Charlotte at North Carolina - 9/19/20 College Football Picks and Prediction
Photo by Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports
Charlotte 49ers (0-1) at North Carolina Tar Heels (1-0)
College Football: Saturday, September 19, 2020 at 3:30 pm (Kenan Memorial Stadium)
The Line: North Carolina Tar Heels -26 -- Over/Under: 62.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Charlotte 49ers will travel to Kenan Stadium to take on the 12th ranked North Carolina Tar Heels this Saturday afternoon in College Football action.
The Charlotte 49ers dropped to 0-1 (0-0 C-USA) on the season after being defeated by the Appalachian State Mountaineers, 35-20, this past Saturday. Charlotte was competitive agianst the heavily favored Mountaineers and trailed by just a 21-20 margin going into the 4th quarter, however, Appalachian State dominated the 4th quarter and sealed the victory after a 15 yard Daetrich Harrington TD gave the Mountaineers a 35-20 lead with just 1:15 left in regulation. Charlotte was outgained by the Mountaineers by a 512-286 margin, however, did win the turnover battle by a 3-2 margin. Leading the way for the 49ers was RB Tre Harbison III who had 87 yards and a TD on 17 carries.
Charlotte returned most of their offensive weapons from last year’s team including duel-threat QB, Chris Reynolds. Reynolds finished the game against Appalachian State completed 11 of 30 passes for 140 yards, 2 INT while also picking 34 rushing yards on 10 carries. Charlotte has some experience at the WR position and was led by Taylor Thompson (2 rec, 62 yards), Cameron Dollar (2 rec, 25 yards), and Victor Tucker (3 rec, 23 yards) in their game against Appalachian State.
Defensively, Charlotte allowed their opponents to average 32.4 ppg on 380.9 total yards last year. Charlotte was solid agianst the passing attack of Appalachian State’s Zac Thomas, who is arguably the best player in the Sun Belt, however, similar to last season, the 49ers struggled agianst the run allowing the Mountaineers to rush for 308 yards in their loss.
The 12th ranked North Carolina Tar Heels improve to 1-0 (1-0 ACC) on the season after picking up a 31-6 victory of the Syracuse Orange, 31-6, this past Saturday. North Carolina had a slow start on the offensive end of the ball against the Orange, however, the Tar Heels, exploded offensively in the 4th quarter and pulled away easily after scoring three TD’s in a span of about five minutes. North Carolina outgained Syracuse by a 463-202 margin and won the turnover battle by a 3-1 margin.
The Tar Heels offense was solid last season, averaging 33.1. ppg, and with many important pieces returning, expect to even have better year this season. QB Sam Howell was not as sharp as expected, but did have a solid game agianst Syracuse as he completed 25 of 34 passes for 295 yards with a TD & 2 INT. The Tar Heels running attack had a nice day agianst the Orange and was led by Javonte Williams (14 att, 57 yds, 3 TD) and Michael Carter (7 att, 78 yards). Leading the way for the North Carolina receivers was Dyami Brown (6 rec, 94 yards), Michael Carter (6 rec, 60 yards), and Beau Corrales (5 rec, 47 yards).
Defensively, the Tar Heels held opponents to just 23.7 ppg and looked outstanding against Syracuse. Leading the way for the North Carolina defense was Chazz Surratt who had 9 tackles and 2 sacks in the victory.
North Carolina is going to be a major threat in the ACC this season, however, despite pulling away from Syracuse, I was not overly impressed what I saw from the Tar Heels for the first three quarters in their victory. Charlotte certainly is going to give up a bunch of yards in this one, however, I was impressed by how the 49ers competed agianst Appalachian State and as I expect the 49ers offense will be able to put up some points against the Tar Heels, I think Charlotte does enough with the points to get the cover. Good Luck!
Brett’s Pick This game has been postponed.
AUTHOR: Brett Nault
Mitch's Take...
