FAU vs Charlotte Odds, Prediction: Can 49ers Cover?

[gamematchup league=”ncaaf” awaylogo=”https://images.actionnetwork.com/blog/2021/11/2021-Florida-Atlantic-Owls-Logo-100.png” awayname=”Florida Atlantic” awayslug=”florida-atlantic-owls” homelogo=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/316938_charlotte.png” homename=”Charlotte” homeslug=”charlotte-49ers” date=”Friday, Oct. 27″ time=”7:30 p.m. ET” network=”ESPN2″ col1text=”Spread” col2text=”Total” col3text=”Moneyline” col1awaytext=”-3.5″ col1awayline=”-110″ col1hometext=”+3.5″ col1homeline=”-110″ col2awaytext=”45″ col2hometext=”45″ col2awayline=”-105o / -115u” col2homeline=”-105o / -115u” col3awaytext=”-165″ col3hometext=”+140″ col3awayline=”” col3homeLine=”” bookname=”BetMGM” bookthumbnaillogo=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/902516_MGM2.png” bookreviewslug=”betmgm”][/gamematchup]

The Charlotte 49ers welcome the Florida Atlantic Owls into Jerry Richardson Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, for a Week 9 American Athletic Conference bout.

The Owls enter this game after a loss at the hands of UTSA, so they will look to make things right and get back to .500 on the season, as they currently sit at 3-4.

The 49ers look to build on their second win of the year following a road victory at East Carolina last week. Charlotte currently sits at 2-5 on the year and will hope to make a run at a bowl if it can pull off a victory.

Can the 49ers get it done as a home underdog against a battle-tested FAU team? Let’s dive into the FAU vs. Charlotte odds and make a prediction and pick for Friday, Oct. 27.

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[subheader sizedown=”false” center=”false” text=”Florida Atlantic Owls” subtext=”” logo1url=”https://images.actionnetwork.com/blog/2021/11/2021-Florida-Atlantic-Owls-Logo-100.png” link1=”https://www.actionnetwork.com/ncaaf/odds/florida-atlantic-owls” link1follow=”false”][/subheader]

After missing out on a bowl game last season, the Owls have a solid chance of bowling this season. They currently sit at 3-4, and they have a prime opportunity to get to 4-4 this week as a road favorite.

The Owls are 2-1 in conference play thus far with wins over USF and Tulsa. Both of those teams are .500 or lower in conference play, and Charlotte also belongs in the sub .500 group in this conference.

The Owls offense has been solid this season (24 PPG), but it hasn’t been as efficient as it needs to be in order to get to the postseason. They rank 120th in the run game and 83rd in the pass game.

They love to throw the ball, coming in at 22nd in pass play rate. That has helped their run game immensely in terms of the explosive plays.

The run game ranks 30th in Explosiveness as a direct result of opposing teams keying in on the pass attack. The Owls will need to find some big plays on the ground this week if they hope to win this one, especially after rushing for only 20 yards and throwing for only 142 yards last week.

Quarterback Daniel Richardson will have to be better than he was last week after committing two turnovers.

FAU has been a bit better defensively (allowing 25 PPG), but its overall Success Rate is 98th in the country. This number may look a little bit worse than it actually is given the tough tests the Owls have had this year, namely at Illinois and at Clemson.

Tom Herman will need his defense to start improving these metrics in order to get this team back on track for the postseason.

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[subheader sizedown=”false” center=”false” text=”Charlotte 49ers” subtext=”” logo1url=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/316938_charlotte.png” link1=”https://www.actionnetwork.com/ncaaf/odds/charlotte-49ers” link1follow=”false”][/subheader]

The Charlotte 49ers badly need a win this week to help get themselves out of a 2-5 hole. Head coach Biff Poggi will have to have his team ready to go this week after building some momentum at East Carolina.

This should prove to be a tough but fair test for the 49ers given the conference games they’ve already played.

The quarterback play for the 49ers is alarming, given that they have utilized two different signal-callers this season and both have four touchdowns-to-eight interceptions. This team sits at -6 in the turnover battle because of the numerous interceptions.

Charlotte will need to find some big plays on the ground since it loves to run the ball at the 26th-highest rate. The 49ers find some explosive plays in their run game and sit 16th in run-game Explosiveness.

The passing game is obviously rough due to turnovers, and the fact is that they rank 113th in Passing Success Rate. The 49ers will need to find some room on the ground if they have any hopes of keeping this one close.

Defensively, this team has been very fundamentally sound. The 49ers currently have the 29th-best pass defense and the 42nd-best run defense.

This team allows only 22 points per game, and it would be even lower if it didn’t rank 111th in average starting field position due to the offense’s lack of ability to hang onto the football.

Fortunately for the Niners, this defense can force some turnovers to somewhat cover up the offense’s 16 interceptions. Charlotte will need to grab some takeaways again in this one if it has any hopes of beating a solid FAU team.

