UAB vs. Marshall C-USA Title Prediction
The Conference USA Championship will be played Friday night in Huntington, WV when 5-3 UAB takes on 7-1 Marshall at 7:00 p.m. ET. With the spread sitting at 4.5 in favor of the Thundering Herd and the total climbing to 43, what’s the best betting option tonight?
Game Snapshot
195 UAB Blazers (+4.5) at 196 Marshall Thundering Herd (-4.5); o/u 43
7:00 p.m. ET, Friday, December 18, 2020
Joan C. Edwards Stadium, Huntington, WV
TV: CBSSN
UAB Blazers Game Notes
UAB freshman RB DeWayne McBride is expected to play on Friday against Marshall. McBride, when healthy, has been a major producer of explosive gains for the Blazers this year. Though not the team’s lead back, McBride (5’11/220) has tremendous speed and is good for one or two massive chunk plays a game. McBride has been absent from play since Halloween, but could be a huge boon for the offense in his return in the CUSA championship game on Friday.
Marshall Thundering Herd Game Notes
Marshall redshirt freshman QB Grant Wells completed 18-of-35 passes for 165 yards, no touchdowns and five interceptions in Saturday’s 20-0 home loss against Rice. Wells (6’2/210) entered the afternoon with 1,674 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions across his first seven starts. Needless to say, no one saw this coming. Rice SS Naeem Smith took one of the mistakes back the other way for six. The Owls were able to apply some rare pressure to Wells, sacking him three times, too. The Herd O-line had protected Wells, as he had been dropped a total of just four times in the previous seven.
UAB vs. Marshall Betting Prediction
The Blazers have not fared well in this series, posting a 1-4 ATS record on the road in their last five meetings with the Thundering Herd, while the home team is a perfect 4-0 against the number in the last four series meetings. UAB is also 0-4 against the spread in its last four games as a road underdog, is 1-4 against the number in its last five road games and has failed to cover in six of its last seven games when facing an opponent with a winning record.
The Thundering Herd, meanwhile, are 14-5-2 against the spread in their last 21 home games versus a team with a winning road record and are 5-1 against the number in their last six games played on Friday.
CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONSHIP: MARSHALL THUNDERING HERD -4.5