The Charlotte 49ers look to build on their season-opening victory over Duke against in-state FCS opponent Gardner-Webb on Saturday. What you need to know about a matchup consisting of two of the youngest head coaches in college football:
WHEN DO THE CHARLOTTE 49ERS PLAY?
Who: Gardner-Webb (0-1) at Charlotte (1-0)
When: 6 p.m. Saturday, September 11
Where: Jerry Richardson Stadium (15,300, full capacity)
TV: ESPN3 (Not on traditional TV)
Stream: The game will only air on ESPN3
Unless you have a Smart TV, you’ll need a streaming device such as an Amazon Firestick, AppleTV, Roku or Chromecast to watch the game. You can stream the game if your TV provider (YouTubeTV, Hulu, Spectrum, Comcast, etc.) carries ESPN — if that’s the case, just log into the ESPN app with your TV provider’s login credentials and then stream the game on ESPN3.
If you don’t normally have ESPN3 access, you’ll have to subscribe to ESPN+ to watch the game. Cost is $5.99 a month just for ESPN+ with several other bundling options depending on what level of subscription you choose.
On-air announcer crew: Jack Fitzpatrick, play-by-play; Reginald Walker Jr., analyst.
Radio: Learfield/IMG Network 730 The Game (Matt Swierad, play-by-play; Al Wallace, analyst; Walker Mehl, sideline).
Betting line: N/A
Uniform report: Green pants, green jerseys and green helmets for Charlotte.
Saturday weather forecast for Charlotte, NC
Sunny and warm with light and variable wind. The temperature will reach 84 degrees during the day and cool to 77 degrees at kickoff.
CHARLOTTE 49ERS FOOTBALL INJURY REPORT
▪ Defensive back Davondre “Tank” Robinson is doubtful with a bicep injury; MRI was expected Wednesday to determine the damage.
▪ Cornerback Geovante Howard left the Duke game in the third quarter of Week 1 with an ankle injury. He is questionable but has been rehabbing at practice throughout the week.
▪ Linebacker Derek Boykins missed Week 1 with a stress fracture in his shin but was cleared to return to practice on Monday.
49ERS VS. GARDNER-WEBB RUNNIN’ BULLDOGS: WHAT TO WATCH FOR
▪ Saturday night’s matchup will see high energy on both sidelines as two of the youngest coaches in college football collide. Charlotte’s Will Healy, 36, and Gardner-Webb’s Tre Lamb, 31, will match up for the first time as head coaches, but it isn’t the first time they’ve met.
Healy and Lamb, both former quarterbacks, never met as players but have met in various coaching roles in four separate matchups. The series is currently split 2-2, with Healy’s Austin Peay Governors stifling Lamb’s Tennessee Tech offensive attack 41-10 during the 2018 season. Gardner-Webb quarterback Bailey Fischer served as Tennessee Tech’s quarterback in the 2018 game and has now followed Lamb to Gardner-Webb for his junior season.
▪ Charlotte’s passing attack led by quarterback Chris Reynolds returned to 2019 form as the 49ers’ offense accounted for 480 total yards and scored touchdowns on all four of its red-zone appearances. Gardner-Webb allowed 500 yards of total offense in the Week 1 loss to Georgia Southern. Expect the 49ers’ running backs to see plenty of touches against a defense that gave up 365 rushing yards at nearly six yards a carry.
▪ The 49ers’ secondary had a strong showing against Duke with an improved pass rush and will need more of the same against a smaller offensive line. Gardner-Webb will operate in an up-tempo offense and will show plenty of different packages. Charlotte’s secondary depth will be tested against a quarterback that threw 45 passes in Week 1.
THREE CHARLOTTE 49ERS PLAYERS TO WATCH
1. Reynolds won Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week following his 324-yard, four-touchdown outing. Reynolds threw three touchdowns and rushed for another. Reynolds is 39 passing yards and three touchdowns from passing Matt Johnson for the most in 49ers’ history.
2. Wide receiver Grant DuBose made his Charlotte debut with four catches on five targets for 118 yards and two touchdowns. DuBose’s last snaps came in 2019 as Miles College, a Division II HBCU, canceled their 2020 season. DuBose recorded 10 catches for 104 yards and a touchdown in 10 games at Miles.
3. Defensive end Markees Watts recorded nine tackles, a tackle for loss and a sack in the 49ers’ win over Duke. While Watts’ primary responsibility is rushing the passer, he saw several snaps in pass coverage in Week 1. Watts is 1/2 sack shy of passing Larry Ogunjobi (Cincinnati Bengals) for second all-time in school history with 13. His goal is to catch program-leader Alex Highsmith (Pittsburgh Steelers) with 20.
THREE GARDNER-WEBB FOOTBALL PLAYERS TO WATCH
1. Fischer went 27 for 45 for 315 yards and three touchdowns in the Runnin’ Bulldogs Week 1 loss. Fischer, a Tennessee Tech transfer, reunited with Lamb following two seasons together with the Golden Eagles.
2. Defensive lineman Ty French is a 6-3, 242-pound tackle who earned freshman All-America honors for his play last spring. French recorded 9 tackles and a quarterback hurry in the season opener.
3. Senior wide receiver T.J. Luther transferred from Wofford College and caught six passes for 164 yards and a touchdown in his debut with Gardner-Webb. Expect to see Luther in the return game for the Runnin’ Bulldogs with his 4.45-second 40-yard dash speed.
CHARLOTTE 49ERS FOOTBALL DEPTH CHART
Any position, whether it’s a starter or a backup, is listed with an — OR — designation.
Offense
QB — Chris Reynolds (James Foster)
RB — Shadrick Byrd (Calvin Camp)
WR — Victor Tucker (Keith Pearson Jr)
WR — Cameron Dollar (Tre Goode)
WR — Grant DuBose (Elijah Spencer)
TE — Ryan Carriere (Taylor Thompson)
LT — Jaxon Hughes (Chibueze Nwanna)
LG — D’Mitri Emmanuel (Panda Askew)
OC — Hunter Kelly (Jonny King)
RG — Ashton Gist (Dejan Rasuo)
RT — T.J. Moore (Arabee Muslim)
Defense
EDGE — Markees Watts (Tyson Clawson — OR — Taylor Chandler)
DT — Bryan Wallace (Siah Sa’o — OR — Joshua Bailey)
DT — Isaac Hampton (Dez Morgan)
EDGE — Kofi Wardlow (Michael Kelly)
NICK — Tyler Murray (Solomon Rogers)
MLB — Luke Martin (B.J. Turner)
WLB — Prince Bemah (Justin Whisenhunt)
CB — Geovante Howard (Valerian Agbaw)
SS — Matt Martinez (Marcus Robitaille)
FS — Jon Alexander (Solomon Rogers — OR — Steven Parker)
CB — Trey Creamer (Shedrick Ursery)
Specialists
PK — Jonathan Cruz (Max Blitstein)
KO — Jonathan Cruz
P — Bailey Rice (Ethan Torres)
LS — Cameron Lyons (Colby Garfield)
H — Chris Reynolds
KOR — Calvin Camp (ChaVon McEachern — OR — Shadrick Byrd)
PR — Geovante Howard (Victor Tucker — OR — Cameron Dollar)