CHARLOTTE – The 2017 season has not been good to the Charlotte 49ers. In 2016, the 49ers went 3-5 in Conference USA play and hopes were high that this was the year that Charlotte would turn the corner and possibly secure the program's first-ever bowl bid. One of the teams that Charlotte defeated in 2016 was Florida Atlantic. The Owls, looking for a new direction, hired former Tennessee and USC coach Lane Kiffin and the results were exactly what the FAU fans were hoping for. So, when the 1-10 Forty-Niners and 8-3 Owls met up Saturday at Charlotte's Jerry Richardson Stadium, it was a tale of two teams heading in polar opposite directions and the scoreboard indicated so throughout the afternoon. By the final whistle, Florida Atlantic completed its undefeated conference slate with a 31-12 win over Charlotte and the 49ers were packing up equipment and looking towards the offseason.

Photo Credit: Ed Conway

Florida Atlantic opened the scoring with a first quarter, 6-yard run by Devin Singletary, the first of his two scores of the day. A Greg Joseph field goal and 20-yard pass from Jason Driskel to Kamrin Solomon saw the visitors with a 17-0 lead midway through the second quarter.

Charlotte tried to respond with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Hasaan Klugh to Benny LeMay, but a quick 41-yard strike from Driskel to Willie Wright shut down any chance at Charlotte keeping the momentum before the half. After Singletary's second touchdown of the day, Hasaan Klugh led Charlotte on the final scoring drive of the season and scored with a 6-yard run.

Notable North Carolinians

Benny LeMay (So., Butler) – scored the 49ers' first touchdown of the day, finished the season with 732 yards rushing
Hasaan Klugh (RS-Jr., Central Cabarrus) – ran for the 49ers' last touchdown of the 2017 season, finished the season with nine rushing TDs, ten passing TDs, and 1529 passing yards
Jeff Gemmell (RS-So., Heritage) – had thirteen tackles on the day, making it six straight games with double-digit tackles.

What the Coaches are Saying

Charlotte coach Brad Lambert

I told the seniors thank you, they believed when no else did. I really appreciate all they have done, how hard they've worked. This week in practice was a good a week as we've had, getting ready for a good football team that just won our division. We had some opportunities to win some games. We've got to look at what we're doing in the offseason because the one that that really hurt was untimely penalties. Those are drive killers for us. I like where we are. I don't like our record, though. There's 25 guys in the junior class who are coming back. I challenged them this week. This game means a lot for 2018. Every game is meaningful and all wins count.

Worth Noting

Charlotte celebrated senior day at today's game. The 2017 class include the program's all-time leading punter, all-time leading kick returner, a pair of all-time games played record holders and a 1500-yard receiver

Next Week

Florida Atlantic will host North Texas in the Conference USA championship game while Charlotte has completed its 2017 season.

THIRD ROUND SCORES

1A
East
#1 North Duplin 42, #5 Pamlico 14
#6 Plymouth 14, #2 Northampton 8
West
#1 Mitchell 45, #5 Robbinsville 25
#2 Cherokee 47, #3 Thomas Jefferson 20

1AA
East
#1 Tarboro 48, #5 West Montgomery 3
#2 Edenton Holmes 49, #6 Lakewood 7
West
#1 Mount Airy 38, #4 Bessemer City 16
#6 Murphy 49, #7 East Surry 27


2A
East
#5 Wallace-Rose Hill 63, #1 Northeastern 52
#3 Southwest Onslow 30, #2 East Bladen 13
West
#1 Reidsville 28, #4 South Columbus 0
#2 Mountain Heritage 30, #3 Hendersonville 20


2AA
East
#1 East Duplin 21, #4 Randleman 13
#2 North Davidson 35, #3 South Granville 19
West
#8 Shelby 7, #4 Mount Pleasant 0
#2 Hibriten 37, #3 Franklin 7


3A
East
#1 Western Alamance 38, #5 Jacksonville 7
#2 Havelock 49, #3 Southern Nash 39
West
#1 Charlotte Catholic 42, #5 Weddington 7
#3 Jay M. Robinson 47, #2 Kings Mountain 46 (OT)


