Most of the college football world has turned its attention to next week’s hugely anticipated matchup between No. 8 LSU and No. 9 Ole Miss. But there’s still a game to be played before that circus opens up.
The Rebels will host Charlotte on Saturday in what should be a fairly easy win. The 49ers are coming off a triple overtime loss to The Citadel, which isn’t exactly the confidence-boosting, upset-motivation they’d like to have coming into Vaught Hemingway Stadium.
Earlier this week, Charlotte coach Tim Alpin held his weekly press conference. While a large portion was spent talking about his team’s performance, Alpin was asked about Ole Miss a few times. Here’s everything he said.
Tim Alpin, Head Coach
On the challenge of facing Ole Miss…
It’s a huge challenge. I was just talking with Joe before today’s press conference. This will be our third College Football Playoff team in the last four games, with Tulane, Georgia and Ole Miss. Obviously, they had a great year. The quarterback, Chambliss, is the best one I’ve ever faced in my 38 years. He’s electric. He makes all the throws, creates plays and extends plays. You go back to that Georgia game last year, and he’s the best player in the country, bar none. Then you take his position coach, Joe Judge, and his experience. I don’t know Joe, but obviously that’s a great combination. He has a great coach, and he’s surrounded by playmakers. Their receiver, No. 1, had a big night against Louisville, and they have a good running game, which is a quarterback’s best friend. That’s going to be a huge challenge. Defensively, it’s the speed of their defense. I think they returned maybe four guys on defense and brought in a group of transfers, but the speed is going to be a huge challenge, and of course, the crowd. We fear none and respect them all, and we’re looking forward to this week.
On the opportunity for Charlotte to face a Power Four opponent…
Obviously, these games are part of being a Group of Six program. I think every Group of Six school plays at least one Power Four opponent. Some programs choose to play more than one, and Ole Miss is ours. Last year we played two. I think it’s a great opportunity for us to showcase UNC Charlotte on a big stage. With it being on linear television, I think it’s great exposure for the Queen City, and we’re excited about it.
On improving the tackling before facing Ole Miss…
Like I said earlier, we know we’re going to see better, so we’re going to have some challenges with guys in space. I think it comes back to the fundamentals. Our tackling in the first half was pretty good. The one explosive was a scramble, but the explosives in the second half are where we have to improve. Is it conditioning? We don’t think it’s conditioning, but Nate brought up that we normally do our tackling technique and tackling circuit early in practice. We’re going to move it toward the end, after they’ve gone through a practice, and see if that helps. When you face the types of athletes we’re going to see this week, you can be perfect technique-wise and they’re still really good players, so it’ll be a huge challenge.
On playing the Power Four game early in the season…
If I had the chance to pick it, you want to do it early — Week 0 or Week 1 — and get on with it. Ours is early, and now it’s here. I think the benefits outweigh playing it late. I think I voiced that going into the Georgia game. We’re looking forward to our first road trip as a football team with all of our new players. We just have to improve. We have to get better.
