To open the 2009 season, UAB quarterbackJoe Webb would have a record setting day in leading the Blazers to this 44–24 victory over the Owls. For the game, Webb would set both a school and Conference USA record for rushing yards by a quarterback in a single game with 194.[16] For the game, Webb would also complete 12 of 15 passes for another 221 yards and a pair of touchdowns in gaining 415 yards of total offense on the afternoon.[16] For his efforts, Webb was named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week.[17]
Following an opening week win, the Blazers would fall by a final score of 33–35 to the Mustangs of SMU. After falling behind by a score of 28–7 at the half, the Blazers would rally to within a point of SMU by the end of the third quarter.[18] The Blazers would fall late in the fourth following a failed two-point conversion that would have tied the game at 35 with 00:13 remaining in the game. For the game Webb would rush for 97 yards and a single touchdown in addition to throwing for 226 yards and a pair of touchdowns.[18]
For the second week in a row, the Blazers would fall, and this time it was by a final score of 14–27 on the road to the Trojans of Troy. For the game, UAB only scored on a pair of Josh Zahn field goals and a single, 17-yard Joe Webb touchdown pass in the fourth.[19]
Traveling to College Station to face the Aggies in the evening, the Blazers would fall by a final score of 56–19. For the game, UAB scored on a pair of Josh Zahn field goals, a 10-yard Joe Webb touchdown run in the third and on a 60-yard David Isabelle run in the fourth.[20]
Following three consecutive losses in addition to coming off a short week, the Blazers would defeat Southern Miss for the first time in school history on a Thursday night by a final score of 30–17. UAB would open the scoring with a 27-yard Josh Zahn field goal and a 31-yard Joe Webb touchdown run in the first, only to have the Golden Eagles score 10 in the second to tie the game at the half.[21] In the third, Webb would hit Anderson for a 21-yard touchdown in the third to take a 17–10 lead into the fourth.[21] Zahn would hit a pair of field goals (51 & 32 yards) and Hiram Atwater would seal the game late following a 40-yard interception return for a touchdown.[21]
