Key Matchups: Charlotte 49ers

DEVONTE FIELDS VS. JAMAL COVINGTON

Devonte Fields is coming off a season where he finished the year much better than he started it. I think that the coaching staff has probably been reminding him of that all summer long with such big games early on this year. Covington is the best offensive lineman for Charlotte and I'm sure he would love to prove himself after playing last year through injuries. There aren't a lot of actual one-on-one matchups in this game but this one is a battle that I'll be watching. Fields has to be a key player on this Louisville defense every game and getting off to a good start would go a long way towards that goal.

TERRANCE WINCHESTER VS. LOUISVILLE'S OUTSIDE RECEIVERS

I always tend to get attached to at least one player on the opposing team when I research for these post and Winchester is one of my favorites. Winchester is a former walk-on who plays corner like every pass was meant for him. He's super aggressive and has really great ball skills. What I'll be looking for is how his aggression matches up against James Quick, Jamari Staples, and Jaylen Smith. Those guys will have to fight for separation and they will have to attack the football when it's in the air. Winchester is the type of guy that gets his named mentioned a lot by commentators. Those guys typically come up with a big play or two in these types of games.

LAMAR JACKSON VS AIR

Lamar Jackson will have a ton of running room in this game so he will be running against himself a lot. Charlotte is an over-matched team and their defensive scheme isn't one that will bode well for stopping a guy like Jackson. As a football fan I hope that the game is close enough that Jackson has to throw the ball more but I don't really see that happening. We will probably see a good amount of the first team offense and defense because the schedule picks up so quickly, but I doubt we will see the full playbook.