NOV. 14 VS. UTSA CHARLOTTE VS. UTSA 路 NOV. 14, 2015
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GAME-DAY TAILGATING
UNC CHARLOTTE FOOTBALL 2015 FRIDAY, SEPT. 4
EDEN CREAMER
Georgia State
GUEST WRITER
at Atlanta, Ga.
3:30 p.m. With the launch of a new football program, the need for an official policy regarding tailgating at the university becomes necessary. As the university revved up for football, a tailgating policy was created to make sure students and fans have the most fun possible while being safe. These rules and regulations are meant to maximize safety and comfort for all that attend. Tailgating rules and regulations are completely broken down in University Policy 706, Alcoholic Beverages. Any violation of this policy may cause students and campus guests revoked tailgating rights, criminal prosecution, disciplinary action through the Office of Student Conduct if the violator is a UNC Charlotte student and/or trespassing charges should the individual be a campus guest.
CAMPUS ENTRANCES AND LOT INFORMATION All entrances except the main entrance and the John Kirk Road entrance will be closed five hours prior to kickoff. Game-day entrances open four hours prior to kickoff. Parking and tailgating will be available in lots 5, 5A, 6, 7, 7A, 14, 18, 19, 23, 25, 27 and CRI 2 and 3. Decks available for parking are Union Deck, Cone Deck 1 and 2, West Deck and CRI Deck. Oncampus residents not attending the game can park in East Deck 2 and 3 or North Deck. Students who live on campus who normally park in lots designated for tailgating for football game-day parking will be required to move their vehicles to an alternative parking location the night before a home game. If there are any cars in the parking lots as of midnight on game day, the vehicle will be automatically towed. Tailgating areas will open four hours prior to the game. Tailgating at halftime and during the game time is prohibited, and tailgaters will be encouraged to vacate lots. Lots must also be evacuated no later than two hours after the end of the game.
Presbyterian at Charlotte, N.C.
Noon SATURDAY, SEPT. 19
Middle Tennessee at Murfreesboro, Tenn.
7 p.m. SATURDAY, SEPT. 26
Florida Atlantic at Charlotte, N.C.
7 p.m. FRIDAY, OCT. 2
Temple
at Charlotte, N.C.
7 p.m. SATURDAY, OCT. 17
Old Dominion at Norfolk, Va.
3:30 p.m. SATURDAY, OCT. 24
Southern Miss
FINAL SCORE: CHAR 27, UTSA 21
“Saturday marks what might be Charlotte’s last legitmate shot at a Conference USA victory this season. The 49ers threw three touchdowns last week, snapping a two-month drought.”
at Charlotte, N.C.
Noon SATURDAY, OCT. 31
Marshall
at Charlotte, N.C.
3:30 p.m. SATURDAY, NOV. 7
LOT CONTRABAND
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SATURDAY, SEPT. 12
STAFF PICKS
FIU
at Miami, Fla.
Kegs, glass containers, drinking games, devices used to accelerate the consumption of alcohol, grills in parking decks and on brick pavers, open pit fires, staked tents, household furniture and animals are prohibited.
Noon
STADIUM CONTRABAND
2 p.m.
Tobacco products, other drugs, alcohol of all kinds and weaponry are prohibited. Football patrons will be permitted to bring empty, clear, plastic bottles into the stadium to fill with water at designated fill stations, but other beverages will be prohibited.
Kentucky
The complete University Policy 706 is available online. Tailgaters are encouraged to read this policy prior to game-day.
at Houston, Texas
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
UTSA
at Charlotte, N.C.
SATURDAY, NOV. 21 at Lexington, Ky.
TBA SATURDAY, NOV. 28
Rice
3:30 p.m.
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FINAL SCORE: CHAR 21, UTSA 17
“The 49ers have a chance to earn their first Conference USA victory on Senior Day in the final home game of 2015. Expect the team to be fired up against a struggling team from UTSA.”