3AA
East
#4 Eastern Guilford 38, #1 Clayton 31
#2 New Hanover 41, #11 Cape Fear 38
West
#12 Sun Valley 27, #1 Mount Tabor 20
#2 A.C. Reynolds 17, #3 South Iredell 7


4A
East
#1 Scotland 74, #4 South Central 34
#2 Hoggard 20, #6 Heritage 8
West
#1 Harding University 36, #5 East Forsyth 7
#6 Vance 49, #7 Hickory Ridge 21


4AA
East
#1 Wake Forest 35, #4 Sanderson 7
#3 Garner 56, #2 Green Hope 39
West
#1 Mallard Creek 9, #4 Page 5
#7 Hough 39, #6 Myers Park 17

REGIONAL FINALS

1A
East
#1 North Duplin vs. #6 Plymouth
West
#1 Mitchell vs. #2 Cherokee

1AA
East
#1 Tarboro vs. #2 Edenton Holmes
West
#1 Mount Airy vs. #6 Murphy

2A
East
#3 Southwest Onslow vs. #5 Wallace-Rose Hill
West
#1 Reidsville vs. #2 Mountain Heritage

2AA
East
#1 East Duplin vs. #2 North Davidson
West
#2 Hibriten vs. #8 Shelby

3A
East
#1 Western Alamance vs. #2 Havelock
West
#1 Charlotte Catholic vs. #3 Jay M. Robinson

3AA
East
#2 New Hanover vs. #4 Eastern Guilford
West
#2 A.C. Reynolds vs. #12 Sun Valley

4A
East
#1 Scotland vs. #2 Hoggard
West
#1 Harding University vs. #6 Vance

4AA
East
#1 Wake Forest vs. #3 Garner
West
#1 Mallard Creek vs. #7 Hough

ECU will officially close out the 2017 season when it faces Memphis in an American Athletic Conference contest at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium on Saturday. The Pirates will try to finish league play in the same manner it started (win at UConn) when they square off against the West Division champion Tigers. Memphis has won six straight, including a 66-45 decision over SMU last week. ECU, which posted a 48-20 triumph over Cincinnati in its last outing, will also look to capture back-to-back victories for the second time in the Scottie Montgomery era.

Last Meeting

Sophomore Shane Carden passed for 308 yards and five touchdowns while the Pirate defense limited Memphis to only 148 total yards in the first three quarters as ECU posted a 41-7 Conference USA victory over the Tigers

Players to Watch

Gardner Minshew – in November, the junior quarterback tops all passers nationally in completions, stands fourth in passing yards and eighth in touchdowns
Austin Barnes – extended his streak of recording at least one punt of 50-plus yards to all 11 games this season; in all, 17 of his 50 punts in 2017 have traveled that distance and he’s placed 16 inside opponents’ 20-yard line
Darius Pinnix – has led ECU in rushing in three of the last six games; career-best 93 yards at UCF included a personal-long run of 57-yards in the first quarter (which remains ECU’s longest rush from scrimmage this season)

What the Coaches are Saying

ECU Coach Scotty Montgomery

“Memphis is a very, very talented football team that’s also coached well. We’ve been against speed before and this team is a fast team as well. This is probably the most skilled football team. We talk about speed a whole lot; this team has done a good job. Coach [Mike] Norvell has done a good job putting together a team that is skilled on offense. When you look at what [Riley] Ferguson is able to do with his arm, he extends plays and he has probably one of the more exciting players at receiver [Anthony] Miller. On tape he can stretch the field with speed, run exceptional routes, catch the quicks and make people miss. So we’ll have our hands full with him and we’re looking forward to the challenge." 

“They’ve done a really good job on defense of making sure that their offense always has the chance to keep the pressure on the team that they’re playing against. I think throughout the year you can see that they are playing with fewer returners on defense than they are on offense and they are continuing to get better. I see coach working both sides of the ball to play new people. But this is a football team that has played well, played with skill and will continue to get better. This is a team that you look at and from a skill standpoint, you have to get to this level to be able to compete for championships in this league and they’ve done a really, really good job at it.”

