Charlotte hasn’t won two games in a row since the first two weeks of 2021 when the 49ers defeated Gardner-Webb and Duke to open the season. They haven’t been on a three-game win streak since 2019.
They’ll have the chance to do that this week against a Navy team that’s ranked No. 25 in the Associated Press Top 25. College football betting odds have Navy as a 16.5-point favorite.
The 49ers are on a two-game win streak after beating Rice two weeks ago and are coming off a dominant 55-24 win over East Carolina where they scored four first-half touchdowns. Most of the production was on the ground as Charlotte rushed for 311 yards and six touchdowns. Junior running back Hahsaun Wilson led the way with 164 yards and three scores. He averaged 10.9 yards per carry.
Charlotte already has as many wins as it had the last two seasons, where it went 3-9 both years, and is 2-0 in AAC play.
Now in head coach Biff Poggi’s second season, the 49ers look like they have improved. How much improvement they’ve made, though, will be telling in the upcoming month.
The non-conference slate wasn’t the easiest as Charlotte played James Madison, North Carolina, and Indiana. Things don’t get much easier going forward. Following this week’s contest at Navy, the 49ers will visit Memphis and then host Tulane. Those are three teams that are ranked in the top 10 in the HERO Sports G5 Top 25. They’ll then have a bye week before hosting USF.
It’s a great thing for the 49ers that they’re coming off a bye and are playing their best football so far going into this stretch.
The bye week was much needed as they prepare for quarterback Blake Horvath and the Navy rushing attack. Charlotte will need to be better against the run if it wants a chance to win this game. It is allowing 182 rushing yards per contest.
Charlotte will also have a quarterback situation to figure out here in the near future. Starter Max Brown was injured in Week 2 against North Carolina and is expected to be returning soon after recovering from thumb surgery. Brown is expected to remain the starter when he returns, but freshman Deshawn Purdie has been playing well in his absence. Trexler Ivey has also spent some time under center, but Purdie has played much better.
Ivey started against Rice before he was replaced by Purdie in the second half, where Charlotte scored all 21 of its points.
Purdie has passed for 717 yards and four touchdowns through four games this season. He’s only thrown one interception. The 49ers are 3-0 in the games where he has taken a majority of the snaps.
It’s hard to turn away from a quarterback who has the hot hand, but Brown is the more experienced signal caller. I don’t necessarily think that means he will give the 49ers the best chance to pick up an upset in one of these games, however.
I think Charlotte can beat FAU and UAB in its last two weeks of the season, meaning a win in these next four games could lead to a bowl game. It’ll be fun to see how it all plays out.
Charlotte at Navy Football Prediction
I predict Navy will win by three touchdowns and cover the 16.5-point spread. The Midshipmen are 4-1 against the spread this season and 3-0 as a favorite. As mentioned above, Charlotte’s rush defense has been suspect, and the inexperienced Purdie will have a tall task ahead of him.
