UAB vs. South Alabama, 9/24/20 College Football Week 4 Prediction

UAB vs. South Alabama Prediction

Conference USA has the floor on Thursday night in college football with the only game on the entire slate being UAB versus South Alabama. The Blazers are laying six points to the Jaguars on the road but is UAB the smart play for bettors?

Game Snapshot

417 UAB Blazers (-6) at 418 South Alabama Jaguars (+6); o/u 47.5

7:30 p.m. ET, Thursday, September 24, 2020

College Football Week 4

UAB Blazers Game Notes

UAB redshirt junior QB Tyler Johnston III suffered an injury to his non-throwing shoulder and will be out indefinitely, per HC Bill Clark. Losing Johnston (6’2/210) for any period of time is a significant blow for the UAB offense. The Blazers had one of the most dynamic QB-RB-WR trios in the Group of Five heading into this year, but losing the leader of that trio is going to put a damper on things. Through two games this season, Johnston threw just three touchdowns to one interception while maintaining 6.1 yards per attempt. In the previous two seasons, however, Johnston had thrown for at least 9.0 yards per attempt, so it is fair to assume Johnston would have climbed to around that mark if he were able to play a full season this year. On the bright side, Johnston’s injury is to his non-throwing arm and UAB did not commit to shutting him down for the year, meaning we could see Johnston return towards the end of the season if his recovery goes well.

South Alabama Jaguars Game Notes

South Alabama junior QB Chance Lovertich will start Thursday’s game against UAB according to WNSP’s David Schultz. Lovertich has taken over for Desmond Trotter in each of the Jaguars’ first two games this season, and in Saturday’s loss to Tulane he completed 18-of-30 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns. Now the junior signal-caller will have the opportunity to start for the first time in his collegiate career. It’s worth noting that Trotter has struggled with a shoulder injury thus far, so that may be what influenced the decision to go with Lovertich.

UAB vs. South Alabama Betting Prediction

The Jaguars are a perfect 5-0 against the spread in their last five games as a home underdog, are 5-0 against the number in their last five home games overall and have covered in six of their last seven games entering play tonight. The Blazers, meanwhile, have dropped four of their last five road games at the betting window and are just 1-4 against the number in their last five games after allowing more than 450 total yards in their previous contest.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 4 BETTING PREDICTION: SOUTH ALABAMA JAGUARS +6