Matchup to Watch: Week Four Charlotte 49ers: Can Third Down Excellence Continue?

Written by: TJ Inman 

The Indiana Hoosiers are 3-0 and it is difficult for the most jaded of fans to find too many negatives from the first quarter of Curt Cignetti’s inaugural season. Indiana has a dominant conference road win, they are winning by an average score of 50 to 7.7, they have 81 first downs to only 37, the Hoosiers are averaging 7.92 yards per play and are only giving up 3.36 yards per play. The impressive list could go on. Is it possible that all three of IU’s opponents are headed for losing seasons? Yes. Does that take the shine away from the 3-0 start? Not in my opinion. 

Next up: the Charlotte 49ers led by head coach Biff Poggi. Charlotte is 1-2 after a thrilling come-from-behind win last week against Gardner-Webb. The 49ers have losses to North Carolina (38-20) and James Madison (30-7). We could focus on the rushing attack going against a team that allows 4.5 yards per carry or Kurtis Rourke’s passing going against a secondary that just surrendered 340 yards to Tyler Ridell of Gardner-Webb. Curt Cignetti will certainly have his team, particularly the defense, focused on finishing the first half in better fashion than they have the first three weeks. All of those would be valid choices but this article forces the writer to choose only one matchup to narrow in on and we’re going with third-down efficiency. The Indiana Hoosiers, especially Kurtis Rourke, were outstanding against the UCLA Bruins on third down. The Hoosiers were 9-for-12 on third down against UCLA and they limited the Bruins to only 2-for-8. Those numbers continued a similar trend from the first two weeks as IU is now converting 64.52% of third downs and limiting opponents to only 25.71%. 

Third-down is, obviously, a gigantic part of every game. If the offense can get into third and manageable situations and then convert consistently, it keeps drives alive, keeps the opposing offense on the sideline and provides scoring chances. The opposite is, of course, true for the defense. Charlotte has been decent getting opponents of the field on third down, allowing only 38.89 percent conversion rate. They have had a real problem on offense though, converting on only 25.58 percent of third-down opportunities. Against FCS foe Gardner-Webb, the 49ers were just 2-for-11 on third-down and they allowed 4-for-14 to the Bulldogs.

The Hoosiers will be without defensive leaders CJ West (although West is rumored to be able to play after the Big Ten lifted the suspension) and D’Angelo Ponds for the first half of this contest as they serve suspensions after being ejected for targeting (insert reason number one million and five for the NCAA instituting tiered targeting penalties that factor for intent). Can the Hoosiers stay sharp on third-down on defense and get the 49ers off the field so the IU offense can get to work on a very suspect Charlotte defense? If so, IU will feel really good about their chances of a comfortable fourth victory.