Worth Mentioning

In addition to 11 contests against the Tigers, ECU has visited Memphis on four other occasions for participation in the annual Liberty Bowl.
1994 St. Jude Liberty Bowl; Illinois 30, ECU 0 (Dec. 31, 1994)
1995 St. Jude Liberty Bowl; ECU 19, Stanford 13 (Dec. 30, 1995)
2009 AutoZone Liberty Bowl; Kentucky 25, ECU 19 (Jan. 2, 2009)
2010 AutoZone Liberty Bowl; Arkansas 20, ECU 17/OT (Jan. 2, 2010)

The Tar Heels and Wolfpack collide for the 107th time when North Carolina travels to NC State’s Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh. The Tar Heels hold an overall edge in the series 66-34-6, but the Wolfpack have won seven of the last 10 meetings between the arch-rivals, including a 28-21 win last year in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels have won the last two meetings in Raleigh, including a 45-34 decision two years ago that wrapped up an unbeaten regular season in ACC play. UNC leads 35-29 in all-time ACC meetings and is 29-15-4 versus NC State in Raleigh. The series began with a home-and-home set in 1894, and the teams have met every year since joining the ACC as fellow charter members in 1953.

Carter-Finley Stadium

Last Year

NC State jumped out to a 21-0 lead in last year’s game and never allowed UNC to pull even. The Wolfpack was led by versatile Jaylen Samuels, who ran for one touchdown and threw for another on a trick play, and earned bowl eligibility with the road win.

Players to Watch

North Carolina
Anthony Ratliff-Williams – sophomore wide receiver has returned two kickoffs for touchdowns this season; threw a TD pass, scored on a kickoff return, and caught a receiving TD against Pitt two weeks ago

NC State
Bradley Chubb – defensive end ranks second in the nation in tackles for loss, averaging 2.2 per game. He is also seventh nationally in quarterback sacks, averaging 0.91 per game; named a player of Interest for the 2017 Walter Camp National Player of the Year award.

What the Coaches are Saying

Larry Fedora (43-33 in sixth season at North Carolina; 77-52 in 10th season overall)

“I think what our team has done, under the circumstances, is play extremely hard. We’re starting to make fewer mistakes. I think a lot of the young guys who are playing are making fewer mistakes, and we’re able to overcome the ones we are (making). So, we’re playing better as a football team right now. And I do like the way we’re playing at this point going into this last game.”

Dave Doeren (32-30 in fifth season at NC State; 56-33 in seventh season overall)

“Last home game for a great group of seniors, a very special group of young men and 20 guys we get to honor on senior day this week… A special group of young men, it’s been fun and rewarding to be a part of the journey with them. As much as it is rivalry week, to us as a staff and a football team it’s senior week, which is huge for these young men. It’s a chance for them to come out of the tunnel in Carter-Finley Stadium one more time and see their loved ones on the 50-yard line. All of that is very special to me and these players, we look forward to doing everything we can to play our best football in this game."

North Carolina (3-8, 1-6 ACC) at NC State (7-4, 5-2 ACC)

Carter Finley Stadium (Raleigh, NC)
3:30 pm

In the second-oldest gridiron series in the ACC, Duke and Wake Forest meet for the 98th time, when the Blue Devils travel to BB&T Stadium in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest’s 24-14 win in Durham last year snapped a four-game Blue Devil winning streak in the series, but from 2000-2011 Wake won 12 straight games. That matches the longest streak in the series, which began with a neutral site meeting in Raleigh in 1889. Duke also won 12 straight from 1952 through 1963 (and led 14-0-1 in a stretch of 15 games from 1927 through 1941). The Blue Devils hold a 34-28-1 all-time lead in ACC games and a 22-14-1 lead in games played in Winston-Salem.

BB&T Field

Last Year

Freshman Cade Carney rushed for 108 yards and three touchdowns in the Demon Deacons’ 24-14 win. Carney became the first Wake Forest freshman since Chris Barclay in 2002 to post a three-touchdown game.