Tweet us your predictions to @NT_Sports using #CHARUTSAPicks
49ERS BEAT THEMSELVES IN MIAMI AGAINST FIU The Charlotte 49ers fell 48-31 on the road against the FIU Panthers on Saturday afternoon
MATT CHAPMAN SPORTS EDITOR
The Charlotte 49ers took their talents to South Beach on Saturday afternoon in search of their first Conference USA victory in a showdown with the Florida International University Panthers. The Niners shot themselves in the foot on several occasions and fell 48-31 on the road for their seventh consecutive defeat. A pair of special teams blunders derailed Charlotte early as a 24-point halftime deficit proved too much to overcome. The quarterback situation in Charlotte has been impossible to figure out all season and nothing changed on Saturday. The trio that has struggled mightily throughout the entire 2015 season combined to complete 25-of-38 pass attempts for 264 yards. Each of the three quarterbacks threw a touchdown pass, snapping a drought that lasted nearly two months without a scoring toss. Head coach Brad Lambert wouldn’t commit to a starting quarterback moving forward when asked after the game. “You just have to trust the system and the game plan,” said wide receiver Austin Duke after Charlotte’s best passing performance in months. Duke put together the type of performance Niner fans have become accustomed to over the past two seasons. The redshirt junior hauled in all three touchdowns while eclipsing 100 yards for the ninth time in his career, but just the second time in 2015 after battling a nagging back injury. The 49ers wasted a golden
opportunity as two botched special teams plays resulted in FIU touchdowns, not to mention a picksix in the second half that put the game out of reach. The Niners lost by 17, but gifted 21 points to the Panthers and couldn’t overcome the mistakes. “We gave up the pick-six in the second half, but up until that we were rocking along pretty solid,” said Lambert. “But we can’t survive with a blocked punt and a kickoff return that we don’t field. Those are plays that we can’t afford to make.” The Panthers (5-5, 3-3 C-USA) blitzed the 49ers from the get-go, blocking an Arthur Hart punt on the first drive of the day. Kenyatta Anderson recovered in the end zone as FIU jumped out to an early 7-0 lead over the visiting Niners. Charlotte (2-7, 0-6 C-USA) answered immediately with an impressive 10-play, 75-yard drive that culminated with the first touchdown pass of the season from quarterback Lee McNeill. McNeill completed four passes, including a 29-yard strike to Duke to knot the score at 7-7 with 10 minutes left in the first quarter. The 49ers had not thrown a touchdown pass since Sept. 12 against Presbyterian. FIU wasted no time responding to the score as the Panthers pieced together a 73-yard drive on 12 plays. Sophomore quarterback Alex McGough capped the possession with a 15-yard scoring toss to wideout Clinton Taylor, putting FIU back up by a touchdown late in the
opening quarter. The Panthers broke the game wide open in the second quarter, starting on the second play when Alex Gardener busted up the middle for a touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the goal-line. The 49ers fought tooth-andnail throughout the majority of the first half before FIU scored a pair of touchdowns in the span of seven seconds with less than one minute remaining before halftime. The Panthers converted another fourth-and-short before McGough found Taylor again with a 24-yard touchdown pass. The Niners made a costly error on the ensuing kickoff as FIU recovered at the Charlotte nine yard-line and immediately tacked on seven more with Gardener’s second rushing touchdown of the game. “It just shot a hole in us,” said Lambert when asked about the end of the first half. “We thought, ‘Hey it’s a tight game, a one or two score game, we’re in this,’ and then bang-bang.” An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and a couple key completions by McNeill set up a school-record 56-yard field goal by Brewer as the clock expired on the first half. Brewer’s bomb was the longest in C-USA this season and it cut the Charlotte deficit to 34-10 as the two teams headed to the locker room. The Niners were dominated up front by the Panthers’ defensive line throughout the entire first half. Charlotte found themselves in the red with negative two rushing yards
CHARLOTTE VS. UTSA · NOV. 14, 2015
as FIU wreaked havoc with four sacks and nine tackles for loss at halftime. McNeill played his best half of football this season, completing 13-of-22 passes for 135 yards and the early touchdown pass. However, redshirt freshman Brooks Barden trotted onto the field at quarterback to start the second half and McNeill didn’t play a single snap after the
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All three Charlotte 49ers quarterbacks threw a touchdown in Saturday’s loss on the road against Florida International. Photo by Chris Crews
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GOLDRUSH · A NINER TIMES SPECIAL SECTION
intermission. The 49ers cut the lead to 17 points early in the third quarter when Charlotte’s third quarterback Matt Johnson found Duke in the flat for a 36-yard touchdown. The Niners had a chance to get within two scores after a defensive stop, but Barden floated a back-breaking pick-six that the panthers returned 58 yards for a 41-17 advantage late in the third. Charlotte’s redshirt freshman signal caller rebounded nicely from his mistake by accounting for two fourth quarter touchdowns, but it was too little, too late for the 49ers. Duke topped his season total as he reeled in his third touchdown grab of the afternoon on a 15-yard throw from Barden with 13:09 left in the game. Barden capped his up-anddown second half by leading a 16play, 87-yard drive before scrambling into the end zone from five yards out after a botched handoff attempt. The 49ers return home next weekend to host the Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners on Senior Day at Jerry Richardson Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
