Look, no one said life as an FBS start up is easy. As a UTSA alumnus I know that fact all too well. But the struggles the Charlotte 49ers have shown in their first years back on the gridiron since 1948 might account for the worst performances of any FBS start up program in modern history.
Evaluating the program’s three years in the FBS using the S&P+ index (an algorithm that ranks teams based off of opponent-adjusted performances and results) tells a dreadful tale of failure. Charlotte opened up as the 124th ranked team in the nation in 2015, fell to 125th in 2016 despite winning four games, then dropped again to 126th in the nation this year.