Players to Watch

Wake Forest
John Wolford – quarterback leads the ACC and is seventh nationally in pass efficiency (163.5) and became the first ever Wake Forest player to amass 8,000 career passing yards and 1,000 career rushing yards.
Cam Serigne – tight end now holds ACC records for most career receptions and receiving yards by a tight end and is tied for most touchdown receptions. Serigne has 155 catches for 1,941 yards and 20 TDs. He is tied with Virginia Tech’s Bucky Hodges and Virginia’s Heath Miller for the ACC touchdown record.

Duke
Shaun Wilson – running back ranks second in the conference in all-purpose yards per game (135.5) and sits just nine yards shy of becoming the first player in Duke history to post multiple seasons with 1,500+ all-purpose yards
T.J. Rahming – wide receiver is 44 receiving yards shy of becoming the 10th player in school history to reach the 2,000-yard plateau

What the Coaches are Saying

David Cutcliffe (57-67 in 10th season at Duke; 101-96 in 17th season overall)

“Wake Forest has a multitude of reasons they’re successful. One, they’ve got talent. Two, they’re well coached. Three, it’s all phases. They’re effective in the kicking game. They’re effective on defense. They’re certainly effective on offense. They have a quarterback playing as well as maybe any quarterback in the country. He’s just consistent. He’s a pure playmaker and he has good players around him.”

Dave Clawson (20-27 in fourth season at Wake Forest; 110-107 in 18th season overall)

“Duke accomplished something we didn’t in beating Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech beat us by two scores. Duke completely outplayed them in the second half. Duke’s a good football team. They beat Northwestern, who might finish the season 9-3 and nationally ranked. These are two teams where the talent level is somewhat equal. Duke has lost a number of heartbreaking, one-score games. They lost to Army in a one-score game, Pitt in a one-score game, Florida State in a one-score game and we’ve been fortunate that we’ve found ways to win those games. The margin of winning and losing is very small. They were 4-0 like we were and they lost some really heartbreaking games. We found a way to win some of those.”

Duke (5-6, 2-5 ACC) at Wake Forest (7-4, 4-3 ACC)

BB&T Field (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
Kickoff: 12:30

ELON – Senior Day at Rhodes Stadium was a sunny, yet chilly one that celebrated ten departing Elon football players. The Phoenix, thriving this season under new coach Curt Cignetti, were taking on the defending conference and national champions in the James Madison Dukes. Elon was looking for its first win against James Madison in a game where the winner would hoist the Colonial Athletic Association football championship trophy. Elon (8-3, 6-2) did not emerge victorious, however, as the Dukes (11-0, 8-0) won 31-3 to clinch at least a share of the CAA title for the third year in a row.


The first quarter was filled with mistimed passes and muffled runs for both teams. James Madison had a good drive, but it ended when Connor Christiansen stepped in front of a pass at the 4-yard line. As was the case for most of the day, Elon couldn't move the ball against a stout JMU defense. It took an Ethan Ratke 19-yard field goal to break the tie late in the first quarter.

The second and third quarters were the Bryan Schor show for James Madison. The senior quarterback was able to move the chains with his arms and legs, throwing for over 120 yards and rushing for two scores. The Dukes' defense wanted in on the scoring action, and when D'Angelo Amos blocked an Elon punt and returned it to the house, James Madison had a commanding 24-0 lead.

Elon finally got on the board early in the fourth quarter with a 30-yard Owen Johnson field goal, but it was too little, too late as Schor added another touchdown, his third of the day, to close out the scoring and the visiting Dukes left Elon with a twenty-eight point victory.

Notable North Carolinians

Trai Sharp (Jr., Carrboro) ran for 68 yards for the Dukes and caught three passes for 15 yards
Chris Blair (Sr., East Forsyth) led Elon with nine tackles and was a presence in the defensive backfield
McAllister Ingram (Fr., Ledford) had eight tackles and had a big hit on a punt return

Next Week

Both schools are waiting to see for the FCS playoff brackets to be released. James Madison has the auto-bid from the CAA while Elon is hoping for an at-large bid.

