FAVORITE TEAMS

Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, and Marshall derailed FAU’s Lane Train. Louisiana Tech won and survived a bowl game against Hawai’i on their island. Middle Tennessee improved on their 7-6 injury-plagued season by winning 8 games and appeared in the conference title game. North Texas had a solid season with an astounding upset over Arkansas. Marshall found their quarterback of the future, but don’t forget about Alex Thomson’s performance before his injury.

For the rest of C-USA, Western Kentucky fell from 6 wins to 3 but did cap off their season with a win over Louisiana Tech. FIU’s 9 wins were the most in program history, along with their 2nd bowl win in a 10-season span. Southern Miss won 6 games, but their schedule wasn’t enough to make them bowl-eligible. UTSA won 3 games for the 2nd time since joining the FBS in 2013. Old Dominion didn’t fair well but a huge upset win over #13 Virginia Tech was a memorable moment for their program. Finally, UAB makes program history again since returning from hiatus: their first 11 wins, their first division title, their first conference title, and their first bowl win. Congratulations to the UAB Blazers!

I assumed FAU would be immediate favorites with key players returning and their defense slightly improved. I admit I was wrong. The Lane Train began to crash after passing through Norman, Oklahoma. The defense was awful against Oklahoma, Chris Robison threw 18 picks, and they failed to win their 6th game to hope for a bowl appearance. However, defeating rival FIU is better than nothing. The schedule seemed favorable, but the last two losses to bad teams showed last season was a fluke.

I chose the Blazers only to expect them to make a bowl game again, but they went above and beyond historically in 2018. As I stated in the intro, UAB had plenty of firsts after coming off their 2-year hiatus. They went on an 8-game winning streak, which is also a first in program history. They had an abundance of returning depth and had a reasonable schedule to take the West. Whether losing to Mid Tenn in the final game of their regular season was a big deal or no big deal, they avenged it in the conference championship game the very next week. I doubt that UAB will succeed for the third straight time in 2019 with so many players lost, but they should be proud for their return to college football in a huge way.