Photo credit: Charlotte Football

Winning at the FBS level is hard. Winning at the FBS level when trying to overcome a litany of mistakes is nearly impossible. The Charlotte 49ers fell to JMU by the score of 30-7, a disappointing start to a 2024 season that began with unbridled excitement. 

Max Brown and the retooled offense showed brief flashes of brilliance early in the contest. The Florida transfer connected on a 23-yard touchdown pass with pressure breathing down his neck that gave real Chris Reynolds flashbacks. Brown’s high-stepping celebration sent the Niner faithful into a frenzy, and rightfully so. The anemic offense from 2023 was long gone from the minds of Charlotte fans. Head coach Biff Poggi admitted that he said into his headset during the first half; “Gosh this is going to be a fun year because we can actually move the ball.” The defense matched the offense’s energy early. The touchdown drive was set up by a sprawling interception from preseason All-Conference defensive back Donte Balfour.

Tone Setting Defense

The Niners came out and set the tone on the defense side of the ball. Stone Handy and Prince Bemah-Wallace delivered crunching hits to stymie the Dukes in their first red zone appearance. The electrifying goal line stop was a sign of things to come, as Charlotte held the vaunted JMU rushing attack to 198 yards on the ground, most of which coming when the game was already out of hand. Unfortunately, the Dukes didn’t need to run the ball efficiently to gash the Charlotte defense.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Alonza Barnett III connected on three passing plays that made up more than 150 yards of McColl-Richardson turf. A 43-yard rainbow to Cam Ross for a first down on fourth and four, a 33-yard touchdown to running back George Pettaway, and a back-breaking, 73-yard touchdown on the second play from scrimmage in the second half that extended the Niner deficit from two to nine. 

The Dukes built their advantage with explosive plays, but second half marches up and down the field had Charlotte fans feeling like they spent the last two hours of the game in a crock pot. With that said, the defense wasn’t the main problem on Saturday night. 

Familiar Offensive Issues

Brown threw two head-scratching interceptions and lost the ball on a muffed snap that handed the ball over to the Dukes deep in Niner territory. Outside of his howitzer of a touchdown pass, Brown never looked comfortable running Mike Miller’s offense. The unit as a whole seemed disjointed, struggling to move the ball when the game was still competitive. The Charlotte offense lacked creativity. O’Mega Blake when speaking to the Charlotte Observer’s Hunter Bailey said “NFL teams do the same stuff as we do in (Mike) Miller’s pro-style offense.” The only NFL offense I’ve seen that reminded me of what Charlotte ran on Sunday was the Frank Reich ran 2023 Panthers outfit. 

A steady diet of unsuccessful rushes and 5-8 yard curl patterns made up the majority of Charlotte’s offense. Brown heavily favored the right side of the field in the passing game, a tendency to watch moving forward. Brown finished the night 22-45 for 193 yards with the aforementioned touchdown and two interceptions. Not the debut most expected from the most hyped quarterback recruit in the program’s young history.

The Niners didn’t do much to get their fans hopeful for the coming weeks. Sure, Brown’s arm connected on a few nice completions. The defense slowed down JMU for chunks at a time, but they still got theirs aplenty. 

Charlotte's Next Test

The 49ers head to Chapel Hill next weekend for an in-state matchup against one of the premier programs in North Carolina. If the Niners play the same style of conservative, undisciplined, mistake-prone, ball next week, it’ll be a long afternoon in Chapel Hill, setting the tone for what may be a long season in general for Charlotte.

Poggi said in his postgame press conference that “We have to learn at Charlotte how to win. We don’t know how to do that yet.” He closed by saying this: “If you don’t think this is a significantly better team than last year than you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.” 

A strong statement from the 49ers maestro, but one that needs to be backed up with some on field success. The closing tone of Poggi’s press conference was reminiscent of his 2023 bravado that has seemingly escaped the effervescent second-year head coach. Charlotte could use some of his swagger back. The 49ers will likely be underdogs for much of the remaining season, and some irrational confidence may be necessary for Charlotte’s chances to compete from here on out.