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 TechStadiumW 28–718,983
October 1312:00 p.m.at RiceESPN+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 UTEPESPN+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 TennesseeESPN3L 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

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

at Coastal Carolina

1 2 3 4 Total
Blazers 14 10 0 0 24
Chanticleers 7 13 7 20 47

Tulane

1 2 3 4 Total
Green Wave 0 7 14 3 24
Blazers 7 14 3 7 31

Charlotte

1 2 3 4 Total
49ers 0 0 0 7 7
Blazers 14 7 0 7 28

at Louisiana Tech

1 2 3 4 Total
Blazers 0 7 7 14 28
Bulldogs 7 0 0 0 7

at Rice

1 2 3 4 Total
Blazers 14 14 14 0 42
Owls 0 0 0 0 0

North Texas

1 2 3 4 Total
Mean Green 7 14 0 0 21
Blazers 3 7 9 10 29

at UTEP

1 2 3 4 Total
Blazers 10 0 2 7 19
Miners 0 0 0 0 0

UTSA

1 2 3 4 Total
Roadrunners 3 0 0 0 3
Blazers 21 17 7 7 52

Southern Miss

1 2 3 4OT Total
Golden Eagles 7 6 0 73 23
Blazers 0 7 13 06 26

at Texas A&M

1 2 3 4 Total
Blazers 7 0 0 13 20
Aggies 14 10 10 7 41

at Middle Tennessee

1 2 3 4 Total
Blazers 3 0 0 0 3
Blue Raiders 0 13 7 7 27

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

vs. Northern Illinois (Boca Raton Bowl)

1 2 3 4 Total
Huskies 7 3 3 0 13
Blazers 10 17 10 0 37

References

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