One of the great qualities of bowl season is getting game matchups that generally we would not see. That’s the case when we get BYU vs. UAB in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana on Saturday afternoon. A top level independent team, about to join the Big XII in the years to come, against a Conference-USA team that was pulled from the wrecking heap just a handful of years ago is a compelling storyline.
Meet The Cougars
BYU comes into the game 10-2 overall and the highest ranked team to miss out on NY6 bowl games. The Cougars built their record on a balanced offense that averages 33.5 points per game. Oh, and they owned the Pac-12. BYU went 5-0 against Pac-12 opponents this year, beating Arizona, USC, Arizona State, Washington State and eventual conference champion Utah. The two losses came against Boise State and eventual Big XII champion Baylor.
The record made head coach Kalani Sitake a hot name the last month in talks about coaching vacancies in the west. He interviewed for the Oregon job after Mario Cristobal left, and was for a time, a potential candidate for the opening with the Washington Huskies. Eventually, the BYU graduate got a contract extension from his alma mater. While terms were not released, the school deemed it “unprecedented” for the football program.
BYU is 17th in the country in total offense at 457 yards per game. Running back Tyler Allgeier put up 1,414 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns while averaging just under six yards per carry this season. Quarterback Jaren Hall had his first year as the fulltime starter. While he was blowing the doors off any defense, he was efficient. He threw for just over 2,500 yards with a 64% completion percentage. He had 20 touchdown passes with five interceptions.
Where BYU is the most vulnerable is surprisingly on defense. The Cougars gave up 300 yards rushing to Baylor and another 200 yards to a poor USC team. The Cougars are ranked 67th in the country in rushing defense. They have been good at times during the season, but lack consistency and are sometimes not physical enough.
As of this writing, no BYU players are opting out of the bowl game.
Meet The Blazers
UAB is the exact opposite of that. The Blazers are 11th in the country in rushing defense. They give up just a tick over 104 yards per game on the ground, and they have only given up more than 150 yards twice this season. The Blazers come into the game with the best defense in the Conference-USA.
That consistency is what has gotten them to 8-4 this year. They finished 6-2 in C-USA West and will be haunted by what could have been. They were beating UTSA at halftime but could not hold the lead. The Roadrunners came back to win the game and the division title.
Quarterback Dylan Hopkins has had a good year. He threw for 2,000 yards with a 64% completion rate. He had 15 touchdown passes against six interceptions. Running back DeWayne McBride added another 11 touchdowns on the ground while picking up just under 1,000 yards rushing.
The offense generates behind an offensive line that has four redshirt seniors.
It sounds like UAB should not be the seven point underdog in this game. But the Blazers are 51st in the country in turnovers lost. They have lost 15 turnovers this season. The Blazers also have been killing themselves with penalties. They are next to last in the country, having been assessed 1,100 in penalty yards on 112 flags.
UAB is going to have to play an error free game to stay with BYU. But if the Blazers defense can keep a check on the Cougars offense, we will have ourselves the entertaining bowl game.
The game is at Independence Stadium in Shreveport. It’s on ESPN at 3:30pm eastern .
