2018_Championship_Box_Score
2018_Championship_Postgame_Notes
2018_Championship_Game_UAB_Quotes
2018_Championship_Game_MTSU_Quotes
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – An amazing two-year return to the field for the UAB program saw its culmination on Saturday afternoon when the Blazers were crowned Conference USA Champions for the first time with a 27-25 victory over Middle Tennessee in the 2018 Globe Life C-USA Football Championship.
Blazers RB Spencer Brown was named the game’s Most Valuable Player after he rushed 31 times for a season-high 156 yards and a touchdown. Thirty-four of his yards came in the fourth quarter on a 39-yard drive that ended with a UAB field goal with 3:32 remaining that proved to be the winning margin in the game. Brown’s 30-yard run from the 50 put the Blazers into scoring position on that drive.
With the 156 yards, Brown went over the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season. He is the first player in UAB history to top the 1,000-yard mark in his freshman and sophomore seasons and will head into a bowl game with 1,149 yards.
Playing in front of the home crowd in Murfreesboro for the first time, record-setting Middle Tennessee QB Brent Stockstill was 29-of-45 for 362 yards and two touchdowns. He tossed a 19-yard scoring strike to Tavares Thomas at the end of the first quarter and was credited with a 40-yard TD toss to Zach Dobson late in the third quarter.
That Stockstill-to-Dobson score was one of 25 chunk plays (15+ yard passes or 10+ yard runs) in the contest. UAB had four chunk passing plays and eight chunk rushing plays for a total of 12. Middle Tennessee produced nine chunk passing plays and four chunk rushes for 13 total.
A trio of field goals would begin the game’s scoring. Middle Tennessee started the scoring on the first drive of the game, using a long reception by Tavares Thomas to help set up a 27-yard field goal by Crews Holt. UAB answered on its first possession with a 10-play, 56-yard drive that culminated with a 29-yard field goal by Nick Vogel to even the score at 3-3. The Blue Raiders went back up by three when Holt finished off an 11-play, 72-yard drive with a 20-yard field goal that made it 6-3 Middle Tennessee.
Stockstill opened the game 7-of-7 for 110 yards, culminating in a pair of field goals on Middle Tennessee’s first two possessions. He then led the Blue Raiders on an 80-yard drive over the final 1:27 of the opening quarter, tossing a 19-yard touchdown pass to Tavares Thomas to give MT a 13-3 advantage. Stockstill finished the first quarter 9-of-12 for 184 yards, with five of his completions going for 19 yards or longer.
UAB opened the second quarter with a clock-killing 7:52 drive, covering 80 yards in 16 plays. Spencer Brown carried the ball on nine of those plays, including a two-yard scoring run that chopped the Middle Tennessee lead down to three at 13-10.
The Blazers took their first lead of the game on their next possession, as Tyler Johnston III hit a streaking Andre Wilson in the flat on a 40-yard touchdown strike and UAB took a 17-13 lead.
UAB continued the momentum when Chris Woolbright intercepted a Stockstill pass, setting up the Blazers at the Middle Tennessee 35-yard line. Following a UAB penalty, Johnston III hit Kailon Carter on a 43-yard pass play on second down, with Carter making a spectacular diving catch at the three-yard line. Johnston III ran it into the end zone on the next play to extend the Blazers lead to 24-13.
After the first three possessions of the second half failed to yield points, Middle Tennessee cut into the UAB lead on the fourth possession. Zach Dobson reached the end zone on a 46-yard jet sweep from Stockstill to narrow the deficit. A two-point attempt would fail and it was UAB 24, Middle Tennessee 22.
Middle Tennessee seized the lead early in the fourth quarter with a 33-yard field goal by Holt. Dobson provided the key play on the six-play, 64-yard scoring drive with a 48-yard run to the UAB 32-yard line.
UAB went ahead 27-25 on a 28-yard field goal by Vogel. Brown was instrumental on the five-play, 39-yard drive, dashing for a 30-yard gain before being slow to get up. He returned two plays later for a four-yard scamper that got the Blazers closer for the go-ahead field goal.
After stopping Middle Tennessee on the ensuing drive, UAB received the ball back and was able to run out the clock and celebrate a conference title with the closest margin of victory in 14 C-USA Football Championship Games.