With a loss last week to UTSA, the Bulldogs officially won’t be going bowling for the second straight season. But unless Colorado has South Florida on their schedule, this week's game might as well be called the "2022 Bad Defense Bowl."
Because out of 131 teams in FBS football, Charlotte ranks #128, and Tech ranks #129 in points allowed per game.
To try to counteract their poor defense, Charlotte has taken a unique approach. Knowing the offense is the strength of the team, interim head coach Peter Rossomando has elected to try to keep the unit on the field as long as possible. Even if that means going for it on fourth down much more often:
When the defense is giving up 41 points per game, choosing a fourth down attempt over a field goal try becomes a pretty easy decision. Field goals may help in low-scoring contests, but with how the Charlotte defense has been playing, the 49ers know they need to get the ball into the end zone.
And that’s why Charlotte has only attempted a single field goal in their 8 games against FBS competition this season:
That lone field goal attempt came last week against Middle Tennessee, a game that ended as a 24-14 loss for the 49ers. It was both the closest game of the season and the fewest total points scored in a game this season for the 49ers.
So depending on how the game goes, we will see one of two strategies from Charlotte. If both offenses perform as they should in the 2022 Bad Defense Bowl, the 49ers will likely elect to go for it on fourth down often.
If by some miracle the defenses are able to hold the other teams in check, Charlotte may elect to use their kicker Antonio Zita more often.
Either option ends up being good news for the Bulldogs. That solo field goal against MTSU ended up being blocked. And since the start of the 2021 season, Zita has only hit half of his other field goal tries (8 of 16).
But it’s also not like all those fourth down attempts have been too successful either for the 49ers:
The Bulldog defense has struggled to limit offenses on third and fourth down this season. While the 49er offense hasn't been overwhelmingly successful at converting, Tech will still need to find a way to make the stops, or else it could be a long afternoon in North Carolina.
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Nathan is also a contributor to gtpdd.dog, a lighthearted Louisiana Tech blog. Be sure to check out @gotechplsdntdie on Twitter.
