Charlotte vs Gardner-Webb 9/11/21 College Football Picks, Odds, Predictions
Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs (0-1) vs. Charlotte 49ers (1-0)
September 11, 2021 6:00 pm EDT
The Line: Charlotte 49ers -18.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Charlotte 49ers meet the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs Saturday in college football action from Jerry Richardson Stadium. Gardner-Webb played Georgia Southern in their opener last weekend. In that game, the Bulldogs posted a tough five-point defeat. As for the 49ers, they played Duke in week one. Charlotte bagged a nice three-point victory in that one to kick off the year in style. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.
Gardner-Webb got to play four games in the spring with mixed results. The Bulldogs would finish 2-2 overall with an 0-2 mark in Big South Conference play. Gardner-Webb won their first pair of games versus Elon and Presbyterian but then fell to Monmouth and Charleston Southern to close out the year.
In the opener game versus Georgia Southern, Gardner-Webb coughed up 17 points in the second quarter on the way to a 30-25 loss. QB Bailey Fisher posted 315 yards with three touchdowns, and Narii Gaither led the rush with 33 yards on seven carries.
Over on the Charlotte side, they worked through a ton of cancellations last fall to ultimately play six games. The 49ers didn’t fare so well, going 2-4 overall and 2-2 in Conference USA play. That left Charlotte in fourth place in the East Division.
In the week one matchup versus Duke, Charlotte was down 14-10 at the break but rallied to notch a solid 31-28 win. Quarterback Chris Reynolds went 19-of-30 for 324 yards and three scores, while Victor Tucker caught eight balls for 133 yards.
PICK: I’m going to take Charlotte in this one. The 49ers were pretty impressive in their opener overall, with a 10-of-18 mark on third downs and a 35:19 time of possession. Charlotte did give up a ton of yardage (580) with most of it coming on the ground (352). Still, the offensive potential is there and should keep Charlotte in a lot of games this season.
As for the Bulldogs, they were down 20-6 after the first half in their opener and pretty much gave up on the rush (62 yards). The good news is that Gardner-Webb kept fighting through the passing game and ultimately put up 365 yards there. Still, I like the first-game effort from Charlotte and I think they’ll keep it going in this matchup.
