2018 UAB Blazers football team

The 2018 UAB Blazers football team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a member of the West Division of Conference USA (C-USA). They were led by third-year head coach Bill Clark and played their home games at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished the season 11–3, 7–1 in C-USA play to be champions of the West Division. They represented the West Division in the C-USA Championship Game where they defeated Middle Tennessee to win their first ever C-USA championship. They were invited to the Boca Raton Bowl where they defeated Northern Illinois to claim their first bowl win in program history.

2018 UAB Blazers football
C-USA Champion
C-USA West Division champion
Boca Raton Bowl champion
ConferenceConference USA
DivisionWest Division
2018 record11–3 (7–1 C-USA)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBryant Vincent (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorDavid Reeves (2nd season)
Home stadiumLegion Field
(Capacity: 71,594)
2018 Conference USA football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East Division
Middle Tennessee x  7 –1     8 –6  
Marshall  6 –2     9 –4  
FIU  6 –2     9 –4  
Charlotte  4 –4     5 –7  
Florida Atlantic  3 –5     5 –7  
Old Dominion  2 –6     4 –8  
Western Kentucky  2 –6     3 –9  
West Division
UAB x$  7 –1     11 –3  
North Texas  5 –3     9 –4  
Louisiana Tech  5 –3     8 –5  
Southern Miss  5 –3     6 –5  
UTSA  2 –6     3 –9  
UTEP  1 –7     1 –11  
Rice  1 –7     2 –11  
Championship: UAB 27, Middle Tennessee 25
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions

On November 11, 2018, the Blazers made their first appearance in the Coaches' Poll at No. 25, marking the first time since 2004 they had been ranked in any of the major three polls.

Previous season

The Blazers finished the 2017 season 8–5, 6–2 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for second place in the West Division. They received an invitation to the Bahamas Bowl, where they lost to Ohio.

The 2017 season marked the return of UAB football after a two-year hiatus following the elimination of the program in December 2014 and its subsequent reinstatement in July 2015.[1]

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Award Player Position Year
Rimington Trophy[2] Lee Dufour C JR
Maxwell Award[3] Spencer Brown RB SO
Doak Walker Award[4] Spencer Brown RB SO
John Mackey Award[5] Logan Scott TE SR
Wuerffel Trophy[6] Craig Kanyangarara LB SR
Walter Camp Award[7] Spencer Brown RB SO
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award[8] A.J. Erdely QB SR
Manning Award[9] A.J. Erdely QB SR

Preseason All-CUSA team

Conference USA released their preseason all-CUSA team on July 16, 2018, with the Blazers having one player selected.[10]

Preseason media poll

Conference USA released their preseason media poll on July 17, 2018, with the Blazers predicted to finish in third place in the West Division.[11]

West Division
Predicted finish Team
1North Texas
2Louisiana Tech
3UAB
4Southern Miss
5UTSA
T–6Rice
T–6UTEP

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 307:00 p.m.Savannah State*
ESPN+W 52–027,124
September 86:00 p.m.at Coastal Carolina*
ESPN+L 24–479,776
September 1512:00 p.m.Tulane*
  • Legion Field
  • Birmingham, AL
StadiumW 31–2421,991
September 296:00 p.m.Charlotte
  • Legion Field
  • Birmingham, AL
ESPN3W 28–725,395
October 66:00 p.m.at Louisiana Tech
StadiumW 28–718,983
October 1312:00 p.m.at Rice
ESPN+W 42–018,916
October 206:30 p.m.North Texas
  • Legion Field
  • Birmingham, AL
beINW 29–2128,014
October 276:30 p.m.at UTEP
ESPN+W 19–010,787
November 36:30 p.m.UTSA
  • Legion Field
  • Birmingham, AL
beINW 52–317,605
November 106:30 p.m.Southern Miss
  • Legion Field
  • Birmingham, AL
beINW 26–23 OT25,618
November 176:00 p.m.at Texas A&M*
ESPN2L 20–4197,584
November 242:00 p.m.at Middle Tennessee
ESPN3L 3–2714,411
December 11:30 p.m.at Middle Tennessee
CBSSNW 27–2515,806
December 186:00 p.m.vs. Northern Illinois*
ESPNW 37–1322,614

