2020: The "Moral Victory" Season

Why we shouldn't worry too much about this season as football fans

First off, we are extremely fortunate to even have football this season and should be very thankful for the experience. Second, don’t get your hopes up for the full season to be completed. With the unpredictable virus intruding on program plans for teams all over the nation, it will be a common occurrence for teams to cancel games hours before kick-off. This being said, there is going to be a season to enjoy and with not as much on the line for many programs, especially a team like Charlotte, who is in a transition season waiting on the fresh, first full batch of Healy recruits. 

Saturday’s game against FAU did not go Charlotte’s way and left many fans and players extremely disappointed in the lack of time management and questionable play calls made by Offensive Coordinator, Mark Carney. Coach Healy himself admitted the lack of discipline by coaching of game management by bringing up the “missed opportunities” left by the team in the first half and 3rd quarter.

This would seem like a devastating game and beginning in a regular season, but this is not a regular season. 

There has been a lot of harsh criticism against the players and staff for Charlotte on Saturday, but we must remember the amount of protocol, absence of players due to contact tracing, and lack of back up players due to this issue which put these teams in extremely complicated and vulnerable situations. Not to mention the two back-to-back games which were canceled for Charlotte. After a defeat like App state, the team does not have to to work on themselves, but rather work for the next game. With the cancellation of two games in a row, the players did not have the time to fine-tune their mistakes because no one expected there to be a two-week drought. 

At any given moment, half of a football team can be infected with Covid-19, just look at Clemson and LSU. These pressures have put college teams in tricky situations for having a safe amount of players to even play a game. This is the reason why Charlotte’s game against Chapel hill was canceled, a lack of offensive linemen. This is not just a Charlotte issue, but an issue every team will face at some point this season. 

The offensive calls and lack of game management have cost Charlotte in the losses to App State and FAU. These are the biggest questions that need to be asked for the team because the players will be stretched thin enough, but the coaching needs to step up give the players a reason to trust the game. 

Charlotte’s incoming class for 2021 will hopefully answer a lot of our personnel issues on the field. With a good amount of 3-star and a 4-star recruit, Healy’s first recruiting impact will be felt for the 49ers. This class will be the class for Charlotte to go a step above in C-USA and with the caliber of players which are in the wing for us, they can give us the boost we need to compete for conference championships. 

I also do not write this as a Charlotte fan giving up after two losses, but rather as a football fan who cannot take this season too seriously because of the abnormality of the situation. Will there be bowl games, conference championships, national champions? Who knows, but honestly the safety and well-being of the players and staff are the most important part of this season and safety must be taken first above kickoff.