Charlotte 49ers Gameday

Florida Atlantic (0-3, 0-0) at Charlotte (2-1, 0-1)

7:05 p.m., Jerry Richardson Stadium, Charlotte.

TV: WCCB (Charlotte cable channel 11, digital channel 1212)

Radio: WFNZ, 610. Pregame show at 6 p.m.

Weather: Cloudy with light drizzle possible. Temperatures in upper 60s.

Scouting Florida Atlantic

The Owls split their rushing and passing yardage fairly evenly, and they’ve had a strong offense this season, averaging 209 yards a game on the ground and 271 in the air … Turnovers have been a big problem, with four interceptions and six lost fumbles … While the Florida Atlantic defense is dominated by veterans, a pair of freshmen are among the leading tacklers – linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (11 tackles last week against Buffalo) and safety Jalen Young (eight tackles and an interception last week) … The leading receiver is Jenson Stoshak, who had more than 100 yards in receptions against both Tulsa and Buffalo.

Matchup to watch

Charlotte receivers Austin Duke, Uriah LeMay and Trent Bostick against Florida Atlantic defensive backs Jalen Young and Sharrod Neasman. The lack of a big-play offense last week was among several 49ers problems in the 73-14 loss to Middle Tennessee State. Breaking some big plays will put pressure on an Owls offense that has been prone to mistakes.

Observations

<bullet>Florida Atlantic had almost a 2-to-1 total yardage edge over Buffalo last week, but coach Charlie Partridge says turnovers (two interceptions, three lost fumbles) are the reason the Owls lost 33-15.

<bullet>It was the same story for Florida Atlantic its 44-20 loss to Miami. The Owls trailed 20-17 at the half but fell victim to five turnovers.

<bullet>While an assistant coach at Wisconsin, Partridge was special teams coach and oversaw Brad Nortman, now the Carolina Panthers’ punter. Florida Atlantic’s current punter, Dalton Schump,averages 48.5 yards a kick.

<bullet>At age 41, Partridge is the eighth-youngest head coach in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The youngest is 34-year-old P.J. Fleck at Western Michigan.

<bullet>The 49ers will wear black uniforms, and fans are being encouraged to wear all black to Charlotte’s first home night game.

By the numbers

0 Number of night games and Conference USA games played before Saturday night at Richardson Stadium.

5 Quarterbacks who could play in the game. Florida Atlantic has alternated Jaquez Johnson and Jason Driskel. The 49ers have used Matt Johnson, Brooks Barden and Lee McNeill.

89 Opponents’ scoring percentage inside the 49ers’ red zone (five touchdowns, three field goals in nine incursions). Charlotte has scored 67 percent of the time in the red zone.

This story was originally published September 25, 2015 at 5:08 PM with the headline "Charlotte 49ers Gameday."