Presbyterian College-Charlotte
Start Time: 12:00 P.M. ET, Saturday, Sept. 12
Location: McColl-Richardson Field, Charlotte, North Carolina
TV: ESPN3/ASN/WCCB
Streaming: WatchESPN
Radio: Charlotte: here. Presbyterian: here.
Records: Charlotte 1-0, Presbyterian 0-1. Charlotte leads the overall series 1-0.
Live Stats: here.
Betting Line: Charlotte -7.5. Over/Under: 51.
Charlotte Outlook: The Charlotte 49ers were week one's surprise winner with an FBS opening win over Georgia State. All the more amazing is the fact that they did so while committing five turnovers versus their Sun Belt opponent.
Quarterback Matt Johnson (19-32/244/1TD) played a solid opening game but struggled with turnover issues throughout the game. Running back Kalif Phillips (19/90/0TD) was a great stable mate for Johnson in the backfield with a 4.7 yards per carry average in his first FBS game. Seven different players caught passes with Austin Duke (7/95/1TD) leading the way for the 49ers. In total, the 49ers broke the 400 yard mark in their first ever FBS game.
Facing the strong passing game of Georgia State in week one, the 49ers defense came up big in holding their opponent to under 400 total yards. Brandon Dozier (6 tkl, 1 tfl) was the team's leading tackler, but defensive back Terrance Winchester made the biggest play of the game with a 43-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown.
Presbyterian Outlook: The Blue Hose, long known as one of the weakest FCS programs, played one of their better games versus an FBS opponents in falling 26-7 to Miami of the MAC.
The Blue Hose love to run the football as evidenced by their 41 rushing attempts for 155 yards in week one. Darrell Bridges (27/125/1TD) was the star of the day with a 4.6 yards per carry average while the rest of the team combined for 30 rushing yards total. Tamyn Garrick (14-27/163/0TD) was efficient at quarterback in finding six different receivers in the passing game. Overall, the Blue Hose put up 318 yards of total offense in the loss.
Presbyterian struggled on defense in allowing 7.4 yards per play to Miami, including 11.3 yards per pass attempt. Donelle Williams (9 tkl, 1 ff) was the leading tackler with nine tackles, five more than any other player on the defense. Overall, the Blue Hose defense gave up 466 yards of total offense and 26 points in the loss.
Prediction: A week ago, this was the only game that many thought Charlotte was capable of winning. A week later, the 49ers have their first FBS win over Georgia State and head into this game looking to go 2-0. Charlotte is the more talented team than Presbyterian and should roll to a second win as a FBS program.