College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the UAB Blazers season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– UAB Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017
2019 Record: 9-5 overall, 6-2 in C-USA
Head Coach: Bill Clark, 5th year, 34-19
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 83
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 58
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 100
No one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
5. College Football News Preview 2020: UAB Blazers Offense 3 Things To Know
– The offense killed some time so the defense could go out and take care of business. The Blazer O was fine against the weak and the sad, but there were painful power outages against the good teams on the schedule – it ended up scoring more than 20 points just twice in the last seven games; against UTEP and North Texas.
However, a whole slew of the key parts are back from the group that rocked and rolled on the way to the Conference USA title two years ago. If the main men stay healthy, expect a quick bounce-back.
CFN in 60 Video: Miami Preview
UAB at Miami, Sept. 17
– Tyler Johnston might not be Joe Burrow, but he wins. The 6-2, 215-pound junior quarterback only seems like he’s been around for 15 years. He was just an okay passer in 2018, struggled at times with 15 picks last year, and he doesn’t hit 60% of his passes, but he’s a gamer.
In other words, he’s better than his stats might suggest … sort of.
Sophomore Dylan Hopkins threw for 563 yards and three scores with five picks in place of a banged up Johnston for a stretch over the second half of the season. He was fine, but this is Johnston’s offense.
The receiving corps makes the quarterbacks look good, starting with Austin Watkins and his team-high 57 grabs for 1,092 yards and six scores. Combined with senior Myron Mitchell, the Blazers have two dangerous deep threats to go along with a whole bunch of solid mid-range veteran targets.
– Spencer Brown needs a rebound year. The star of the offense over the first two years of the comeback with well over 2,500 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns was dinged last season, averaging under four yards per carry with 566 yards and five scores. The 6-0, 230-pounder is the best back in the conference when he’s 100%.
5-8, 170-pound Jermaine Brown filled in from time-to-time, hitting the 100-yard mark twice and averaging over five yards per carry. 215-pound junior Lucious Stanley also filled in, coming up with seven scores and 414 yards.
The line was fine. It wasn’t dominant, it wasn’t necessarily consistent, and it wasn’t always great for the ground game. It was and will be … again, fine.
Four of the five starters are expected back with 6-4, 330-pound the best of the bunch – he’ll play one of the tackle spots. There’s good size with the line averaging around 320 pounds per man.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: UAB Blazers Defense 3 Things To Know
4. College Football News Preview 2020: UAB Blazers Defense 3 Things To Know
– Be really, really disappointed if this defense isn’t statistically fantastic. Granted, the Blazers got to face a whole slew of offensively-challenged teams, but you’re doing something right when you finish second in the league in total and scoring defense, third in the nation in third down stops, and 11th in sacks.
Eight of the top ten tacklers are expected back, and on the way is DT Tyree Turner, South Alabama’s best defensive player last year. He’ll fit in right away in the rotation with an already good group of tackles – 6-3, 335-pound Tony Fair is a true anchor – but the pass rush comes from the linebackers.
– UAB doesn’t really do the whole defensive end thing like most teams do. It loads up with three true tackles – they’ll run around 285 and up – and then throw out the linebackers in waves.
Jordan Smith is really a defensive end, but he’s the team’s best pass rusher as an outside linebacker. Senior Kristopher Moll led the team with 104 stops from his spot in the middle, and is back after coming up with 85 stops. There are more – this is one of the nation’s deepest linebacking corps.
– Considering how devastating the pass rush was, a few more picks would’ve been a plus. The Blazers managed to come up with just seven interceptions with junior safety Will Boller leading the way with a grand total of two. He also finished third on the team with 58 tackles.
Free-ranging hitter Dy’jonn Turner made 45 stops from his Star position, and the corner combination of Starling Thomas and TD Marshall are experienced. Now they had to come up with more big plays.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Top UAB Blazers Players
College Football News Preview 2020: Top UAB Blazers Players
Best UAB Blazers Offensive Player
RB Spencer Brown, Sr.
An ankle injury kept him down for a stretch last season, but the 6-0, 230-pounder still has a career average of 4.6 yards per carry with 3,122 yards and 31 touchdowns.
He’s not much of a receiver – just 15 career grabs – but he’s a team-changer if he can get 250 or more carries worth of work. He only came up with one 100-yard game last season, but the team is 12-1 – with the 12 wins all in a row – when he hits the century mark.
2. WR Austin Watkins, Sr.
3. OT Sidney Wells, Sr.
4. WR Myron Mitchell, Sr.
5. QB Tyler Johnston, Jr.
Best UAB Blazers Defensive Player
DE/LB Jordan Smith, Jr.
The 6-7, 250-pound hybrid pass rusher started his career with the Florida Gators, got suspended after accepting a plea deal in a credit card fraud problem, and then left for UAB. Now he’s about to be one of the best defensive players on what should be the best defense in Conference USA.
