Coffee Break: Remember Charlotte?

Finally, the 2016 college football season kicks off with the Cards first game Thursday against the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

You remember Charlotte; a team that used to bedevil Coach Denny Crum and the Cardinals in the 1990s after joining the Metro Conference in 1991 as UNC Charlotte. UofL lost their first game against the 49ers (so called because the school was saved from closure in 1949) in 1991 and struggled for wins after both moved to Conference USA in 1995. The Cards all-time record against Charlotte is 16-16.

Kentuckian Lee Rose coached UNC Charlotte from 1975-1977 and won an NIT title and took the school to its first Final Four. Kentuckian Jeff Mullins coached the team from 1985-1996. Mike Pratt, another person well known in Kentucky, lasted four seasons at Charlotte from 1978-1982 with no tournament appearances. It would be Pratt’s only head coaching gig.

But enough about basketball, this is football season. Unfortunately Charlotte has no football history to talk about, especially since this is the first game between the two schools. Actually this is only Charlotte’s second game against a Division I FBS school in a Power-5 conference. The school started football as a Division I FCS school in 2013 as an independent. In 2015 Charlotte, already a member of Conference USA, joined the league in football and played a conference schedule finishing 2-10.

The one game that Charlotte played against a P5 opponent was Kentucky losing 58-10. Their two victories last season were against Georgia State and Presbyterian. They play home games in 15,000 seat Johnny Richardson Stadium.

Last season’s defeat against Auburn was the first time that Bobby Petrino had lost an opening game in his six seasons as Louisville coach. He is 4-0 against Kentucky, outscoring the Wildcats 158-76 and defeated Miami 31-13 at home in his first game after returning to Louisville.

Other notable coaches records in home openers include Frank Camp 16-7, Lee Corso 4-0, Howard Schnellenberger 8-2, John L Smith 3-2 (lost to Kentucky twice) and Bobby Petrino 5-1 (lost to Houston). That record should improve to 6-1 Thursday night.