Charlotte 49ers’ defense baffles Tennessee Vols in 14-3 loss

Charlotte’s offense may owe its defense an apology during the next team meeting.

The 49ers held SEC opponent Tennessee (4-5) to 14 points, all in the first half, during their 14-3 loss at Neyland Stadium on Saturday, but their offense never seemed to get going. Charlotte (4-5)also didn’t score after the first half.

Tennessee receiver Marquez Callaway ran a punt back 82 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, putting the 49ers behind 7-0. A 16-yard passing touchdown from Vols quarterback Jarrett Guarantano to Josh Palmer deepened Charlotte’s deficit to 14-0.

Jonathan Cruz hit a 20-yard field goal to give the 49ers three points before the half, but Charlotte found even less offensive success in the second half. The 49ers were stopped on fourth-and-1 at the Vols’ 28-yard line with just over four minutes remaining in the game, sealing the defeat..

Three who mattered

Guarantano, Tennessee: The Vols’ quarterback was 16-of-21 passing for 172 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He helped pace a Tennessee offense that struggled in the running game.

Callaway, Tennessee: Callaway’s 82-yard punt return touchdown marked the game’s first points and gave the Vols an early lead in the first quarter. He finished with three receptions for 30 yards.

Ben DeLuca, Charlotte: The 49ers’ junior safety had nine tackles and one pass breakup against Tennessee, pushing his total in the last two games to 24.

Observations

▪ Charlotte quarterback Evan Shirreffs protected the ball against the Vols for most of the game, but threw an interception in the game’s final minute. The 49ers’ passing game was limited, as the redshirt junior was 13-of-25 passing.

▪ Charlotte redshirt junior defensive end Alex Highsmith found success in getting through Tennessee’s offensive line. He recorded 1.5 sacks on Guarantano and had seven total tackles.

▪ Tennessee freshman defensive back Alontae Taylor was ejected from Saturday’s game because of a targeting call. Taylor hit Shirreffs as he was sliding at the end of a run.

Worth mentioning

▪ The 49ers held Tennessee to zero total rushing yards in the first half. Three Vols had negative yardage on the ground during the first two quarters and finished the game with 20 rushing yards on 26 carries.

▪ Kyle Corbett broke Charlotte’s punting record with a 75-yard boot in the fourth quarter that was downed at the Tennessee’s 3. The previous record was 74 yards.

▪ Charlotte had never visited Neyland Stadium before Saturday. The game was the first between the programs.

▪ Charlotte is 1-3 in non-conference play this season. The 49ers beat Fordham and lost to Appalachian State and UMass.

They said it

“I thought we did a pretty good job of controlling the line of scrimmage. I wasn’t sure coming into the game if we could and I thought our defensive front played extremely well defending the run.” – Charlotte coach Brad Lambert on his team’s defense.

“I thought Tennessee’s defense was pretty good coming in to the game and I think no different coming out. We had some issues in protection.” – Lambert on team’s offensive struggles.

“It adds to our confidence. I think we’re a confident football team. I think we feel like we can play with people. So hopefully it will add to that, to come on the road and have some success.” – Lambert on 49ers being competitive against an SEC team.

This story was originally published November 3, 2018 at 7:34 PM.