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College Football Upset Alert, Week 16: Championship Weekend edition

By Sonny Martinez

ACC Championship Game participants Clemson (left) and Notre Dame both remain in contention to make the College Football Playoff field, to be announced Sunday.Ndfootball
ACC Championship Game participants Clemson (left) and Notre Dame both remain in contention to make the College Football Playoff field, to be announced Sunday.Ndfootball /
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Sep 3, 2020; Birmingham, Alabama, USA; UAB Blazers tight end Gerrit Prince (20) scores a touchdown during the first half at Legion Field. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 3, 2020; Birmingham, Alabama, USA; UAB Blazers tight end Gerrit Prince (20) scores a touchdown during the first half at Legion Field. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports /

Conference USA: Marshall (-5) vs. UAB

Marshall is the favorite but don’t sleep on UAB. The Blazers are 5-3 but those three losses were against solid teams in Miami, Louisiana and Louisiana Tech. One of those wins is over the team that beat Marshall, the Rice Owls. It’s not exactly an impressively good win for the Blazers, but is an impressively bad loss for Marshall.

UAB is unquestionably the fresher team, having played only one game since Halloween. Marshall on the other hand has played three games in that time frame including one of the worst performances in all of college football this season against a 2-3 Rice team.

For UAB to win, they have to establish the run against one of the strongest rush defenses in the country. The Blazers need Spencer Brown, who missed last week’s game, to return to the lineup, although it’s not confirmed whether or not he’ll be available. Quarterback Tyler Johnson led the team in rushing against Rice and that’s not a formula for success against Marshall.

Would it be an upset? Not if Brown plays. But if Brown is out, it would definitely be a surprise to see UAB walk away with the C-USA crown. Yes, Spencer Brown is that critical to UAB’s success.

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