UAB Football Concludes Regular Season at Middle Tennessee

BIRMINGHAM - Looking to secure home field advantage for the Conference USA Championship Game with a victory, the UAB football team concludes the regular season on Saturday at Middle Tennessee. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. CST on ESPN3.

The Blazers will get their best shot from the Blue Raiders who need to beat UAB and have FIU lose to Marshall to make the C-USA title game. A win for FIU over the Thundering Herd in Miami will give the Panthers the East Division crown.

Who: UAB (9-2, 7-0 C-USA) at Middle Tennessee (7-4, 6-1 C-USA)
Where: Murfreesboro, Tenn. - Floyd Stadium
When: Saturday, Nov. 24 - 2 p.m. CST
Watch: ESPN3
On the Call: Jake Rose (play-by-play), Alex Myers (color), Sara Cardona (sideline)
Listen: WJOX2 100.5 FM
On the Call: David Crane (play-by-play), Steve Irvine (color), Trey Ragland (sideline)
Series: Tied, 3-3
Last Meeting: Oct. 14, 2017 - UAB 25, Middle Tennessee 23

STORYLINES:

Already having established a new school record for overall and conference win, UAB aims for its first 10-win season in program history and a perfect 8-0 C-USA record on Saturday.
Like last year, the national accolades have poured in for the Blazers this year. Most recently, head coach Bill Clark was named a semifinalist for the George Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year Award presented by the Maxwell Football Club, and defensive coordinator David Reeves was named a semifinalist for the Broyles Award, given to the nation's top assistant coach.
Reeves' recognition is due to the tremendous team defense UAB has played all year. The Blazers enter the regular season finale ranked fifth nationally in total defense (277.5). Along with total defense, UAB is top-6 nationally in seven different statistical categories, including leading the country in third down (.250) and fourth down defense (.214). Opponents are just 34-of-136 on third down attempts against the Blazers.
UAB continues to add to its new school record with each additional sack it registers and enters the game with 39 total, the third most in the country (3.55/game). The Blazers are also sixth nationally in passing yards allowed (157.6), scoring defense (15.7) and tackles for loss (8.1).
The Blazers jump back into Conference USA action after playing their final non-conference game of the season last week at Texas A&M. In seven C-USA games, the Blazers have allowed just 61 total points (8.7/game) and have held five of those opponents to seven points or less. UAB has a C-USA record three shutouts this season.
Sophomore running back Spencer Brown is seven rushing yards away from back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. Brown has followed up his Freshman All-America season with another record-breaking campaign as a sophomore, and enters the game ranked fifth nationally with 15 rushing touchdowns, a new UAB single-season record.
In 24 career games, Brown has 25 career rushing touchdowns, which has already tied him for third most in program history. Brown has scored a rushing touchdown in 10 of 11 games this year, including nine straight. He has 993 rushing yards this year and 2,322 for his career. He needs 16 yards this weekend to move into fourth place on UAB's career rushing list.
Brown has the luxury of running behind a veteran offensive line which boasts four seniors who have started every game this year in LT James Davis, LG Rishard Cook, RG Malique Johnson and RT Justice Powers. This unit was named Honorable Mention (Top 15) by the Joe Moore Award, given annually to the nation's top offensive line unit.
Wide Receiver Xavier Ubosi is leading the nation in yards per reception (24.4). UAB's deep threat, Ubosi has a team-best 586 yards and five touchdowns.
All four of Middle Tennessee's losses have come on the road and three of which have been against SEC opponents (Vanderbilt, Georgia and Kentucky). Middle Tennessee is 4-0 at home this year and the Blue Raiders are 19-3 overall in their last 22 C-USA home games at Floyd Stadium.

Information on next week title game will be released as soon as the site has been determined, and a win for UAB would guarantee the game to be played at Legion Field.

Along with watching Saturday's game on ESPN3, updates will also be available by following @UAB_FB on Twitter and Instagram.

UAB Football Concludes Regular Season at Middle Tennessee

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Players Mentioned

Spencer Brown

Rishard Cook

James Davis

Malique Johnson

Justice Powers

Xavier Ubosi

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics