By Steve Irvine
November 7, 2026 - BIRMINGHAM, AL
CHARLOTTE (1-7 OVERALL, 1-3 AMERICAN) AT UAB (4-4 OVERALL, 2-2 AMERICAN)
PROTECTIVE STADIUM
SATURDAY, 2:30 P.M. CST, ESPN PLUS
When Charlotte has the ball: Charlotte’s offense dug its way out of the mud a little bit over the past three weeks with former Thompson High standout Conner Harrell taking over for Cole Gonzales as the team’s starter at quarterback. However, is it running back Henry Rutledge fueling the offense right now? Rutledge, a 5-foot-8, 185-pound fifth year running back is coming off rushing games of 123 and 121 yards. It’s the first time since 2019 that Charlotte had a rusher gain 100 yards in back-to-back games. In those two games – a win over Temple and loss to Tulane – Charlotte had 168 and 216 yards on the ground. The only other time that Charlotte ran the ball with that type of success came in a season-opening triple overtime loss to The Citadel when the 49ers had 216 rushing yards. The running game has been the best way to attack a UAB defense that allows 190 rushing yards per game. Overall, the 49ers average 124 rushing yards per game but maybe they’ve figured something out the past two games. Perhaps the success in the passing game has opened up the rush for Charlotte. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Harrell is 61-of-89, which is a 68.5 completion percentage, for 738 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions in his three games as a starter. He will look to get the football out quickly, partly because that’s what the 49ers generally do in the passing and partly to keep Marlin Dean and the UAB pass rush for having too much of an impact. The 6-foot-5, 240-pound Dean is coming off a game where he had 2.5 sacks in a loss at USF. Dean leads the American Conference with 7.5 sacks and Pro Football Focus credits Dean with 10 sacks, four quarterback hits and 14 quarterback hurries. Charlotte quarterbacks were sacked 16 times in eight games with 10 of those coming in the past three games. If they don’t fix that then Harrell could have a tough time getting the ball to wide receivers Jaden Barnes (48-462, TD), Jaylen Hampton (26-311, 2 TDs) and Derrick Eley (23-409, 4 TDs).
When UAB has the ball: Charlotte is last in the American Conference in points allowed per game (40.3) and passing yards allowed per game (278.8), 13th in total defense (465.3 ypg) and nine in rushing defense (186.6 ypg). The Citadel gained 400 yards and scored 43 points in a triple overtime win over Charlotte in the season opener. The Citadel is 108th among 124 teams in total offense (294.6 ypg) and 107th in scoring offense (18.6 ppg). Is the Charlotte defense the perfect remedy for a UAB offense that stumbled through last week’s loss at South Florida and has yet to put together a full game? Perhaps so but only if the Blazers can control the line of scrimmage. Center Adam Lepkowski said earlier this week that he’s above 70 percent healthy from injuries that kept him out of the last 2 ½ games. Getting him back healthy would boost an offensive line that desperately needs improvement. USF defensive end C.J. Hicks had four sacks last Saturday in Tampa. Hicks is considered one of the better edge players in the American Conference but he had just one sack in six games coming into the game against UAB. Charlotte’s best edge rusher is 6-foot-2, 250-pound DJ Burgess, who is credited by PFF with two sacks, two quarterback hits and nine quarterback hurries. Quarterback Ryder Burton needs to help out by processing quickly and getting the ball out of his hands. Burton held the football too long in both of his fumbles that turned not defensive touchdowns against USF. Establishing the running game is the first task, as usual, for the UAB offense. The Blazers had 17 net rushing yards against USF but that included 48 yards lost due to sacks. Having first down and second down success is also critical for the UAB offense. Problems generally come if the Blazers face third-and-long situations.
Special teams: UAB’s Oliver Straw was selected to the midseason watch list for the Ray Guy Award, which is given to the country’s top punter. Straw is currently fourth in the American Conference with a 46.5 yard average. Thirteen of his 24 punts have traveled for more than 50 yards with a long punt of 59 yards. Straw had a 75-yard punt in last week’s loss at USF, which would have tied him with Trey Ragland and Lee Carter for the second longest punt in school history if it was not negated by penalties on both teams. Ross Stewart’s 78-yard punt in 2002 is in the longest in school history. Straw has placed nine punts inside the 20-yard line and has not kicked one into the end zone.
Trend to follow: UAB is the only team in the country without a red zone stop on defense. The Blazers allowed 17 touchdowns and eight field goals in red zone opportunities this season. On the other side, only four teams in the country have less red zone trips this season than the 19 for the Charlotte offense. The 49ers have 12 touchdowns and three field goals in the red zone. Charlotte’s defense allowed more red zone drives than any other American Conference team that has played eight games. Opponents are 35-of-37 in the red zone against the 49ers with 29 touchdowns and six field goals. UAB’s offense is 18-of-22 in the red zone with eight touchdowns and 10 field goals.
Hello my name is: Ty Mims. It just feels like the steady playmaker is ready to burst out after getting just two touches – one catch, one punt return – last weekend in Tampa.
How Charlotte wins: It begins with taking care of the football, continues with winning the running game on both sides of the ball and finishes with getting some big plays from Conner Harrell and the passing game. Charlotte is minus-10 in turnover ratio with 16 giveaways (9 interceptions, 7 lost fumbles). They won’t win if that continues on Saturday.
How UAB wins: Continue to play good defense, win the turnover battle, run the football with success and give Ryder Burton time to make things happen in the passing game.
Coach’s corner: Alex Mortensen is two wins away from finishing unbeaten at Protective Stadium in his first full season as the UAB head coach. Bill Clark is the only UAB head coach to finish unbeaten at home since the Blazers moved up to Division I-A (now FBS) in 1996. Clark did it three years in a row from 2017 to 2019 before losing to Louisiana on Oct. 23, 2020 in the Blazers final game at Legion Field.
One more thing: UAB almost always wins in the Children’s Harbor game. The only loss since the inception of the game honoring Children’s Harbor came in 2021 when Rice upset the Blazers, 30-24, at Protective Stadium. UAB won the other eight Children’s Harbor game, including memorable victories over Louisiana Tech in 2017 and Memphis last season.