How did Charlotte 49ers fare in Conference USA preseason poll?

The Charlotte 49ers, coming off a 1-11 season in 2017, have been picked to finish seventh in the seven-team Conference USA East Division in the league’s preseason football media poll.

Defending C-USA champion Florida Atlantic was the choice to win the East, and North Texas was picked to repeat as the winner in the West.

FAU, which has a 10-game winning streak (longest in the nation), has 15 starters returning. North Texas has 17 starters back, including quarterback Nathan Fine, last season’s offensive player of the year in the conference.

FAU received 22 first-place votes and was followed in the voting by Marshall, Middle Tennessee, Florida International, Western Kentucky, Old Dominion and Charlotte.

North Texas received 18 first-place votes in the West, followed by Louisiana Tech, Ala.-Birmingham, Southern Mississippi, Texas-San Antonio and Rice and Texas-El Paso (tied for sixth).

The 49ers open their season Sept. 1 against Fordham at Richardson Stadium.

This story was originally published July 17, 2018 at 1:19 PM.