College Football Predictions – UAB Blazers 2017 NCAA Football Preview
2016 Recap
2016 Record – Did not play
2016 ATS – Did not play
NOTE – THIS IS NOT A FULL WRITE-UP. UAB RETURNS TO FBS ACTION AFTER A TWO-YEAR HIATUS. WE RECOMMEND AVOID MAKING A PLAY ON UAB GAMES UNTIL THEY HAVE AT LEAST 2-3 GAMES UNDER THEIR BELT. IT’S ANYONE’S GUESS HOW COMPETITIVE THEY MAY BE IN 2017.
If you need solid UAB coverage and opinion we suggest starting with the Phil Steele magazine and some of the many previews out there on the internet. As usual we have provided links below to help you in your search for information. Godspeed.
2017 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating
Conference USA – TBD
West Division – TBD
OFFENSE
The Blazers were very balanced on offense in 2014 averaging 212 yards per game on the ground and 220 through the air. That is our best guess as to the approach for the Blazers in 2017. MEGALOCKS UAB INSIDERS note that they should be fine at QB with two capable options in AJ Erdely and Tyler Johnston who can both make all the throws. The RB unit features Kansas St transfer Kalin Heath who will almost certainly be the main man in the running game. The WR group is an unknown quantity as is the offensive line. They did practice together last season so we feel this offense can score in the mid 20s or more on many occasions.
DEFENSE
The Blazers allowed 29.9 points per game in 2014 and bagged 34 (!) sacks. It’s hard to know what to expect from this group but there is some promise. The DL has some big bodies inside and they have two solid LBs in Shaq Jones and Tevin Crews. They return two starters in the secondary but doubt they will allow just 53% completions like in 2014. Overall we think this defense may be a bit better than expected.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Stay tuned. New specialists all around.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot
November 18 – at Florida. This will be their 4th road game in 5 weeks with a winnable game on deck (UTEP). Florida will have no interest in spanking them for four quarters but they could win by 50 points by accident if the Blazers’ depth has been whittled down.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
UAB is back at Legion Field. MEGALOCKS BOWL GAME TRAVEL SQUAD made a special trip there in 1990 to watch someone called BRETT FAVRE play in his final college game. He was named MVP despite the fact that Southern Miss lost to NC State 31-27.
MEGALOCKS ATS Value Rating (10) 5.0
MEGALOCKS says:
Overall, we give the BLAZERS a 5.0 ATS Value Rating (Average) this season.
It feels to us like this team will be competitive enough to win 3-4 games given the FILTH that tends to collect at the bottom of Conference USA. There are winnable games on the schedule. When it comes to the point spread, as noted above, we recommend avoiding their games for the first few weeks until we see what they are all about. It can be dangerous being the first one out of the foxhole.
GOOD LUCK UAB !! WELCOME BACK.
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