The Biff Poggi era began at Charlotte with a win that fit the personality of the 49ers new football coach.
The 49ers used a suffocating defense and a ball-control rushing attack to fend off South Carolina State 24-3 in front of a sell-out crowd of 15,622 at Jerry Richardson Stadium. After falling behind 3-0 early in the second period, Charlotte ignited for 17 points to close the half and never looked back
The Niners outgained South Carolina State 345-168. The Bulldogs only ventured inside the Charlotte 30 twice.
“The grittiness and the toughness of the defense and the running game is who we are,” Poggi said in the post-game press conference. “We are a blue-collar, gritty football team. We’re not these guys that are going to win a game 55-54, we’ve talked about that in here before. We win a game by three touchdowns, that’s a very physically dominant kind of win for a team like us.”
Charlotte finished with 220 rushing yards. Freshman Durell Robinson led the way with 71 yards and a TD run in the second quarter. Quarterback Jalon Jones rushed for 45 more yards and a touchdown. He completed 10-of-13 passes for 75 yards in the opening half.
The 49ers defense held South Carolina State to four three-and-outs and two turnovers on downs. The Niners recorded seven tackles for losses, three sacks and an interception.
The three points allowed were the fewest since holding Old Dominion to 6 points in 2017. That was also the last game that Charlotte did not allow a touchdown.
Wayne Jones led the 49ers with 10 total tackles, including five solo stops. Eyabi Okie-Anoma was a mainstay in SCSU’s backfield, logging three quarterback hurries and two tackles for losses – both team-highs.
“We’ve been talking for a long time, telling [Athletic Director] Mike Hill ‘we’re pretty elite on defense’ and we played like it today,” said Poggi. “I am very pleased with how we played on defense and I would expect us to only get better as the season goes on.”
More Charlotte notes:
Jones finished 13-of-19 with 125 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions through the air and 49 yards and a score through the ground.
Demetrius Knight II was second on the team with seven total tackles and four solo stops. Hill-Green also finished the night with seven combined tackles.
Charlotte generated 12 first downs in the second quarter, 11 more than the first (one). It was also a tale of two quarters in the second half as CLT gained six first downs in the fourth period but only one in the third.
The defense held their opponent scoreless in the first quarter for the third consecutive game– dating back to last season.
The attendance of 15,622 people is the most in Jerry Richardson Stadium since November 6, 2021 against Rice (16,050).
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