VIEWS FROM ‘THE RICH’ PHOTOS IN SPREAD BY CHRIS CREWS AND BEN ROBSON
CHARLOTTE VS. UTSA · NOV. 14, 2015
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49ERS WELCOME UTSA TO CHARLOTTE ON SENIOR DAY The Charlotte 49ers host the UTSA Roadrunners in the final home game of the 2015 season MATT CHAPMAN SPORTS EDITOR
The Charlotte 49ers return home to Jerry Richardson Stadium for the final time in 2015 this Saturday to play host to the Texas-San Atonio (UTSA) Roadrunners on Senior Day. The Niners are still in search of their first Conference USA victory, coming off of a 48-31 drubbing on the road against Florida International. Charlotte (2-7, 0-6 C-USA) needs to take advantage of a struggling Roadrunners squad that has won just one game this season. The 49ers close with two tough opponents away from home against the Kentucky Wildcats and Rice Owls. UTSA (1-8, 1-4 C-USA) will have to rebound quickly from a heartbreaking five-point loss on their home turf against the Old Dominion Monarchs. The Roadrunners have lost four consecutive games, although three of those losses have come by a touchdown or less. The Niners finally found a rhythm last weekend with their passing attack that ranks dead last in the 14-team conference. Lee McNeill, Matt Johnson and Brooks Barden
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Austin Duke is coming off of his best game of the season agasint FIU last Saturday. Photo by Ben Robson
all saw their share of snaps under center against FIU and combined for over 250 yards and three touchdown passes. McNeill’s first quarter scoring toss marked his first touchdown of the season and Charlotte’s first passing touchdown as a team since Sept. 12. McNeill’s accomplishment earned him a spot on the bench for the entirety of the second half as Barden
took the reigns and performed admirably after a gut-wrenching pick-six in the third quarter. The redshirt freshman showcased talent with his arm and legs, throwing a 15-yard touchdown while adding another on a five-yard scramble as the closing seconds ticked off the clock. Head coach Brad Lambert wouldn’t commit to a starting
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quarterback for Saturday’s showdown with the Roadrunners when asked at the post-game press conference. Charlotte’s human-highlight reel Austin Duke exploded for the first time since the Presbyterian game, snagging three touchdown receptions from each of the three quarterbacks. “We’re trying to be real intentional about getting number 10 the ball,” said Lambert. “We did it again this week and Austin looks back to healty. Those were big plays for us.” Duke posted his ninth career 100-yard performance and looks to be completely healthy for the final three weeks after battling a nagging back injury for the majority of the season. “You just have to trust the system and the game plan,” said Duke after his best performance of 2015 this past week. “That’s what this season has been all about. We’ve hits some hiccups this season, but if we keep doing what we’ve been doing things will click.”
The 49ers will run out of the tunnel at Jerry Richardson Stadium for the final time this season against UTSA on Saturday. Photo by Ben Robson
Duke will be licking his chops come Saturday after UTSA allowed a pair of Old Dominion receivers to post monster games last weekend. Jonathan Duhart and Zach Pascal went off for 146 and 160 yards respectively as quarterback David Washington aired it out for nearly 400 yards and two touchdowns. The Roadrunners’ secondary has been exposed over the last month, allowing over 340 passing yards in three of their past four outings. Expect both defensive lines to wreak havoc in the backfield as Charlotte and UTSA have allowed the most sacks in Conference USA this season. The Niners were shellshocked against FIU as the Panthers finished with seven sacks and 14 tackles behind the line of
scrimmage. Larry Ogunjobi and Zach Duncan have been a force along the Charlotte front line this season. Ogunjobi leads the team with nine tackles for loss, while Duncan has made a name for himself as a redshirt freshman with a team-high three sacks. The Niners and Roadrunners will both rely heavily on the ground attack in hopes of counteracting the opposing pass rush. Kalif Phillips has been bottled up effectively in each of Charlotte’s last two games as Marshall and FIU chose to stack the box against the 49ers’ putrid passing game. Phillips has been the lone bright spot on a struggling Niners offense this season as the junior needs
only 49 more yards to eclipse 1,000 for the second consecutive season. Philips’ 951 rushing yards rank second in the league while he’s also tied for fifth with five touchdowns. Charlotte has yet to put together a complete performance in all three phases of the game and an abundance of special teams blunders this season have cost the 49ers in a few close contests. The Niners had a punt blocked last week and failed to possess a kickoff as both miscues resulted in touchdowns for the opposition. “At some point we have to eliminate those mistakes that really cost us at the end of the game. If we can eliminate those we can give ourselves a chance to win in the fourth quarter,” said Lambert.
CHARLOTTE VS. UTSA · NOV. 14, 2015
“We can’t give up big plays when our defense isn’t even on the field,” added linebacker Caleb ClaytonMolby. “We’re going to come out Monday and work like we always do. Nothing changes. We’re going to focus real hard on special teams and not giving up big plays.” Charlotte will honor a handful of seniors before the game Saturday as they suit up in green and white for the final time in front of Niner Nation. Clayton-Molby and Branden Dozier, two of Charlotte’s defensive leaders with over 100 career tackles, are among the seniors graduating in 2015. Kickoff against UTSA inside Jerry Richardson Stadium is scheduled for 2 p.m.
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GOLDRUSH 路 A NINER TIMES SPECIAL SECTION