Charlotte opens Biff Poggi era with win over SC State. Three takeaways from the game

The Charlotte 49ers started Biff Poggi’s first season as head coach in the win column, rewriting the home-opening loss to an FCS program a season ago with a 24-3 victory over South Carolina State.

Poggi asked for it, and the Charlotte 49ers fans delivered in the form of a sell-out crowd at Richardson Stadium, with 15,622 in attendance and standing room only for the 49ers’ first game in the American Athletic Conference.

“It was great to see every seat filled,” Poggi said. “The student section is a raucous group of lunatics, which I love. The fans were great. It just felt like a lot of support. It felt like home.”

Charlotte celebrated its 10th anniversary of football with over 80 alumni returning to campus, including current Pittsburgh Steelers Larry Ogunjobi and Alex Highsmith. It was a perfect nod to the Niners that built the foundation and a preview of what was to come, which, as true freshman Durell Robinson calls it, a new era.

But it wasn’t without first-game jitters.

“It was our first game; we had a couple of jitters,” Robinson said. “It’s a whole new program. It’s a whole new culture. It’s a whole new era. We just had to shake back.”

Charlotte shook back with a stout defensive performance and an offense driven by its running backs. Despite the three-score victory, Charlotte saw miscues in all three phases of the game, but a suffocating defense was the focal point.

Defensive dominance

The 49ers’ defense was as advertised, keeping the Bulldogs out of the end zone despite multiple trips in the red zone. That was the first time a Charlotte defense has held an opponent out of the end zone since holding Rice to just six points in 2017.

Defensive coordinator Ryan Osborn’s group was flying sideline to sideline, recording seven tackles for loss, six quarterback hurries, two sacks and an interception. True freshman Kameron Howard reeled in Charlotte’s lone takeaway, and his roommate Robinson was all smiles on the sideline.

“Me and Kameron go way back. Y’all don’t understand the joy I had when I saw him catch that pick. We were really dreaming about this. We said I don’t think we’ll be happy unless I score my first college touchdown, he catches a pick, and we win by 21,” Robinson said. “And the fact that all three of those things happen, it’s just a dream come true. I love Kameron Howard to death; I call him plug. That’s my guy. He’s a guy.”

Although Charlotte’s defense recorded just one takeaway on the game, Wayne Jones, the team’s leading tackler with 10 total tackles, dropped a sure interception early in the third quarter, which nearly came back to bite the 49ers.

South Carolina State mounted its best drive of the evening, compiling 13 plays, three of which came inside the 49ers’ 5-yard line. But it was Michigan transfer Nikhai Hill-Green who made the play of the game for the Charlotte.

“This is my first game back in 610 days. I was just blessed and grateful to be out there. It was a gotta-have-it moment,” Hill-Green said. “Moments like that, you’ve just got to go. The play doesn’t wait on anyone. I just shot the gap and was able to make the play.”

Hill-Green’s goal-line stand brought the sell-out crowd to its feet, electrifying a crowd that watched a bottom-three defense in the FBS last season. It also kept the 49ers’ lead at two possessions.

Charlotte held the Bulldogs to just 168 total yards, with 2.9 yards per carry and 3.5 yards per pass attempt. Despite the defense’s stellar performance, the offense struggled to find a rhythm early. It wasn’t until offensive coordinator Mike Miller put Robinson at tailback that the 49ers’ offense found life.

Spark plug

Following a first quarter with just 24 total yards and consecutive three-and-outs, Miller inserted Robinson into the lineup. After seeing just one snap in the first quarter, Robinson exploded in the game’s second period, carrying eight times for 71 yards and his first collegiate touchdown.

Robinson experienced his welcome-to-college-football moment on his second carry, seeing the garnet seas part with nothing but green grass in front of him. The true freshman tripped over his own feet, slamming the ground with frustration following the game’s longest play to that point.

“That’s a play I’m going to think about probably for the rest of my life. It happens, just had to shake back. There’s going to be plenty more runs like that,” Robinson said. “The girdle I have on under these gold pants is super tight. I needed a large; this was a medium. It was embarrassing. We shook back though, the team won.”

“Freshman. You can’t make this up,” graduate transfer Eyabi Okie-Anoma added with a smile.

Robinson’s burst gave the Charlotte offense life, jump-starting a 213-yard team rushing performance.

“We have a lot of backs, and they’re all good at different things. Durell is a guy that can do it all,” Poggi said. “It was his first college game. I’m pretty sure those runs in the future are going to the house. It was a good day rushing the football, and that’s what we are.”

Charlotte won the time-of-possession battle by nearly five minutes and overcame a slow start to bring home the victory despite losing the turnover battle.

Early miscues

The Poggi-era got off to a slow start for the 49ers, who played a scoreless first quarter with consecutive three-and-outs and an interception that was nearly returned for a touchdown.

Without its presumable top receiver Jaden Bradley, Charlotte struggled through the air, sitting at less than 100 yards passing until midway through the fourth quarter when quarterback Jalon Jones found Bryce Kennon on a 36-yard score.

Jones tossed two interceptions, one of which was a tip-drill interception off the hands of freshman receiver Duane Thomas Jr., and the other on an underthrown ball on a rollout in the Bulldogs’ red zone.

Poggi kept it brief on Jones’ performance following the game.

“Jalon played well tonight, but he has to stay within the offense and not throw those two throws,” he said. “That will get him sitting next to me on the sidelines.”

Charlotte didn’t take this game lightly, and despite a three-score victory, Poggi knows that if the 49ers play how they did tonight, next Saturday’s game against Maryland will be a repeat of last season, a 56-21 loss at the hands of the Mike Locksley-led Terrapins.

“South Carolina State is a good football team, but Maryland is a different animal. We’ve got to pick our game up a lot,” Poggi said. “Nobody in this building thinks that what we did tonight is near good enough to win at Maryland. We’ve got five days to get a heck of a lot better, and we will. We’ve got to look inward and clean up our mistakes. We have to take advantage of opportunities and be relentless.”

Notes

▪ Edge Eyabi Okie-Anoma was a force for the 49ers, recording three tackles, three quarterback hurries, two tackles for loss and a sack.

▪ Jones completed 13 of his 19 passes for 125 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He added 49 yards on the ground on 10 carries.

▪ Charlotte allowed just three third-down conversions on 14 Bulldogs’ attempts.

▪ The 49ers scored on 50% of their red-zone trips, with Jones’ interception late and a missed 33-yard field goal from Kyle Cunanan.

▪ South Carolina State quarterback Andre Washington completed 6 of 17 passes for 59 yards and an interception.