Today’s college football slate has already been off to a hectic start, building toward prime-time Week 2 action. Helping with this effort, the Charlotte 49ers will take on the Ole Miss Rebels, with kickoff scheduled for 7:45 p.m. ET.
Looking at the odds, Ole Miss enters as a monstrous 45.5-point favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook, with the game total set at 59.5.
This article previews both teams and offers a pick for the Week 2 matchup.
Charlotte vs. Ole Miss Preview
Charlotte 49ers
The Charlotte 49ers dropped their 2026 season-opener 43-41 against the Citadel in triple-overtime. Charlotte outgained the Citadel 538-400, including throwing for 322 yards through the air. The Citadel only attempted 13 pass attempts, but still gashed the 49ers for 268 yards on the ground. Plenty of their issues were self-inflicted, as Charlotte turned the ball over twice and tallied six penalties throughout the matchup. The 49ers took a 14-7 lead to halftime, but the game fell out of control in the second half.
Cole Gonzales completed 28 of his 41 pass attempts for 322 passing yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions in the loss. He also added 31 rushing yards and two scores with his legs. Jaylen Hampton headlined the wide receiver production with eight receptions for 118 yards and a pair of scores, while Jaden Barnes added seven catches for 93 yards of his own. On the ground, Khami Alexander tallied 138 rushing yards and a touchdown on just 14 carries. Chance Williams also saw 11 carries but turned this into just 42 yards.
The result should not be a major surprise, but is largely discouraging nonetheless. Charlotte finished with a 1-11 record last season, with their lone win coming against Monmouth. They went 0-8 in American Conference play. If you want to take a glass half-full outlook, the offensive production was largely encouraging in Week 1. This was a major problem last season as the 49ers were held to 20 points or fewer in six of their final seven games and averaged just 14.3 points per game. However, the defensive problems, which include allowing 36.3 points per game last season, do not appear to be fixed.
Ole Miss Rebels
The Ole Miss Rebels kicked their season off with a thrilling 41-38 victory over Louisville. There is fair reason for optimism for both teams this season, and it was an evenly fought matchup in which both sides showcased their strengths. Ole Miss narrowly out gained Louisville 488-469 and found a way to get the win despite turning the ball over twice. It was a wildly successful season last year that was largely overshadowed by coaching drama surrounding Lane Kiffin and the loss to Miami in the College Football Playoff Semifinals. Pete Golding has settled in after his first full offseason as the new head coach, and the early signs have been encouraging.
Trinidad Chambliss largely picked up where he left off, completing 21 of his 36 pass attempts for 336 yards, three passing touchdowns, and an interception in the season opener. He also added 60 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground. Deuce Alexander led the team with 159 receiving yards and two touchdowns on just five catches, while seven total players recorded catches. On the ground, it was Kewan Lacy leading the production with 17 carries for 61 yards and a score. Ole Miss tallied 152 rushing yards in total.
It was an encouraging performance by Ole Miss in the season opener, in which they showed an ability to win in a variety of ways. Ole Miss held a 10-6 lead at halftime, which was largely a defensive minded battle, before both teams broke the game open for a high-scoring battle in the second half. The Rebels largely looked comfortable in both situations and escaped with a victory via a game-winning field goal. Unlike plenty of the other top teams in the country, Ole Miss did not have a cupcake matchup out of the gates and faced a true test. They managed to pass this and will now have their opportunity to pad their stats against an inferior opponent in this matchup.
Charlotte vs. Ole Miss Pick
From a situation standpoint, this a matchup that could be circled as a trap game from Ole Miss’ perspective. They picked up a high-profile victory over a ranked opponent last week and have the highly anticipated matchup with Kiffin and LSU next week. If this were an opponent with any notable positive outlook on the year, this could be a game that gets interesting.
However, the gap in talent is too much to overlook in the situation. Charlotte showed little resistance defensively against a below-average Citadel team that has little ability to throw the ball. Expect things to get even uglier against an Ole Miss offense that has a legitimate case as one of the top attacks in football. The Rebels have gotten off to a 2-0 start to the season in five straight years and have a clear path to add to this trend.
Charlotte has lost each of its last 10 road openers, has lost the first half in 10 of their last 11 games in September, and has failed to cover the spread in three of their last four September games. This will be problematic against an Ole Miss team that has covered the spread in six of their last seven September home games against non-AP-ranked teams and won their last eight games against non-conference opponents at home. The Rebels have covered the spread in eight of their last nine September games at home.
Last week served as the scare that Ole Miss needed, and they now have a chance to put a beating on a far inferior opponent. The Charlotte defense is far too vulnerable to put up any level of resistance against this strong of an offense, and expect this to be abundantly clear in the early minutes of the matchup. There is no notable level of talent or X’s-and-O’s advantage for Charlotte, so expect this to get out of control and finish well beyond the 45.5-point spread. This has a chance to be the most lopsided win of the week.
