Photo credit: Charlotte Football Twitter
It’s finally time for the Biff Poggi Era to get underway
Bill Connelly at ESPN, the creator of SP+, has Charlotte favored by 19 points. It’s likely to be one of the few times Charlotte is favored this season. Charlotte’s — not so quiet — expectations transcend those of any media or sportsbook. They expect to win. It’ll be interesting to monitor how Charlotte improves in the SP+ throughout the course of the season.
PTSD alert trigger from last season incoming. Last year Charlotte was dominated at the line of scrimmage by William & Mary. Not only did they dominate, but they also were bigger and more physical. We’ll have to wait and see how the game goes on Saturday night, but we can all rest assured that Charlotte’s offensive line will not be outsized. Per this week two-deep, Charlotte’s projected offensive line stands (from LT to RT): 6’7 290, 6’5 338, 6’3 290, 6’6 296, and 6’7 315. This is a game where Biff Poggi’s team needs to be able to impose their will early on and put this game away, and allow depth guys to get snaps, so they can have a better view of what they have on the roster before heading up to College Park next week.
Pass rush. The front seven has been talked about, a lot. Charlotte needs to get to get to Corey Fields Jr (QB1 for SCSU). The Bulldogs only allowed 1 sack to Jackson State last week, while going 8/23 for 64 yards, 1 INT and 1 TD. “Violence is the standard,” per Defensive Coordinator, Ryan Osborn. I’m ready to see what MPAA rating we can give to this unit after the game.
Run the dang ball. Biff wants to run the ball, a lot. Let’s see how this unfolds. I expect the offensive to be as vanilla as possible in this one, unless SCSU makes a game of it. They will want to save wrinkles for Maryland next week.
Prediction time, I’ll go with CLT 38, SCSU 10. As of now, there are only a few hundred tickets available for this one. Weather looks like it should be fantastic, and a good crowd is expected.
See y’all at the Jerry Richardson Stadium, and be sure to drop by the Normbulance (immediately left of Gate 2) if you need a spot to tailgate!