SMU vs. Charlotte game preview, predictions
SMU opens American Athletic Conference play with Charlotte on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU inside Gerald J. Ford Stadium.
The Mustangs are favored by 23.5 points with the over/under set at 53.5 points. This is the first meeting between the two programs in history.
Now, onto the SMU-Charlotte preview…
SMU trends…
SMU is coming off a tough 34-17 loss to TCU on Saturday in Ft. Worth. The Mustangs didn’t capitalize on an early opportunity to score a touchdown on their opening drive, which was a microcosm of things to come.
Quarterback Preston Stone completed 16-of-35 passes for 258 yards and two interceptions, which came in the 2nd half as the Mustangs pressed. SMU did get a sign of serious life from the run game as Camar Wheaton led the team with 73 yards and a score on 16 carries.
Defensively, the Mustangs held TCU to 26 1st half rushing yards before Emani Bailey took over the game in the 2nd half. SMU struggled to tackle at times and TCU was able to convert some critical conversions to extend scoring drives. Still, Scott Symons’ unit ranks at No. 35 in total defense this season and is Top 3 in the AAC across multiple categories.
Charlotte trends…
The 49ers have two quarterbacks they can look to, but it appears Jalon Jones is emerging as the primary quarterback. He leads the team on the ground as well with 261 yards and three touchdowns across four games. Charlotte fell at No. 25 Florida last week, 22-7. That was the third straight loss for Biff Poggi’s crew, which is full of transfers like SMU.
Michigan grad transfer Eyabi Okie-Anoma leads Charlotte with 4.0 TFL, 2.0 sacks and five QB hurries. He’s ahead of another talented edge rusher, former Ole Miss defensive end Demon Clowney, who has 10 tackles and a half-sack on the season. Up front, the 49ers have
Charlotte’s defense allowed TD’s in three of eight quarters in its two games against Maryland and Florida. Charlotte held Maryland without a TD for the first half and held Florida without a TD in the last three quarters. That defensive front line is big and tough, which should pose a decent challenge for an SMU offensive line coming off its best game of the year.
Quotable…
“I think he knows, like a lot of guys at our positions, that we didn’t play our best game. And we give them credit, they won the game. They earned it, we didn’t. But he’s been pretty steady the first three weeks of the season. And if you feel like you don’t play your best and you have over 400 yards of offense against a good team, you feel like there’s room to improve though because we have to now. We’re getting into conference play. And I think his approach Tuesday and Wednesday has been really good. I think he’s been really self-aware of where he can get better. Just like I hope a lot of our guys have been, so I think he’s responded well so far. Saturday will be a good opportunity for him to show that.” -SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee on Stone’s mentality this week.
SMU must…
Once again, SMU didn’t finish drives with touchdowns when it needed to. In its two Power Five matchups, the offense has scored 28 total points. While the offense can move the ball between the 25s, finishing drives would’ve helped the Mustangs in a big way against Oklahoma and TCU. In SMU’s two home games, the team’s done that. If we see a motivated offense finish drives, that’ll set the tone for the team’s AAC opener. The defense has held up its end of the bargain for the most part, but isn’t perfect by any means. Still, the offense finishing drives with touchdowns would help boost the defensive mentality against a Charlotte team that struggles to score points.
Predictions
Billy Embody: SMU is coming off an emotional week, but I go back to the maturity of this team. They’ve got a lot of players who’ve been in plenty of situations between the returning bunch and newcomers. That type of experience should aid the Mustangs in putting last week’s loss behind them. The offense gets back to how its been playing at home and puts up a good number of points as Lashlee’s team cruises in its AAC opener. SMU 38, Charlotte 13
Kevin Lonnquist: There’s no doubt that Charlotte will be up for this game. It should be. It’s playing in one of the AAC contending team’s building and would love nothing more than put a dent into those title hopes. It’s not often that a college QB (Jalon Jones) is his team’s leading passer and rusher. If the Mustangs can take away Jone’s legs – defense did a pretty good job against Chandler Morris last week – then it changes the 49ers offense. SMU’s start will be important as it will indicate how engaged this group is. Once the game settles in, SMU’s talent should make the difference. My kingdom for the defense to create a turnover. SMU 37, Charlotte 17
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