[subheader sizedown=”false” text=”Florida Atlantic vs Charlotte” subtext=”Matchup Analysis” center=”false” logo1url=”https://images.actionnetwork.com/blog/2021/11/2021-Florida-Atlantic-Owls-Logo-100.png” link1=”https://www.actionnetwork.com/ncaaf/odds/florida-atlantic-owls” link1follow=”false” logo2url=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/316938_charlotte.png” link2=”https://www.actionnetwork.com/ncaaf/odds/charlotte-49ers” link2follow=”false”][/subheader]

Toggle the dropdowns below to hide or show how Florida Atlantic and Charlotte match up statistically:

Florida Atlantic Offense vs. Charlotte Defense

	[teamlogo linktoteampage=”false” league=”ncaaf” fullname=”Florida Atlantic Owls” logo=”https://images.actionnetwork.com/blog/2021/11/2021-Florida-Atlantic-Owls-Logo-100.png” slug=”florida-atlantic-owls”][/teamlogo] Offense	[teamlogo linktoteampage=”false” league=”ncaaf” fullname=”Charlotte 49ers” logo=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/316938_charlotte.png” slug=”charlotte-49ers”][/teamlogo] Defense	[teamlogo linktoteampage=”false” league=”ncaaf” fullname=”Combined” logo=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/252389_action-logo-check.png” slug=””][/teamlogo] Edge
Rush Success	120	42	[teamlogo linktoteampage=”false” league=”ncaaf” fullname=”Charlotte” logo=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/316938_charlotte.png”][/teamlogo]
Line Yards	67	42	[teamlogo linktoteampage=”false” league=”ncaaf” fullname=”Charlotte” logo=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/316938_charlotte.png”][/teamlogo]
Pass Success	83	52	[teamlogo linktoteampage=”false” league=”ncaaf” fullname=”Charlotte” logo=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/316938_charlotte.png”][/teamlogo]
Havoc	110	122	[teamlogo linktoteampage=”false” league=”ncaaf” fullname=”Florida Atlantic” logo=”https://images.actionnetwork.com/blog/2021/11/2021-Florida-Atlantic-Owls-Logo-100.png”][/teamlogo]
Finishing Drives	104	58	[teamlogo linktoteampage=”false” league=”ncaaf” fullname=”Charlotte” logo=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/316938_charlotte.png”][/teamlogo]
Quality Drives	101	78	[teamlogo linktoteampage=”false” league=”ncaaf” fullname=”Charlotte” logo=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/316938_charlotte.png”][/teamlogo]

Charlotte Offense vs. Florida Atlantic Defense

	[teamlogo linktoteampage=”false” league=”ncaaf” fullname=”Charlotte 49ers” logo=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/316938_charlotte.png” slug=”charlotte-49ers”][/teamlogo] Offense	[teamlogo linktoteampage=”false” league=”ncaaf” fullname=”Florida Atlantic Owls” logo=”https://images.actionnetwork.com/blog/2021/11/2021-Florida-Atlantic-Owls-Logo-100.png” slug=”florida-atlantic-owls”][/teamlogo] Defense	[teamlogo linktoteampage=”false” league=”ncaaf” fullname=”Combined” logo=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/252389_action-logo-check.png” slug=””][/teamlogo] Edge
Rush Success	126	90	[teamlogo linktoteampage=”false” league=”ncaaf” fullname=”Florida Atlantic” logo=”https://images.actionnetwork.com/blog/2021/11/2021-Florida-Atlantic-Owls-Logo-100.png”][/teamlogo]
Line Yards	103	104	[teamlogo linktoteampage=”false” league=”ncaaf” fullname=”Draw” logo=”https://images.actionnetwork.com/blog/2021/08/Minus.png”][/teamlogo]
Pass Success	113	78	[teamlogo linktoteampage=”false” league=”ncaaf” fullname=”Florida Atlantic” logo=”https://images.actionnetwork.com/blog/2021/11/2021-Florida-Atlantic-Owls-Logo-100.png”][/teamlogo]
Havoc	128	118	[teamlogo linktoteampage=”false” league=”ncaaf” fullname=”Florida Atlantic” logo=”https://images.actionnetwork.com/blog/2021/11/2021-Florida-Atlantic-Owls-Logo-100.png”][/teamlogo]
Finishing Drives	130	74	[teamlogo linktoteampage=”false” league=”ncaaf” fullname=”Florida Atlantic” logo=”https://images.actionnetwork.com/blog/2021/11/2021-Florida-Atlantic-Owls-Logo-100.png”][/teamlogo]
Quality Drives	126	48	[teamlogo linktoteampage=”false” league=”ncaaf” fullname=”Florida Atlantic” logo=”https://images.actionnetwork.com/blog/2021/11/2021-Florida-Atlantic-Owls-Logo-100.png”][/teamlogo]

Pace of Play / Other

	[teamlogo linktoteampage=”false” league=”ncaaf” fullname=”Florida Atlantic Owls” logo=”https://images.actionnetwork.com/blog/2021/11/2021-Florida-Atlantic-Owls-Logo-100.png” slug=”florida-atlantic-owls”][/teamlogo]	[teamlogo linktoteampage=”false” league=”ncaaf” fullname=”Charlotte 49ers” logo=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/316938_charlotte.png”][/teamlogo]
PFF Tackling	8	106
PFF Coverage	53	83
Special Teams SP+	94	128
Middle 8	125	85
Seconds per Play	24.7 (27)	30.5 (125)
Rush Rate	45.1% (116)	60.4% (26)

[subheader sizedown=”false” text=”Florida Atlantic vs Charlotte” subtext=”Betting Pick & Prediction” center=”false” logo1url=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/252389_action-logo-check.png”][/subheader]

This game should be a defensive slugfest that will ultimately come down to who can take care of the ball better. After all, turnovers have been an issue for both passing attacks.

With the issues FAU had last week, I’m thinking Charlotte will win the turnover battle to help keep this one close.

I’ll take Charlotte +4.

[quickslip picktext=”Pick: Charlotte +4 (Play to +3)” linktext=”Bet Charlotte at FanDuel With QuickSlip” link=”https://switchboard.actionnetwork.com/v1/deeplink?marketId=42.401318301&selectionId=10159490&context=qs-articles” linkfollow=”false” bookthumbnaillogo=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/392973_FanDuel.png”][/quickslip]