The Charlotte 49ers (3-4, 2-1 AAC) travel to take on the Memphis Tigers (6-1, 2-1) on Saturday, Oct. 26. The game kicks off at noon ET and can be seen live on ESPNU.
The 49ers are coming off a 51-17 drubbing at the hands of Navy — the only team that has put a blemish on Memphis' season thus far.
The Tigers, meanwhile, have rattled off three straight wins since their lone loss to the Midshipmen, with their latest being a 55-44 victory over North Texas in AAC play.
Memphis enters as an 18.5-point favorite in the contest with a posted total of 57.5.
So, where does the betting value lie between two 2-1 teams in the American Athletic Conference? Let's dive into my Charlotte vs. Memphis predictions and college football picks for Saturday, Oct. 26.
Charlotte vs Memphis Prediction, Picks
- Charlotte vs. Memphis Pick: Charlotte Team Total Under 20.5
My Memphis vs. Charlotte best bet is on the under, with the best line currently available at DraftKings, according to our live NCAAF odds page.
Charlotte vs Memphis Odds, Betting Line, Spread
| Charlotte Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+17.5 -110 | 57.5 -110o / -110u | +600 |
| Memphis Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-17.5 -110 | 57.5 -110o / -110u | -1000 |
- Charlotte vs Memphis Spread: Memphis -17.5
- Charlotte vs Memphis Over/Under: 57.5 Total Points
- Charlotte vs Memphis Moneyline: Memphis ML -1000, Charlotte ML +600
Charlotte vs Memphis NCAAF Week 9 Preview
Charlotte 49ers Betting Preview
Charlotte comes in after suffering a demoralizing blowout loss at Navy.
Turnovers really made it hard for Charlotte to compete in this one as it gave it up five times against the Mids defense — two of which were interception return touchdowns.
The onslaught was evident early as Navy was up 38-0 halfway through the second quarter and the game was never close in the second half.
Despite the woeful offensive performance, the Charlotte defense held Navy to a season-low 288 total yards and a respectable 4.1 yards-per-carry average.
The 49ers forced Navy punts on four of five second-half possessions and held Navy to 50 total second-half yards. There are a few positive takeaways from the performance on defense, but the offense is struggling right now to put drives together.
Memphis Tigers Betting Preview
Memphis comes in off a thrilling 52-44 home win last week against North Texas with its best offensive performance of the season — racking up to 526 total yards.
Quarterback Seth Henigan was efficient throwing for 319 yards and the ground game was paced by Mario Anderson Jr. who ran for 183 yards and four touchdowns.
While the offense thrived in the victory, the defense was exposed as the secondary gave up 445 pass yards against the Mean Green.
The Memphis stop unit had previously played pretty good football outside of the road trip to Navy, and I would expect the Tigers to have success this week against Charlotte.
Memphis vs Charlotte Matchup Analysis
Toggle the dropdowns below to hide or show how Memphis and Charlotte match up statistically:
Charlotte Offense vs. Memphis Defense
 |  Offense | Defense |  Edge |
| Rush Success | 116 | 58 | |
| Line Yards | 128 | 11 | |
| Pass Success | 113 | 48 | |
| Havoc | 125 | 9 | |
| Finishing Drives | 104 | 41 | |
| Quality Drives | 94 | 22 | |
Memphis Offense vs. Charlotte Defense
| Offense | Defense | Edge |
| Rush Success | 53 | 91 | |
| Line Yards | 65 | 83 | |
| Pass Success | 87 | 67 | |
| Havoc | 19 | 52 | |
| Finishing Drives | 35 | 74 | |
| Quality Drives | 20 | 113 | |
Pace of Play / Other
| | |
| PFF Tackling | 93 | 91 |
| PFF Coverage | 112 | 32 |
| Special Teams SP+ | 69 | 44 |
| Middle 8 | 115 | 94 |
| Seconds per Play | 28.6 (100) | 28.7 (101) |
| Rush Rate | 53% (95) | 44% (114) |
Charlotte vs Memphis Pick and Best Bet
I am taking Charlotte's team total under 20.5 in this matchup.
Memphis has played decent defensive football this year outside of the North Texas and Navy games. The Tigers have held five opponents under this total so far this season, and Memphis has some significant defensive advantages in this matchup.
Defensively, Memphis ranks fifth nationally in Defensive Havoc and has recorded 17 sacks and 52 tackles-for-loss on the season. The front seven has only yielded 118 rushing yards per game on average and Memphis defensively has forced 16 fumbles (nine fumble recoveries).
Charlotte struggles with allowing negative plays and ranks just 122nd nationally in Havoc allowed. Charlotte quarterbacks have been sacked 22 times this season and are completing just 55% of their passes with a 10:8 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Memphis has played its best on third down this year, allowing just 33% conversions (31-of-94), while Charlotte struggles to stay on the field on third down. The 49ers have converted just 29% of their third down attempts and are 7-of-18 on fourth down.
Charlotte has also struggled to cash in while in the red zone this year, scoring touchdowns on only 50% of its offensive trips inside the 20-yard line this season.
It's just 125th nationally in Offensive Finishing Drives, while Memphis defensively comes in at a respectable 56th in Defensive Finishing Drives.
Another key to watch here is Stuff Rate. Offensively, Charlotte is one of the worst teams in the country at getting stuffed at the line of scrimmage, and the offensive line has struggled to move defenders and create holes.
Charlotte ranks just 125th nationally in Offensive Stuff Rate and should find itself behind the chains a lot in this game.
It will be concerning for a team that cannot protect the quarterback from being in passing situations against this Memphis defensive front that has the ability to get to the quarterback.
We frequently think of Memphis as a high-flying offense throws the ball around and operates quickly, but that hasn’t been the case this year. Memphis has been much more methodical this season and is actually one of the slower-tempo teams this year while it has the ball.
The Tigers are averaging nearly 34 minutes of possession per game this year and are running the football much more frequently than in years past.
The passing offense has not been as explosive, ranking just 73rd nationally in both Offensive Passing Success Rate and Passing Explosiveness.
I expect this game to play out similarly to a few of the Tigers' games before North Texas.
Charlotte is a mess offensively and is rotating three quarterbacks due to injury and poor play. The 49ers have only scored more than 20 points in a game twice this season against FBS competition.
I can't see them doing well enough here to surpass their team total.
Pick: Charlotte Team Total Under 20.5 (Play to 19)
Charlotte vs Memphis Start Time, TV Channel, How to Watch
| Location: | Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, Memphis, TN |
| Date: | Saturday, Oct. 26 |
| Kickoff Time: | 12 p.m. ET |
| TV / Streaming: | ESPNU |
Memphis vs Charlotte Betting Trends
- 56% of bets and 93% of the money are on Memphis to cover the spread
- 98% of bets and 72% of the money on the moneyline are on Memphis to win outright
- 36% of bets and 78% of the money are on the over
Betting trends via our live, updating NCAAF public betting & money percentages page.
Charlotte vs Memphis Weather