SECOND ROUND SCORES

1A  
East  
#1 North Duplin 35, #8 Southside 6
#5 Pamlico County 53, #4 Columbia 8
#6 Plymouth 38, #3 South Robeson 14
#2 Northampton County 20, #7 Southeast Halifax 0
West  
#1 Mitchell 67, #9 Community School of Davidson 21
#5 Robbinsville 46, #4 Mountain Island Charter 34
#3 Thomas Jefferson 55, #6 Elkin 34
#2 Cherokee 58, #7 Union Academy 35

1AA  
East  
#1 Tarboro 56, #8 Riverside-Martin 7
#5 West Montgomery 45, #4 Granville Central 0
#6 Lakewood 41, #3 East Carteret 40
#2 John A. Holmes 42, #7 Manteo 13
West  
#1 Mount Airy 42, #8 Polk County 20
#4 Bessemer City 26, #5 Swain County 21
#6 Murphy 49, #3 North Stanly 35
#7 East Surry 49, #2 East Wilkes 36

2A  
East  
#1 Northeastern 35, #9 Clinton 0
#5 Wallace-Rose Hill 56, #4 Beddingfield 0
#3 Southwest Onslow 63, #6 SouthWest Edgecombe 28
#2 East Bladen 68, #10 Greene Central 28
West  
#1 Reidsville 39, #9 East Montgomery 17
#4 South Columbus 47, #12 Lincolnton 14
#3 Hendersonville 56, #11 Red Springs 14
#2 Mountain Heritage 52, #7 Whiteville 44

2AA  
East  
#1 East Duplin 49, #9 West Stokes 14
#4 Randleman 57, #5 Nash Central 19
#3 South Granville 50, #6 West Craven 12
#2 North Davidson 17, #7 Ledford 10
West  
#8 Shelby 33, #1 South Point 23
#4 Mount Pleasant 28, #12 Fred T. Foard 14
#3 Franklin 14, #11 Pisgah 7
#2 Hibriten 35, #10 Patton 0

3A  
East  
#1 Western Alamance 45, #8 Fike 14
#5 Jacksonville 42, #4 Terry Sanford 41
#3 Southern Nash 62, #6 Eastern Alamance 20
#2 Havelock 56, #7 E.E. Smith 7
West  
#1 Charlotte Catholic 42, #8 Stuart Cramer 7
#5 Weddington 31, #4 Hunter Huss 13
#3 Jay M. Robinson 24, #6 Crest 21
#2 Kings Mountain 53, #7 Rockingham County 7

3AA  
East  
#1 Clayton 40, #8 Cleveland 35
#4 Eastern Guilford 44, #5 D.H. Conley 29
#11 Cape Fear 24, #3 Lee County 7
#2 New Hanover 38, #10 Dudley 21
West   
#1 Mount Tabor 21, #8 Watauga 14
#12 Sun Valley 49, #13 Cuthbertson 14
#3 South Iredell 41, #6 A.L. Brown 21
#2 A.C. Reynolds 21, #7 Southwest Guilford 7

4A  
East  
#1 Scotland County 63, #9 Seventy-First 26
#4 South Central 64, #12 Knightdale 36
#6 Heritage 34, #3 Cardinal Gibbons 6
#2 Hoggard 63, #10 South View 20
West  
#1 Harding University 17, #8 Porter Ridge 10
#5 East Forsyth 23, #4 West Mecklenburg 20
#6 Vance 35, #3 Glenn 34
#7 Hickory Ridge 55, #2 South Caldwell 28

4AA  
East  
#1 Wake Forest 51, #9 Millbrook 13
#4 Sanderson 40, #5 Middle Creek 20
#3 Garner 31, #6 Pinecrest 21
#2 Green Hope 42, #7 Leesville Road 23
West  
#1 Mallard Creek 41, #9 North Mecklenburg 33
#4 Page 41, #5 Providence 16
#6 Myers Park 28, #3 Butler 24
#7 Hough 41, #2 West Forsyth 34

THIRD ROUND MATCHUPS