One team is trying to prove last season's 1-11 disaster was a floor, not a preview. The other is trying to prove year two under a new staff can actually mean bowl season.
Bush’s Picks
CLTTLSA
CLTTLSA
OverUnder
Best BetTulsa
Tulsa's roster overhaul, especially the running back room and a defense anchored by Elijah Green, gives them a real floor that Charlotte's 1-11 group hasn't shown. Backing the Golden Hurricane at home makes sense given the trajectory of both programs this year.
Charlotte
+Defense returns experienced tacklers in Schmitz, Willis, Simpson
+Added O-line and WR help via transfer portal
+Fills tickets — no shortage of home crowd energy
−Went 1-11 with an 0-8 AAC mark last year
−QB room in flux after Harrell's season-ending injury
−No winning season since 2019
Tulsa
+Loaded transfer RB room (Alston, Davis, Jones)
+Elijah Green anchors a proven secondary
+CFN projects a bowl-eligible 5-7 finish
−Baylor Hayes still developing as a full-time starter
−Four straight losing seasons entering 2026
−New O-line pieces still gelling by mid-November
Tulsa's whole autumn hinges on how sophomore Baylor Hayes handles a QB1 job he's now had a full year to grow into, with Kennesaw State transfer Dexter Williams II in the room to push him. Charlotte's situation is messier: Conner Harrell was completing 66.7% of his throws before a season-ending knee injury, which shoved Grayson Loftis into the lineup for 1,415 yards, 8 touchdowns and 8 picks, and now Pitt transfer Cole Gonzales is in the mix too. By the time these two meet on Friday, November 20, both staffs should have a real answer for who's actually taking snaps.
Tulsa's transfer portal class did a lot of the heavy lifting this offseason — running backs Damari Alston (Auburn), Seth Davis (Mississippi State) and Trequan Jones (Old Dominion) came in to replace lost production, while corner Elijah Green (5 interceptions, 59 tackles last year) anchors a defense that should be the Golden Hurricane's floor even on nights the offense stalls. Charlotte countered with its own portal additions — tackle J'Ven Williams from Penn State and receiver Jaden Barnes from Appalachian State — but a defense that returns linebackers Kadin Schmitz (66 tackles) and Gavin Willis (54 tackles) has to hold up against a Tulsa backfield that's suddenly three-deep.
Show fees
11:00 PM CT
Spread
ML
Total
CLT Charlotte
TLSA Tulsa
This is a matchup of two programs at very different points in the same rebuild. Tulsa was picked for a 5-7 finish by College Football News, with bowl eligibility realistically in play if the Golden Hurricane hold serve at home. Charlotte's over/under sits at 2.5 wins, and the 49ers haven't posted a winning season since going 7-6 in 2019 — so simply being competitive in American Conference play would count as progress in Tim Albin's second year.
Charlotte 49ers
Nov 13?vs East Carolina—
Nov 6?@ UAB—
Oct 30?vs Tulane—
Oct 16?@ Temple—
Oct 9?@ North Texas—
Oct 2?vs Memphis—
Sep 25?vs Louisiana—
Sep 19?@ App State—
Sep 12?@ Ole Miss—
Sep 5?vs The Citadel—
Tulsa Golden Hurricane
Nov 13?vs Florida Atlantic—
Nov 6?@ Tulane—
Oct 23?vs Army—
Oct 16?@ Rice—
Oct 10?@ Navy—
Oct 1?vs North Texas—
Sep 26?@ Arkansas—
Sep 19?vs East Texas A&M—
Sep 12?@ Sam Houston—
Sep 5?vs Oklahoma State—
Recent form.
Home matters here. Charlotte went winless in conference last season (0-8) and hasn't found much answer on the road against teams with a functioning run game, which is exactly what Tulsa is building around Alston and Davis. Tulsa's own schedule includes a brutal option-offense gauntlet earlier in the year against Navy, Rice and Army, so by late November the Golden Hurricane should know plenty about their own identity — for better or worse.
Charlotte 49ers
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Tulsa Golden Hurricane
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
None of this changes the baseline: Charlotte is still trying to climb out of a historically bad season, and Tulsa is still trying to prove four straight losing years is over. Whoever wins the trenches — Charlotte's Simpson and the D-line versus Tulsa's retooled OL fronted by JaQuan Adams and Cam East — probably decides which storyline gets validated.
