UAB Football: 3 takeaways from C-USA title game vs. Middle Tennessee

3. Four field goals in the red zone cost Middle Tennessee the C-USA crown

Middle Tennessee outgained their visitors by more than 100 yards on the day, finishing with 456 total yards of offense. But they struggled to close out drives in the red zone, leaning on placekicker Crews Holt on four different occasions when drives stalled inside the Blazers 20. The inability to turn more of those red zone opportunities into touchdowns kept the Blue Raiders from running away with a contest in which they often looked like the better team.

Holt was great when he came on to the field, driving all four of his field goal attempts through the uprights to finish as the team leader with 13 points. The longest, though, came from just 37 yards out as he was always called in after the offense failed when the field shortened.

That inability to do anything when things compacted for the offense proved fatal in the end. A Middle Tennessee side that had more scoring plays was undone by the fact that they were too dependent on their kicker. Holt deserves accolades for making all of his kicks, but the Blue Raiders would have won free and clear if even one more of those red zone opportunities were turned into touchdowns.

UAB held on to stop Middle Tennessee on one final drive, getting the opportunity to play out the game to the final whistle. The Blue Raiders looked like they had one more chance with a minute to go, but the too-many-men-on-the-field penalty allowed UAB to run out the rest of the clock.

It was a survival that pushes the Blazers to 10 wins and sets them up for a solid bowl pairing this year. Both sides will reach the postseason, but UAB will do so donning the conference crown in large part thanks to their stout performance in the red zone.