UAB Blazers at Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders: Preview, Start Time, TV, Prediction

Date: Saturday, November 24th, 2018

Kickoff Time: 3 p.m. EST / 2 p.m. CST

Location: Floyd Stadium, Murfreesboro, TN

TV/Streaming: ESPN3

Line: UAB -2.5, O/U 52

Series Record: Tied 3-3

Last Meeting: UAB won 25-23 last year in Birmingham

Outlook - UAB Blazers

The Blazers are no slouch, coming into this game fresh from a 41-20 loss to Texas A&M, in which Tyler Johnston III still out-passed the Aggies’ QB, 306 yards to 192 yards.

Spencer Brown remains the top rusher for UAB, now at 993 yards on the season with over 215 carries. His 15 rushing touchdowns are second in the conference this season, behind only FAU’s Devin Singletary.

In the air, the Blazers have four receivers over 300 yards, and two over 400: Xavier Ubosi (24 receptions, 586 yards, five touchdowns), and Andre Wilson (28 receptions, 434 yards, four touchdowns). This was the part of the game that kept the ball away from A&M last week.

If UAB is struggling anywhere it’s the running game, as outside of Spencer Brown, there’s not much there. It cost them against a higher-profile opponent, so coming into a game where they’re this evenly matched, this could be just as much of a squeaker as last year.

Outlook - Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

Despite the loss to a Power Five opponent of their own last week, the Blue Raiders are still coming into this game on a four-game conference winning streak.

Brent Stockstill remains near the top of the conference in passing yards (3rd in conference, with 353), touchdowns (3rd in conference, with 24), and completion percentage (2nd in conference, at 70.8%). Ty Lee remains an effective weapon, coming into this final regular season game with 706 receiving yards on 58 receptions, and six touchdowns on the season.

Much like UAB vs TAMU, the MTSU vs Kentucky game saw a comparable stat line, where Stockstill threw all over his opponent (amassing 293 passing yards, three touchdowns, one interception), but it was the running game that caused the issue. Where the Blazers managed only 111 running yards against the Aggies, the Blue Raiders capped out at 99 yards against the Kentucky Wildcats.

On the season. Middle Tennessee is in a good place, though they’d need a win here plus an FIU loss to Marshall this weekend to win C-USA East. While that may be a long-shot, an eight-win season would go a long way to securing that prime bowl spot.

Prediction

These teams played so close last year, but UAB’s rise in the standings show they’re a much improved team from last year, where Middle Tennessee looks like the same high-flying, high-yardage-passing squad we’ve come to know and love. The first prediction is an impressive amount of yards in the air, but the second prediction is UAB 30, MTSU 24