C-USA: Charlotte vs UTEP 10/1/22 College Football Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Charlotte 49ers and UTEP Miners clash Saturday in week 5 C-USA college football action from Jerry Richardson Stadium.

The UTEP Miners will look to build on their 27-10 upset win over Boise State last time out to improve to 2-3 on the year. Gavin Hardison has thrown for 1,093 yards, 3 touchdowns and 3 interceptions on 51.2% passing while Ronald Awatt has a team-high 277 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns to lead the Miners on the ground and Deion Hankins has 165 rushing yards as well. Tyrin Smith and Reynaldo Flores have combined for 53 receptions and 751 receiving yards so far this season to lead the Miners’ receiving group. On defense, Tyrice Knight has a team-high 44 total tackles and Kobe Hylton has 37 total tackles with Knight logging 25 solo tackles this season.

The Charlotte 49ers will look to bounce back from a 56-20 loss to South Carolina to fall to 1-4 on the year. Chris Reynolds has thrown for 740 yards, 9 touchdowns and 3 interceptions on 67.8% passing while Shadrick Byrd leads the 49ers with 195 rushing yards and ChaVon McEachern has 158 rushing yards as well this season. Elijah Spencer has a team-high 378 receiving yards while Grant DuBose has a team-high 29 grabs for 374 receiving yards and a team-high 5 touchdowns. Victor Tucker also has 27 grabs for 252 yards and 4 scores as well this year. On defense, Wayne Jones leads the 49ers with 38 total tackles while Amir Siddiq has a pair of sacks this season.

UTEP is 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games in October and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall while the under is 4-1 in their last 5 games against a team with a losing record. Charlotte is 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games overall and 0-4 ATS in their last 4 conference games while the over is 5-0 in their last 5 games against a team with a losing record.

I get the case to be made for Charlotte catching points at home as the 49ers have been a lot better with Chris Reynolds under center. The problem is that Reynolds can’t play both ways and the 49ers’ defense has been atrocious for much of this season, meaning it’s entirely possible that even the Miners could look semi-capable offensively against them. I really think it speaks volumes to how bad Charlotte’s been that they’re catching points at home against a sub-.500 UTEP team. Give me the Miners here.