The 2018 Conference USA Football Championship Game was played on Saturday, December 1, 2018, at Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and determined the 2018 football champion of Conference USA (CUSA). The game featured the East Division champion Middle Tennessee against the West Division champion UAB. The game was televised by CBS Sports Network for the first time in the 13 years of the game. With sponsorship from Globe Life and Accident Insurance Company, the game was formally named the 2018 Globe Life Conference USA Championship Game.2018 Preseason Football Release. Standings
Teams UAB
The Blazers, in their second season after returning from a two-year hiatus, clinched at least a share of the West Division title, plus a spot in the championship game, with a 26–23 overtime win over Southern Miss on November 10. A Louisiana Tech loss to Southern Miss the following week gave UAB the outright division title. The Blazers lost 27–3 to Middle Tennessee in the final regularly scheduled game for both teams.
Middle Tennessee
In the final week of the regular season only two teams were in contention to win the East Division title: the Florida International (FIU) Panthers and the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. The Panthers had defeated the Blue Raiders on October 13 by three points, which would be the Blue Raiders' first and only loss in regular-season conference play. FIU led the division until their first conference loss against Florida Atlantic on November 3. This led to a tie with Middle Tennessee for first place in the East, with FIU's head-to-head win being the tie-breaker. The division title came down to the final day of the season. Had FIU defeated Marshall the Panthers would have won the East title, but the Thundering Herd upset them 28–25. FIU's loss, combined with Middle Tennessee's win over UAB, clinched the Blue Raiders as winners of the East.
Middle Tennessee vs. UAB series history This match up will be the 7th all time meeting against the Blazers and Blue Raiders. They last played each other the week before the game on November 24. Middle Tennessee defeated UAB, the winner of the West Division, 27–3. The win secured the Blue Raiders spot to host the 2018 conference title game. After the November 24 match up, Middle Tennessee broke the tie against UAB, and now leads the all-time series 4–3.
Game summary Scoring summary
Statistics
Statistics UAB MTSU First downs 21 18 Plays–yards 69–365 69–456 Rushes–yards 54–225 24–94 Passing yards 140 362 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 9–15–1 29–45–2 Time of possession 31:45 28:15
Team Category Player StatisticsUAB Passing Tyler Johnston III 9/15, 140 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing Spencer Brown 31 car, 156 yds, 1 TD Receiving Kailon Carter 1 rec, 43 ydsMiddle Tennessee Passing Brent Stockstill 29/45, 362 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT Rushing Zack Dobson 3 car, 52 yds Receiving Terelle West 3 rec, 81 yds
References