Charlotte 49ers takeaways: With bowl berth impossible, what next for Brad Lambert?

Five takeaways from the Charlotte 49ers’ 42-35 college football loss Saturday against Florida International:

▪ The 49ers (4-7, 3-4 Conference USA) went toe-to-toe with the Panthers (8-3, 6-1), who can win C-USA’s East Division championship this week with a victory over Marshall. A 61-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by FIU’s Sage Lewis in the first quarter was the difference in the game.

But the defeat ended the 49ers’ chances at becoming bowl eligible for the first time in program history. It was also the third consecutive defeat for Charlotte, which was at 4-4 after beating Southern Mississippi on Oct. 27. The defeat also means the 49ers will have another losing season — their sixth in the program’s six seasons of existence.

That bottom-line statistic, as much as anything else, no doubt turns the heat back up on coach Brad Lambert, the only coach the program has had.

So what’s left for the 49ers to play for and what will they bring to this week’s season finale at Florida Atlantic (5-6, 3-4)?

“You find out the character of a man the way he shows up tomorrow,” Lambert said of the team, although he might have been talking about himself.

▪ Look for senior quarterback Hasaan Klugh to get the start again Saturday against FAU. Klugh, the 2017 starter who was relegated to the bench behind Chris Reynolds and Evan Shirreffs for most of this season, was the surprise starter against FIU and he played perhaps the best game of his career (16-of-22 for 253 yards and a touchdown, rushing for 64 more yards). Klugh, who is more of a threat to run than Reynolds or Shirreffs, gave the 49ers more offensive versatililty. Having Klugh as an additional threat to run helped open things up for tailback Benny LeMay, who rushed for 159 yards and four touchdowns.

“Changing the quarterback changed things,” FIU coach Butch Davis said. “Now, the quarterback can keep the football. The other quarterback isn’t as much of a threat to run. So that change helped their running game.”

Lambert said he thought Shirreffs might have gotten in the game, but Klugh’s performance precluded that. Shirreffs, who Lambert said is “beat up,” has been inconsistent since he took over for the injured Reynolds in the second half of a 40-14 victory against Western Kentucky on Oct. 13.

But starting Klugh and having him play the entire game against the Owls might not be a given. If Shirreffs is healthy, it might make sense for him to play as he prepares for what will certainly be a healthy offseason competition for next season’s starting spot next season with Reynolds and freshman Brady Pope, who is redshirting.

▪ The 49ers’ time as C-USA’s top rushing defense is over. After allowing a season-high 196 yards against the Panthers, Charlotte’s per game average has popped to 98.3, second to Marshall’s 91.5. The slide began against Marshall last week, when the Thundering Herd rushed for 147 yards against the 49ers.

▪ Sophomore Kyle Corbett, who punted rugby-style for most of the season, has reverted pretty much exclusively to the more traditional style, and it has paid off. Corbett averaged 50 yards on three punts against FIU after booting a program-record 75-yarder two weeks ago against Tennessee.

▪ There was perhaps another sign of optimism: Attendance Saturday was 13,371, second highest of the season behind the 19,151 for the game against Appalachian State in September (when about 2,500 temporary seats were added). The 49ers finished the home portion of the season averaging 11,710 in 15,314-seat Richardson Stadium, the smallest in FBS. Attendance for Charlotte’s other four home games was lower: Fordham (9,240), Old Dominion (8,204, on a Thursday because of weather concerns), Western Kentucky (11,610) and Southern Mississippi (8,687). Fixing the attendance problem is high on the priority list of athletics director Mike Hill, but Saturday’s crowd should serve as an encouraging stepping-off point for ‘19.