[12]

Rankings
Further information: 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final 
AP NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR RV RV RV RV RV NR RV  
Coaches NR NR NR NR NR NR RV RV RV RV RV 25 RV RV RV  
CFP Not released NR NR NR NR NR NR Not released

Game summaries

Savannah State
1 2 3 4 Total
Tigers 0 0 0 0 0
Blazers 7 21 10 14 52
See also: 2018 Savannah State Tigers football team

at Coastal Carolina
1 2 3 4 Total
Blazers 14 10 0 0 24
Chanticleers 7 13 7 20 47
See also: 2018 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football team

Tulane
1 2 3 4 Total
Green Wave 0 7 14 3 24
Blazers 7 14 3 7 31
See also: 2018 Tulane Green Wave football team

Charlotte
1 2 3 4 Total
49ers 0 0 0 7 7
Blazers 14 7 0 7 28
See also: 2018 Charlotte 49ers football team

at Louisiana Tech
1 2 3 4 Total
Blazers 0 7 7 14 28
Bulldogs 7 0 0 0 7
See also: 2018 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team

at Rice
1 2 3 4 Total
Blazers 14 14 14 0 42
Owls 0 0 0 0 0
See also: 2018 Rice Owls football team

North Texas
1 2 3 4 Total
Mean Green 7 14 0 0 21
Blazers 3 7 9 10 29
See also: 2018 North Texas Mean Green football team

at UTEP
1 2 3 4 Total
Blazers 10 0 2 7 19
Miners 0 0 0 0 0
See also: 2018 UTEP Miners football team

UTSA
1 2 3 4 Total
Roadrunners 3 0 0 0 3
Blazers 21 17 7 7 52
See also: 2018 UTSA Roadrunners football team

Southern Miss
1 2 3 4OT Total
Golden Eagles 7 6 0 73 23
Blazers 0 7 13 06 26
See also: 2018 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team

at Texas A&M
1 2 3 4 Total
Blazers 7 0 0 13 20
Aggies 14 10 10 7 41
See also: 2018 Texas A&M Aggies football team

at Middle Tennessee
1 2 3 4 Total
Blazers 3 0 0 0 3
Blue Raiders 0 13 7 7 27
See also: 2018 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team

at Middle Tennessee (C-USA Championship Game)
1 2 3 4 Total
Blazers 3 21 0 3 27
Blue Raiders 13 3 6 3 25
See also: 2018 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team and 2018 Conference USA Football Championship Game

vs. Northern Illinois (Boca Raton Bowl)
1 2 3 4 Total
Huskies 7 3 3 0 13
Blazers 10 17 10 0 37
See also: 2018 Northern Illinois Huskies football team and 2018 Boca Raton Bowl

References
  1. "UAB to reinstate football for 2017 season". ESPN.com. July 21, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  2. "Rimington Trophy Press Release". May 30, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  3. "2018 Maxwell Award Watch List". July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  4. "2018 Doak Walker Award Candidates". July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  5. "2018 John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List Released" (PDF). July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  6. "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List". July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  7. Carbone, Al (July 27, 2018). "Walter Camp Football Foundation Announces 2018 Player of the Year Preseason "Watch List"". Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  8. "Watch List for 2018 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award ® Presented by A. O. Smith Announced". August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  9. "Manning Award: See which quarterbacks made the preseason watch list for 2018". August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  10. http://conferenceusa.com/news/2018/7/16/football-fb-2018-preseason-awards.aspx
  11. http://conferenceusa.com/news/2018/7/17/football-fb-preseason-media-poll.aspx
  12. "2018 UAB Football Schedule | Blazers | FBSchedules.com". FB Schedules. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
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