Southern Mississippi at Charlotte 49ers Gameday

Southern Mississippi (4-3, 2-1) at Charlotte (2-4, 0-3)

Noon, Jerry Richardson Stadium.

TV: WCCB

Radio: WFNZ, 610 . Pregame show at 10 a.m.

Weather: Mix of sun and clouds, temperatures in upper 60s.

Scouting Southern Mississippi

The Golden Eagles feature a pair of strong running backs in Jalen Richard and Ito Smith, each of whom rushed for more than 100 yards in last week’s 32-10 victory over UTSA. … Southern Miss has accumulated twice as much yardage in the air than on the ground. Quarterback Nick Mullens averages 335 passing yards and is splitting most of the completions among five receivers. …Defensively, Southern Mississippi frequently blitzes and created big headaches for UTSA last week.

Matchup to watch

Charlotte quarterback Lee McNeill against Southern Mississippi cornerbacks Cornell Armstrong and Kalan Reed. Armstrong and Reed have three interceptions and 15 pass break-ups combined. Their pass coverage enabled the Golden Eagles to blitz frequently in recent games. If McNeill can find open receivers, it will allow the 49ers’ ground game to move more easily.

Observations

▪ This is homecoming for the 49ers. The school’s homecoming parade took place Friday night, however.

▪ Southern Mississippi’s career records for passing attempts, completions and yardage are held by the same player – some guy named Brett Favre. He played for the Golden Eagles from 1987-90 and, of course, had a successful NFL career.

▪ This is Southern Mississippi’s first visit to North Carolina since 2014, when the Golden Eagles lost 55-14 to East Carolina.

This story was originally published October 23, 2015 at 6:11 PM with the headline "Southern Mississippi at Charlotte 49ers Gameday."