Charlotte takes on high-powered North Texas offense

MATT LACZKO | THE CHARLOTTE POST

The Charlotte 49ers (1-6, 0-4 American) will try to slow a North Texas team that has one of the top scoring offenses in the country.

The Charlotte 49ers (1-6, 0-4 American) are trying to keep their heads above water.

After a blowout 49-14 homecoming loss to Temple last week, they have a short turnaround before facing North Texas (6-1, 2-1 American) on Friday. The Mean Green have one of the most explosive offenses not just in the conference, but the country. 

North Texas has yet to score under 30 points in any game this season and 49ers’ coach Tim Albin knows the task is a tall one.

“... Their offense is the best we have seen all year, hands down,” he said. “I saw them play [South Florida], we were off and played the next day I think so we got a chance to watch the game and listen to the commentators [talk about quarterback Drew Mestemaker’s] history. Unbelievable. They lost their quarterback last year… but [Mestemaker’s] touchdown/interception ratio is unbelievable. It speaks volumes to how he’s getting coaches and their scheme.”

Albin has mentioned a few times through the season about immediately flipping the switch after a bad play. It is something he must drive home for success to happen. 

“We’ve got to play the next play,” he said, “you got to get corrected on the sideline with the iPad, but we've got to wipe it. You got to, for the love of the game. I’m a big movie guy. We got to clear the mechanism …and don't let the previous play affect the next one.”

Name, image and likeness is a hot topic around the Charlotte program lately. To be competitive, they need fans and supporters to donate to the NIL collective. North Texas’ quarterback a year ago was Chandler Morris. He was offered $500,000 to stay with the Mean Green before leaving for Virginia, where he was paid $1.2 million. 

By comparison, Charlotte paid quarterback Max Brown $150,000 last season. So, the 49ers are behind the 8-ball in the American Conference from a financial standpoint. Albin hopes more alumni and supporters will start contributing.

“I think it is a great point,” Albin said. “I pat (North Texas) on the back that they are able to make an offer like that to their guy. They didn’t keep him but the guy that replaced him is lighting it up. That is impressive. That is a different story. But, right now, if we get 190,000 alumni (who live within an hour of campus) to all give just say $1,000, we could get right in a hurry. But, that is just a part of it. This is the best conference in the Group of Six, bar none. We’re going to have three or four teams trying to get into the [College Football] Playoff. We’ve got a great commissioner with a great vision, and we don’t want to be at the bottom of it.”

Comments