Charlotte is going to be quite shorthanded against James Madison on Saturday.
49ers coach Biff Poggi said this week that his team could be without as many as nine of its 22 starters on either side of the ball for Charlotte’s season opener. And he blamed himself for why the team has so many key players injured ahead of the season, insinuating that he pushed his players too hard in their preseason practices.
From the Charlotte Observer:
“I’m not great at math, but it’s getting close to 50% (of starters),” Poggi said. “I feel very bad for those kids, but I know the young people who get an opportunity to play will play hard. And I take responsibility for that as the head football coach.
“When you open with JMU — a program that’s 19-4 over the last couple of years — you get a little overzealous, and you have to balance between that callous that you want the players to have, and getting them healthy. And I get an F-minus on that.”
Poggi said he hoped all the players would be back by the time conference play starts at the end of September against Rice. After the Week 1 game against James Madison, Charlotte goes to North Carolina before hosting FCS opponent Gardner-Webb in Week 3.
The 49ers then play at Indiana in Week 4 before they have eight American Athletic Conference games to finish the season. You don’t need us to tell you it won’t be easy for the 49ers against a James Madison team that’s been exceptional in its two seasons at the top level of college football and on the road against two power conference opponents. A 1-3 record feels like the reasonable outcome for Charlotte heading into conference play.
From there, Charlotte would need to find three more wins in conference play to improve on last season’s record. The 49ers were 3-9 in the former Michigan assistant’s first season in charge.
