Charlotte at Illinois: 10/2/21 College Football Picks and Prediction
Photo by Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
Illinois Fighting Illini (1-4) vs Charlotte 49ers (3-1)
Game Info: Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 12:00 pm (Memorial Stadium)
Betting Odds: Illinois Fighting Illini -11 -- Over/Under: 53.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Charlotte 49ers will travel to Memorial Stadium (Champaign, IL) to take on the Illinois Fighting Illini this Saturday afternoon in College Football action.
The Charlotte 49ers improved to 3-1 on the season after defeating the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, 42-39, this past Friday. Charlotte trailed by a 17-14 margin at halftime, however, the 49ers were outstanding offensively against Middle Tennessee in the 2nd half and the 49ers held on the victory late after a 1-yard TD run by Chris Reynolds gave Charlotte a 42-32 lead with 4:00 minutes left in the 4th quarter. Charlotte outgained Middle Tennessee by a 559-502 margin and committed 1 turnovers in the victory. Leading the way for the 49ers was QB Chris Reynolds who complete 25-36 passes for 339 yards & 4 TD’s while also adding 32 yards & 1 TD on the ground.
On the season, Charlotte is averaging 30.0 ppg on 446.8 total yards per game (247.3 passing yds/g; 199.5 rushing yds/g). Offensively, Charlotte has been led by QB Chris Reynolds who has completed 60.4% of his passes for 924 yards, 9 TD & 2 INT. Reynolds also has been a threat with his legs as he has 143 rushing yards & 3 TD’s on 31 carries. The top receiving threats for the 49ers have been Grant DuBose (20 rec, 323 yards, 4 TD), Victor Tucker (18 rec, 285 yards), Elijah Spencer (6 rec, 98 yards, 2 TD), & Shadrick Byrd (6 rec, 91 yards, 2 TD). Leading the way for the Charlotte backfield has been the duo of Calvin Camp (42 att, 261 yards, 2 TD) & Shadrick Byrd (49 att, 198 yards, TD).
Defensively, Charlotte is allowing their opponents to average 24.3 ppg on 434.8 total yards per game (199.0 passing yds/g; 235.8 rushing yds/g).
The Illinois Fighting Illini lost their 4th straight game and dropped to 1-4 on the season after being defeated by the Purdue Boilermakers, 13-9, this past Saturday. Illinois did a solid job on the road limiting the Purdue passing attack, however, the offense struggled throughout the game and could not fight back after a 14-yard TD reception by the Boilermakers TJ Sheffield gave Purdue the lead for good with 5:44 left in the 4th quarter. Illinois was outgained by Purdue by a 315-275 margin and forced 2 turnovers in the loss. Leading the way for the Fighting Illini was RB Joshua McCray who had 156 yards on 24 carries.
On the season, Illinois is averaging 20.0 ppg on 343.6 total yards per game (186.2 passing yds/g; 157.4 rushing yds/g). Offensively, Illinois has been led by rushing attack of Josh McCray (44 att, 269 yards, TD), Reggie Love III (42 att, 150 yards), & Jakari Norwood (21 att, 114 yards). Illinois was missing two main pieces from their backfield in Chase Brown & Mike Epstein against Purdue, however, Brown is expected back while Epstein is still questionable. QB Brandon Peters has completed just 48.2% of his passes for 320 yards & 1 INT. The top receiving threats for the Fighting Illini have been Isaiah Williams (25 rec, 251 yards, TD), Deuce Spann (4 rec, 117 yards, 2 TD), & Daniel Barker (8 rec, 90 yards, 2 TD).
Defensively, Illinois is allowing their opponents to average 26.8 ppg on 448.2 total yards per game (312.4 passing yds/g; 135.8 rushing yds/g).
The 49ers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games and 11-5 ATS in their last 16 October games. The Fighting Illini are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 October games, however, are just 0-5 ATS in their last 5 non-conference games.
Illinois has played better as of late, as despite coming into this game with just a 1-3 record, they were competitive in recent losses against Maryland & Purdue, however, I just don’t think this is a team that has an offense that can cover a double-digit spread. Charlotte has been solid this season, which included a 31-28 victory over Duke, and as I think Chris Reynolds and the 49ers offense will be able to have some success in this one, I think Charlotte does enough with the points. Good Luck!
Brett’s Pick Charlotte 49ers +11
AUTHOR: Brett Nault
Mitch's Take...
