Throughout the early goings of this year’s campaign, head coach Biff Poggi has been clear that the 49ers (1-3) have been aiming toward the start of conference play. Charlotte, which had to rally for its lone win and just put together a strong offensive start on the road, enters a critical point of the schedule.
The Niners play their American Athletic Conference opener on the road against Rice (1-3) at 6 p.m. ET Saturday. Mike Bloomgren , the Owls’ sixth-year head coach, guided the longtime Division I school in Houston to its first bowl-eligible season in a decade a season ago.
“You don’t like to end the non-conference schedule like we ended it (Saturday),” Poggi said following the loss at Indiana . “But it’s really interesting the way they responded on the sideline: Nobody gave up. They didn’t turn on each other. They didn’t give up. They played hard the whole game.
“I think we have a good football team. Next week will be critical because it’s our first league game, and everything we point to is the league.”
The Charlotte 49ers open American Athletic Conference play against the Rice Owls, who fell to the Army Black Knights in West Point, N.Y., this past weekend. Danny Wild/Imagn Images
Key matchup: How can Charlotte limit EJ Warner and the Rice offense?
While Rice was also victorious in just a single one of its four non-conference games, it showed how explosive its offense can be.
The Owls’ win came in a 69-7 decision against Texas Southern in which they scored on nine of 11 possessions. Though they fell behind early in a 37-14 loss at Army to open conference play, their offense is averaging 26 points per game, just under two points shy of the average they’re allowing from their opponents.
EJ Warner , the new junior quarterback for Rice, currently ranks third in the American Athletic Conference with 87 completions. It may be his first season with the Owls, but he’s not a newcomer to the conference — he transferred from Temple, where he started in the AAC for the past two seasons.
Charlotte’s passing defense has plenty of room for improvement following its non-conference slate. Still a season removed from being considered a Top 50 pass defense in the country, the Niners’ 15.71 yards per completion allowed is now the worst in the nation.
But this isn’t Kurtis Rourke , the fourth-year starter who completed 16 of 20 passes as the Hoosiers bludgeoned past Charlotte in last week’s 52-14 rout .
Charlotte 49ers running back Henry Rutledge prepares to secure the ball during a handoff drill at the team’s first practice on Friday, August 4, 2023. JEFF SINER/jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
Rutledge, who turned heads throughout his standout local high school career at Charlotte Christian, has taken four handoffs this year. Behind his 33-yard touchdown run on Saturday, the redshirt junior is averaging 10.8 yards per carry, which reflects his speed.
The 49ers’ kick return specialist, Rutledge ranks third in the American Athletic Conference with a total of 215 yards on nine returns. Rice running back Quinton Jackson leads the conference with 217 yards on as many attempts.
Rutledge’s speed has been apparent on kick returns, and with CJ Stokes now out with a broken shoulder, Charlotte will have even more depth in its running back room. In addition to regulars Hahsaun Wilson and Cartevious Norton , look for Rutledge to start playing a bigger role on offense as the Niners roll into conference play.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Local News
Comments / 0