Liberty Flames (3-1) vs. UAB Blazers (3-1)
October 2, 2021 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: UAB Blazers -1.5 / Liberty Flames +1.5; Over/Under: 49.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The UAB Blazers meet the Liberty Flames Saturday in week 5 college football action at Protective Stadium in Birmingham. The Liberty Flames look for a win to build on their 3-1 record. The UAB Blazers also look for a win to improve to 4-1 on the season.
The Liberty Flames have won four of their last six road games. Malik Willis is completing 71.6 percent of his passes for 818 yards, 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions. Demario Douglas and CJ Daniels have combined for 424 receiving yards and six touchdowns while DJ Stubbs has six receptions. The Liberty Flames ground game is averaging 184 yards per contest, and Willis leads the way with 274 yards and four touchdowns. Defensively, Liberty is allowing 15.3 points and 251.8 yards per game. Storey Jackson leads the Liberty Flames with 31 tackles, Kendy Charles has 4.5 sacks and Carl Poole has one interception.
The UAB Blazers have won three of their last four home games. Dylan Hopkins is completing 74.4 percent of his passes for 501 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception. Gerrit Prince and Trea Shropshire have combined for 499 receiving yards and eight touchdowns while RaJae’ Johnson-Sanders has six receptions. The UAB Blazers ground game is averaging 160 yards per contest, and Dewayne McBride leads the way with 279 yards and one touchdown. Defensively, UAB is allowing 20.8 points and 326.5 yards per game. Noah Wilder leads the UAB Blazers with 19 tackles, Nikia Eason Jr. has one sack and Keondre Swoopes has two interceptions.
The Flames are 24-9 ATS in their last 33 road games and 36-16-1 ATS in their last 53 games overall. The Blazers are 18-7-1 ATS in their last 26 home games and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The under is 5-2 in Flames last 7 games overall. The under is 5-1 in Blazers last 6 games overall.
It’s hard to ignore Liberty in the underdog role, a team that’s been great defensively and has an NFL caliber quarterback under center. With that said, UAB has more than held its own through four games and will finally make its home debut. In fact, this will be the first time UAB plays at home since October 23 of last year, and even then there were limited fans. You should expect a hostile environment with fans getting a chance to see its time for the first time in forever. I’ll back UAB here.
