Photo credit: Charlotte Athletics
In front of 16,715 fans, 4th best attendance at Jerry Richardson Stadium, Charlotte nearly fell squarely on their face. At the end of three quarters the Niners were trailing 20-3, and there was seemingly no hope. I had my daughter with me, and I fully admit to leaving JRS and hitting up Cookout on the way home, while listening to the 4th quarter. So, Head Coach Biff Poggi's postgame press conference remark about those fans that left the stadium early, stuck a chord with this one.
Biff Poggi on Charlotte’s crowd:
— Hunter Bailey (@Hunter_Bailey45) September 15, 2024
“Well, you probably should’ve gotten your moneys worth by staying.” pic.twitter.com/AYN2RqhSm3
It's certainly a bold approach, striking out at your fanbase, after they packed the place out to watch a team that was 0-2 this season, and 3-11 under Poggi. Make no doubt about it, Poggi is brash and boisterous, but Charlotte fans are not his enemy. At least, he shouldn't see them that way. He's making $1,000,000 a season to coach football, and if he expects people to be there and stay, it's his job to put out a consistent and winning product. This is also not his first jab this season, after the 20-3 loss in the season opener at home to James Madison, Poggi had this to say: “I was encouraged by so much of what we did today, and If you sat in that stadium and watched that game and you don’t think this is a significantly better team than last year, then you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
When you needed a miraculous comeback to defeat Gardner-Webb at home, that's certainly not a way to ingratiate yourself with a fanbase, when you've struggled to win so far as a head coach, which includes not yet winning an FBS game at home. Will the bravado pay off? That's to-be-determined, and up next is a trip to Bloomington to take Curt Cignetti's Hoosiers, who are 3-0 and just trounced UCLA on the road, 42-13.
Now let's talk about game and key takeaways
The defense
Ryan Osborn and Charlotte was absolutely lights out in the second half, while missing several starters. I haven't rewatched the game at this time, just the action I didn't see live during the 4th, but it seemed to me in the second half we were much-more aggressive in our blitz packages, and it paid off. Hopefully Stone Handy and Prince Wallace-Bemah are back for the trip this upcoming weekend.
Sean Brown
Who? Sean bleeping Brown, UNC-Pembroke legend. Ok, so I made that last part up. His full extension catch on 4th and 7 in the 4th may have saved the season for Poggi and Charlotte. He then followed it up with another highlight reel catch, hauling deep ball in with just his left-hand while be held by the GW defensive back. The 6'4 target is blooming into WR1 for Charlotte, and you love to see it, is he Charlotte's next walk-on to be the face of the program? He's making his case here in his final go 'round in the Queen City.
Run the damn ball
We've all seen Poggi's hat, and I told those at the Normbulance before the game, if Charlotte impose their will and run the ball against GW, that's a red flag for the remainder of the season. First, let's take out Purdie's minus 77 yards and 8 carries. Charlotte went for just 90 yards on 18 carries. Yes, part of that was dictated by the score, but there's no reason for Charlotte not to be able to run the ball consistently against <insert FCS program here>. That part of the game remains a huge concern as AAC play approaches.
QB dilemma?
Apparently not, Poggi put that to bed in postgame, stating if Purdie can play at Indiana, he's the starting QB and Ivey is the reliever. The reasoning is this: "We've got an exceptional young talent (Purdie), and we're going to ride with him until our starter Max (Brown) comes back." My take is this, Pudie does have arm talent, but he showcased every concern you can have from a freshman Quarterback against Gardner-Webb, with a weeks' worth of starter reps leading up to it. Indiana is a different animal, and I imagine the leash — if needed — will be short in Bloomington.
Trexler Ivey
I don't know how much we see of Ivey for the rest of this season, but he'll have 1 more year of eligibility left. There are enough flashes of potential that I feel he could find a home to be a QB1 at the FCS level next year, if he plans to graduate and explore opportunities elsewhere. But Saturday night was a hell of a moment for him, so my hats off to Ivey for a magical fourth quarter and comeback win.
Look for more to come later this week on the Indiana matchup, which kicks off at 12pm ET and will be aired on the Big Ten Network.
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