Photo credit: Sam Roberts, Freeze Frame
Charlotte fell to 1-6 (0-3) on the season with a 34-20 loss versus the UAB Blazers and interim Head Coach Bryant Vincent. The Niners fell to 5-15 on the road under Will Healy as the road struggles continue. Shadrick Byrd plunged in from a yard out at the start of the 4th quarter to give Charlotte their final lead of the game, 20-19 (Charlotte rightfully went for 2 but failed to convert). UAB proceeded to score quickly on a 6-play, penalty-aided drive (offsides + personal foul gave the Blazers 20 free yards). UAB converted their 2 point conversion to go up 27-20.
Charlotte would be forced to punt their next two drives, and did manage to force a UAB punt (their only of the game), but just couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity. After the second Charlotte punt of the 4th quarter, the Blazers ran the ball 7 consecutive times for 84 yards, capped off by a 61 yard run by Quarterback Dylan Hopkins with just 1:01 remaining, effectively ending this one.
Takeaways
While the streak of giving up 40-plus points per game was snapped, the pressure on the offense is still immense, they would have still needed 5 touchdowns to bring a win back home. That’s a huge ask week in and week out.
UAB amassed over 500 yards of total offense, and dominated the time of possession by keeping the ball for 36 minutes.
If I’m a UAB fan, I’m highly disappointed in the fan turnout. Reported attendance was 22,101, not a chance in hell they had anywhere near half of that.
Charlotte is still searching for an explosive play on special teams.
Elijah Spencer is having a great season. The sophomore is special.
What’s Next
Charlotte is slated to host FIU this weekend for homecoming, you can catch it at 3:30pm ET on ESPN3 or on ESPN 730 AM. While Charlotte’s troubles are well-documented, FIU has plenty as well. Charlotte is currently a 14.5 point favorite versus the Panthers, who’s two wins are over Bryant (2-5) and New Mexico State (1-5). At this point in the season, I truly don’t know what to expect going into this game. Clearly a game where Charlotte should win, but we’ve seen that there are no gimmes at this time.