Photo credit: Charlotte Athletics
The Charlotte 49ers season starts in earnest this evening. Injuries aside, everything that happened before tonight is in the rearview mirror as Charlotte opens up American Athletic Conference play on the road at Rice University. Charlotte enters the game as 7.5 point underdogs, and it'll take a monumental effort for the Niners to spring the upset. Here are three things I'll be looking for when the game kicks off.
Who's playing quarterback?
When asked earlier this week about who will be under center come kickoff on Saturday Biff Poggi said "no comment." Classic.
Poggi did say that freshman DeShawn Purdie is battling both knee and ankle sprains, and that he would have been available against Indiana in an emergency situation. All signs point to Ivey at this point, and frankly, he gives the team the best chance to win while Max Brown is on the shelf.
DeShawn Purdie has unteachable physical tools, and the flashes he showed against North Carolina were tantalizing. But, he's still a teenager that has plenty of time to develop. Through four weeks of football Purdie led the country in percentage of turnover worthy plays (10.5%).
On the other hand, Ivey has been solid in his five quarters of ball. The magical comeback against Gardner Webb will be etched into Charlotte football lore for years to come, and he followed it up with another fine week against the Hoosiers. Charlotte was wildly overmatched in their game against the undefeated Big Ten foe, but Ivey handled himself well. He'll face a significantly easier test against the Owls, and I expect him to fare well now that the calendar has turned to conference play.
Mike Miller's offense
Miller's play calling against JMU was a massive disappointment. Too static, no creativity, just four quarters of matriculating the ball down the field save for one moment of brilliance from Max Brown.
In the following weeks, Miller has opened up the playbook and the Charlotte offense has thrived. A steady diet of motions, sweeps, downfield passes, and an overall modernized scheme has Charlotte playing much better offense as the weeks pass by. The injury situation has done Miller no favors, but credit where it's due, things do look better.
Rice is better than Charlotte on both sides of the ball, (according to both Kelley Ford and Bill Connelley), but the Owls do sport an exploitable defense. If Miller can manufacture touches for Jairus Mack, Sean Brown, and Henry Rutledge, explosive plays will follow, and picking up chunk gains is a major key in pulling off a surprising result.
Where has the defense gone?
The Charlotte defense has some real ballers. Al-Ma'hi Ali and Dontae Balfour are as talented as a cornerback duo in the conference. Pass rushers Stone Handy and Chantz Williams are a disruptive duo. A myriad of injuries have hampered the talented prospects on the Charlotte defense, but the tide has to turn eventually.
The red zone is a real issue for Charlotte. According to Hunter Bailey of The Observer, Charlotte has given up 11 touchdowns on 16 opposing trips to the red zone. Barf.
Charlotte must find a way to turn over Rice quarterback E.J. Warner. The junior signal caller has more interceptions (6) than passing touchdowns (5), and he brings no value with his legs in the run game.
Owls running back Dean Connors is going to get his. He toasted Charlotte for 184 yards in last year's matchup averaging nearly 10 yards per carry.
If Charlotte is able to cause a turnover or two from Warner, they'll keep the game closer than it should be. Charlotte has forced six turnovers in their first four games, and another one will go a long way in springing an upset deep in the heart of Texas.
