Matchup: UAB vs. Northern Illinois
Location: FAU Football Stadium. Boca Raton, FL.
Date and Time: December, 18th. 7:00 PM EST.
All-Time Series: First Meeting.
Background Information:
What a job Bill Clark has done for this UAB Blazer program, especially in 2018. UAB went on a 2 year Football hiatus in 2015 and 2016 due to not enough fundings to have a Football program. In 2014, UAB went 6-6, but was not selected for a bowl game. And now for the first time in the football’s young history, Bill Clark has his Blazers bowling in back to back seasons. UAB has had some solid wins on the year with defeating red hot North Texas as well as beating fellow bowl participant, Southern Miss. Although the Blazers dropped their final game in the regular season, they bounced back the next week in the C-USA championship game by defeating the same team they lost to the week before in Middle Tennessee State. The days of double digit wins and New Year 6’s appearances are in the back mirrors as NIU has taken a slight step back since the Dave Doeren days. Rod Carey has came in and started off great with back to back 11+ win seasons in 2013 & 2014. But once Carey’s recruits came in, NIU has not been near the top of the Non-Power 5’s. NIU finished 2018 8-5 with key wins over Ohio, BYU, and a very talented Buffalo team. And most of the teams losses have been to straight up better schools in Iowa, Utah, and Florida State. This game has intriguing storylines for both teams. For one, can UAB cap off its magical season? And for the other, will NIU get off the 8 win bubble. If not, Carey’s seat may start to be getting a bit warm.
Players to watch out for:
UAB:
Offensively, UAB is lead by 6’0, 220 LB Sophomore RB Spencer Brown. Brown is the biggest weapon on this offense with 1,152 Rushing Yards and 16 Touchdowns on the season. The passing game is mediocre for the Blazers so if you’re NIU, focus on Spencer Brown. Defensively, The do it all LB Chris Woolbright is all over the field. He leads the team in tackles, interceptions, and 2nd on the team in TFL’s. Another player is DL Jamell Garcia-Williams who is getting some NFL scouts attention with his performance in 2018. He finished the regular season 6th in the C-USA in TFL’s and 3rd in sacks with 9.5. This UAB defense should play pretty stout, but if NIU game plans well enough, I could take those two players out of position.
Northern Illinois:
Northern Illinois at some points this season is nonexistent through the air. But the running game has been carrying the load a lot this season and it starts with Sophomore Tre Harbison. He leads the team in rushing with 985 yards, but he’s not the only back that will take some carries. QB Marcus Childers and HB Marcus Jones will use read options plays to keep the defense off balance and both combine for 1,000 rushing yards in 2018. Defensively, there’s no doubt it’s DE Sutton Smith. After a ridiculous 2017 season where he racked p 30 TFL’s and 14 sacks, he did a encore in 2018 with 24.5 TFL’s and 15 sacks. (all those numbers leads the NCAA (both seasons). Smith doesn’t have elite size for a DE (6’1, 238), but has a extremely high motor and want to get to the QB. Smith also forced 4 fumbles on the season and recovered 3 of them. Teams won’t be able to stop Smith, but containing him will definitely be a good start.
Keys to a Win:
UAB:
Stay away from Smith as much as possible. UAB will want to mix things up and the Blazers are average at passing the ball with A.J Erdely and Tyler Johnston III, although those two do have the want to run every once in a while. Double teams sometimes don’t work for most OL’s so try and make design plays where you are running away from Smith’s direction. In the end, I think UAB has enough playmakers on the outside to make some plays and take some pressure off of Spencer Brown.
Northern Illinois:
Getting to the QB. NIU has 3 players with 10 or more TFL’s and 2 players with 10 sacks or more. Their pass defense is below average, but the run defense is what makes this defense so elite and will be a problem for the Blazers. Enough pressure could flip the outcome of this game.
Final Verdict:
This should be a defensive slugfest as both offenses are average-well below average and both defenses rank in the Top 25. UAB has too much offense in the end and makes enough stands. UAB 24, Northern Illinois 13.
Image Credit: https://bocanewspaper.com/save-date-boca-raton-bowl-23838
