Charlotte 49ers: Preview vs the Louisville Cardinals
The Charlotte 49ers play the Louisville Cardinals in the football version of an old basketball rivalry.
The Charlotte 49ers begin their second full season of FBS play later today. Last year they started the season with a relative bang, beating Georgia State in their first game. That was seemingly as good as it got since the 49ers would only go on to win one more game all season long.
Any hope for a similar fast start this year has a much bigger obstacle in mind, the Louisville Cardinals. The Cardinals bring back eighteen starters and the team is believed to be the one team in the ACC Atlantic Division that could challenge Clemson and Florida State this season.
The story of the Cardinals starts with their coach Bobby Petrino. Petrino is an offensive minded coach who likes to throw the ball and score. He has a season under Quarterback Lamar Jackson’s belt and plenty of veteran weapons on the field. The last thing the 49ers want to do is get involved in a track meet with the Cardinals.
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That isn’t likely to happen as the Cardinals’ defense has been pretty good the last couple of years as well.
The 49ers will be looking to slow down the Cardinals with a wealth of transfers. Quarterback Kevin Olsen will line up behind center. The brother of Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen is coming over from junior college. One of his targets will be Georgia transfer Uriah Lemay. The defensive backfield will see the familiar face of North Carolina Tar Heels transfer cornerback Kedrick Davis.
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If you watched any part of the 49ers’ football season last year, then you know that Kalif Phillips will be hauling the mail in this first game. He and the rest of the offense will have to try and limit turnovers. Giveaways have been the bane of this team’s first year and it would be nice to see them gone in the second one.
The Cardinals should be too much for the 49ers and likely will break their streak of winning season openers. This one should not be close.
Prediction: Cardinals 52 49ers 10