He made 53 tackles in his first season with a team-high ten sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss. Very big, very quick off the ball, and with a great knack to close, he’s about to have another massive year.
2. LB Kristopher Moll, Sr.
3. S Will Boler, Jr.
4. LB Noah Wilder, Jr.
5. S Dy’jonn Turner, Sr.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: UAB Blazers Keys To The Season
College Football News Preview 2020: UAB Blazers Keys To The Season
Biggest Key To The UAB Blazers Offense
Enough with the turnovers. The UAB offense was banged up, it couldn’t convert third downs, and the passing game wasn’t consistent enough. However, the downfield passing was great, and the running backs were in place to help keep the clock moving.
But there were way, way too many giveaways.
The Blazers were last in Conference USA and 127th in the nation in turnovers, giving up 28 of them with two or more in ten games.
Interceptions were the biggest problem, throwing the second-most in college football with 20.
UAB lost all three games when it turned it over three times or more, and was -11 in turnover margin in the five losses.
In the 13 losses since the program came back to life, the team failed to be on the positive side of the turnover margin in any of them.
Biggest Key To The UAB Blazers Defense
Continue to be a rock against the run. There’s a good group for the front three, the linebacking corps is among the best of all the Group of Five programs, and everyone can hit for what was the nation’s 20th best run defense that allowed 118 yards per game.
But it allowed over 260 yards on the ground in the Conference USA title game loss to Florida Atlantic and in the bowl game loss to Appalachian State. The Blazers only gave up over 150 rushing yards to one other team – it lost to Southern Miss 37-2.
The Blazers went 9-1 when allowing fewer than 150 yards – only losing to Tennessee. Over the last three seasons, they’re 18-0 when giving up 120 rushing yards or fewer.
Key UAB Blazers Player To A Successful Season
PK Matthew Quinn, RFr.
Or sophomore Wilson Beaverstock. Someone has to replace Nick Vogel, who nailed 19-of-23 field goals without a miss over the final seven games.
The kicking game didn’t come into play in a big way in any one game – none of the UAB games were decided by a field goal – but Vogel nailed both of his tries in the five-point win over North Texas, and was 2-for-2 in the six-point win over Louisiana Tech.
In what should be an improved Conference USA, there will be at least one game that comes down to a big kick, and Quinn has to be solid.
Key Game To The UAB Blazers Season
at Louisiana Tech, Oct. 31
Louisiana Tech was ripping through the season after losing the opener to Texas, and then came the suspension of several key players at the absolute worst time. Things worked out, but not before the Bulldogs lost back-to-back road games to Marshall and UAB.
It was the third loss in three years to the Blazers.
This year the game is at home, but UAB gets a week off to prepare. If UAB can pull this off, with at Old Dominion, North Texas, and at UTEP to follow, it should be in a position to take yet another West title when Southern Miss comes to Birmingham for the regular season finale.
– UAB Blazers Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2019 UAB Fun Stats
– UAB 2nd Quarter Points: 124 – UAB 4th Quarter Points 27
– Sacks: UAB 44 for 253 yards- Opponents 25 for 163 yards
– Fumbles: Opponents 28 (lost 13) – UAB 15 (lost 8)
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: UAB Blazers Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
1. College Football News Preview 2020: UAB Blazers Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
Yes, what UAB and head coach Bill Clark have done to bring the program back from the two-year coma is amazing.
Three bowl games in the last three seasons, two appearances in the Conference USA title game, and one championship …
And a TON of cupcake eating along the way.
Of course, if it was so easy everyone in the Conference USA West would do it, but UAB has yet to beat a Power Five team in its last three seasons. Eight of the nine wins last season came against teams that finished with four wins or fewer, and the one great win came against a Louisiana Tech team nailed by a few key suspensions.
Out of the 28 wins over the last three seasons, seven came against FBS teams with winning records.
It has been a big, big, big help since the return to get UTEP, Rice, UTSA, and an FCS team on the slate every year.
Again, though, it’s not like other teams in the league haven’t had the same shot at the same success. What Clark has been able to do really has been fantastic, and now he might have his best team of the last four.
Set The UAB Blazers Regular Season Win Total At … 9
Bet at BetMGM Win Total Line: 8
Considering the talent and experience returning, anything less than a third straight appearance in the Conference USA championship would be a total disaster.
The Blazers are good enough to start 4-1 without a problem – beating New Mexico State, Alabama A&M, at South Alabama, and UTSA – and going to Rice is a 50/50 game this time around.
Eight of the first 11 games are against teams that didn’t go bowling, and two of the hardest games against WKU and Southern Miss are at home.
Figure a loss at Miami, and at least two off days somewhere else, but this is at least one of the three best teams in Conference USA as the fantastic run under Clark continues.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Schedule Analysis
