 41-18, 38-24 — and in each game, discipline and toughness were the difference.

But Mortensen made a point this week worth remembering. Last year in Annapolis, UAB's offense put up 24 points at halftime. The quarterback started 7-for-7 and threw four touchdowns on the first three drives. Then a fumble and a rain delay derailed everything. The Blazers have been competitive in this series. Execution and discipline have been the gap — not talent.

The defense knows what's coming Friday night.

"It's all about your keys and eye discipline," Byard said. "They're gonna run the same plays over and over again."

Navy's offense does not try to disguise what it does. It runs the same plays, the same blocking schemes, and waits for a defender to lose focus on the 50th snap.

"They're not trying to fool you. They're not gonna do anything you haven't seen," Byard said. "The offense is not super complicated. We just have to be in the right spots at the right time and make plays and make tackles."

Tylin Jackson echoed the message: "Everybody has to be on one accord doing their one-eleven, and just doing their job. Whatever your assignment is, you have to do it at a high level consistently to be successful out there."

"That's gonna be the test of our defense, how disciplined we can be for 60, 70 plays," Byard said. "... They're banking on somebody to mess up. So as long as we do our job every play, make sure our eyes in the right spot, we should be good."

Three weeks of progress. One Friday night to prove it means something.