WKU Football: Charlotte Q&A with Agent 49
The Tops will now play their third Eastern C-USA opponent in a row but this time against a team with a winning record.
The Tops will now play their third Eastern C-USA opponent in a row but this time against a team with a winning record.
To help us learn more about the 49ers, we got Ross Smith at Agent 49 to answer some questions for us. Be sure to follow him on Twitter as well as check out the Agent 49 website and Twitter account.
Let’s get started with our questions.
The Towel Rack: for those who haven’t watched Charlotte too closely this season, how would you summarize how the 2021 season has gone for the 49ers up to this point?
Ross Smith: Charlotte is feast or famine at this point. Our defense by most metrics are towards the bottom of FBS, which is never a good thing and is amplified by facing someone like Bailey Zappe.
TTR: At 4–3, the 49ers are competing in C-USA but just lost to FAU by a lot. What went wrong in that game for Charlotte?
RS: Chris Reynolds hurt his throwing hand early in the game on an exchange and never seemed the same after that. Defensively, Charlotte simply allowed too many explosive plays, which has been an achilles heel all season long.
TTR: How do you see the 49ers defense matching up against Bailey Zappe and the Hilltopper offense?
RS: Not well. Charlotte will need to find a way to get to Zappe early and often. The defense has been opportunistic which has kept us in most games so far, and we’ll need some havoc plays in this one to have a shot late.
TTR: WKU’s defense has struggled against the run most of the season. Do you think the 49ers can establish the run game against the Tops?
RS: Will Healy wants to be a run first team and would love to be 40 runs vs 25 passes, but this season Charlotte hasn’t been as effective on the ground as they’d like. The strength has been Reynolds + Victor Tucker and Grant Dubose, and we’ll have to ride those guys in this game as well.
TTR: Do you think this game has major implications on the East side of C-USA?
RS: The East is jumbled right now and every game is important until someone can create some separation. Charlotte needs to find a way to win a game vs the trio of WKU/Marshall/LT, and secure W’s vs ODU and Rice.
TTR: WKU is currently 18 point favorites over Charlotte according to ESPN. What do you think needs to happen for the 49ers to leave with a major win?
RS: Charlotte’s offense has almost zero margin for error, they simply cannot afford many empty possessions in any game, which exerts tremendous pressure on Offensive Coordinator Mark Carney’s group. As I mentioned previously, Charlotte’s defense has to get to Zappe and create turnovers to have a shot in this game. We wouldn’t be opposed to a monsoon in Bowling Green on Saturday.
TTR: What is your personal prediction for the game?
RS: Pain. WKU wins this one 42–24.
We’re thankful for Ross’s time answering our questions. Be sure to check him out to learn more about the 49ers before the game Saturday!