Ever since the North Texas Mean Green pulled off a rather unique and imaginative fake punt play against Arkansas early in the year, they have had some national attention. And they have been extremely strong against the competition they have faced, although it has not been top-shelf. On Saturday, they may be going up against the best defense they have encountered thus far as they visit Legion Field in Birmingham for a date with the UAB Blazers, which begins at 7:30 PM ET. The game will be carried by BeIN Sports, a cable network, and BetAnySports customers will have the opportunity to place wagers in real-time, as they take advantage of what is available through Live Betting Ultra.

The only loss suffered by North Texas Thus far has been at the hands of Louisiana Tech. Probably the most celebrated member of the roster is Mason Fine, who has thrown for 2210 yards and greatly contributes to a "big-play rate" of 10.3%, which is 10th best in the nation. Sean Littrell is an up-and-coming coaching star, and may soon find himself at the helm of a Power 5 conference school. For the time being, he's got a squad that can turn the tables on an opponent quickly, regardless of which side of the ball it is.

UAB has truly been a remarkable turnaround story. Most people probably know this, but the Blazers didn't even have a football program in 2015 or 2016, as the school simply dropped it. Bill Clark hung around anyway, and he has proven to be a real godsend. Last year, upon reviving the program, UAB went to a bowl game, and it seems like the sky is the limit. The numbers are pretty dazzling for this team, especially on the defensive end.

In the college football betting odds posted on this game by the people at BetAnySports, UAB is the slight favorite at home:

UAB Blazers -1.5
North Texas Mean Green +1.5

Over 53.5 points -110
Under 53.5 points -110

UAB quarterback AJ Erdely does not have the kind of numbers that Fine has produced (56.5%, seven touchdowns), and this is a rather conservative offense, running the ball 64.7% of the time. But Erdely has shown the ability to make some big plays, evidenced by two long touchdown passes totaling 133 yards to Xavier Ubosi last week in a 42-0 shutout win over Rice. On a per-play basis, UAB actually out-gains North Texas by a 6.1--5.9 margin, although if they are going to try to run the football, they'll have a challenge against the Mean Green, which has a "stuff rate" on running plays that is third-best in the country.

While North Texas leads the nation in interceptions with 13, and has 22 sacks as well, UAB probably has the best stop unit in Conference USA. They have experienced a 29% success rate against their opponents, his best in the country, and have also sacked quarterbacks at a higher rate than anyone else.

So far Fine has moved to the football by and large against some defenses that have been found wanting. And North Texas has struggled where they shouldn't have, losing, as we said, to Louisiana Tech and being taken to the limit by winless UTEP. They did rebound with a strong performance against Southern Miss last time out, but UAB has gone 9-0 straight-up and 8-0-1 ATS at home since they brought the program back. Yes, these teams have been trending "under" (UAB five of their six games, and North Texas all seven), but in this one, we are going to favor the home squad.

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(The preceding information has been furnished for news matter only)