On a perfect night for college football at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, the Memphis Tigers welcomed the UAB Blazers to the 901 for the 2026 edition of the Battle for the Bones. In what many consider an underrated rivalry, the Blazers and Tigers met under the lights in a matchup with potential long-term conference championship implications, as both entered Saturday night 1-0 in American play. Both had first-year full-time coaches, with only UAB’s Alex Mortensen having experience in this game, as he coached and picked up his first big win as an interim Head Coach last season. Meanwhile, Memphis has Coach Charles Huff, who has experience with both Coach Mortensen, dating back to their coaching stints at Alabama, and with UAB, as he coached against them and lost as the Head Coach at Marshall.
UAB opened the first half with the ball, drove down the field, and scored the first touchdown to take an early 7-0 lead over the Tigers. Memphis responded with a touchdown of their own to tie the game at seven. From there, strong defensive play on both sides gave UAB a 13-10 halftime lead. The first-half highlight came from the UAB kicker, who drilled a school-record 57-yard field goal to give the Blazers a 13-10 lead at the break.
Memphis opened the second half with the ball, but the UAB defense turned up the pressure and forced a quick three-and-out, ending with another Tigers punt. Memphis’s defense responded with a stop of their own as the Blazers and Tigers traded punts to start the game. Jaylin Carter broke the gridlock with a 24-yard rushing touchdown to restore a 17-13 Memphis lead with 9:33 remaining in the third quarter. After another forced UAB punt, the Tigers flipped the game on its head as Marcus Stokes connected with a wide-open Tychaun Chapman to extend the lead to 24-13 with 6:07 remaining in the third quarter.
Hunter Tipton opened the 4th quarter with a touchdown of his own as the Tigers capitalized on a UAB turnover to extend the lead to 31-13 with 10:22 remaining. Marcus Stokes would find Aidan O’Callaghan for the final Memphis touchdown of the game with 5:04 remaining in the game to extend the Tigers’ lead to the eventual final of 38-13.
Despite a slow start in the first half, the Tigers did what they had to do: they scored 28 unanswered and returned the Bones Trophy to the 901. A gutsy win for Memphis that improved the conference record to 2-0, with a road game at Tulane on Friday night on the horizon.
Photo Credits – Memphis football on X
