Three things we learned from the Charlotte 49ers’ loss to Marshall on Saturday

After starting the season with a program-best 4-2 record, the Charlotte 49ers are in danger of squandering their bowl-eligibility hopes.

It was an emotional night as nearly 30 seniors were honored in front of 13,211 fans, family and friends. Saturday’s game looked like it had the makings of a shootout in the first half, but Charlotte just couldn’t get it going following the half, an issue that has been consistent throughout the season.

Marshall dominated in the second half, opening up a 28-point lead before relieving its starters in the fourth quarter. The Thundering Herd would go on to win 49-28 and now have a date with Western Kentucky in Huntington next Saturday, with the winner of that game playing Texas San-Antonio for the Conference USA Championship.

Head coach Will Healy has said throughout the season that this team would be its best in the final weeks of the season. Charlotte (5-6, 3-4 C-USA) has lost two in a row now and four of its past five, allowing 38 points or more in all four losses.

With one final game remaining on the schedule, Charlotte is down to just six days of football left in 2021 if they don’t secure a win this coming Saturday at Old Dominion (5-6, 4-3 C-USA).

Here are three things we learned from Charlotte’s loss against Marshall:

Win or go home

A trip to Norfolk on Nov. 27 will determine the fate of the 49ers’ season. Old Dominion, winners of four straight, has momentum ahead of its senior day and will welcome Charlotte to town with bowl eligibility on the line for both teams.

These groups are trending in opposite directions right now, but all of that goes out the window Saturday. One of these teams will have an extra month of preparation and a bowl bid, and the other will go home, finishing the season at 5-7.

“Now you’ve got one more game to get another,” quarterback Chris Reynolds said. “Question is how hard is somebody willing to work in this last week for the guy on the left and right of them, because I know I’m going to give it everything I have as long as I’m wearing this green and gold.”

It’s unclear if this was Reynolds’ last home game at Charlotte. Healy’s group has struggled on the road this season, and he’s taking accountability for the late-season woes.

“The odds are stacked against you. Let’s roll,” Healy said about his message to the team following the loss. “I know how we handle this week will be extremely important, and how we stay together will be important. We got beat handily this evening. I think the true character of our football team will show up this week, and I’m excited about that.

“You’ve got to do some grown-up stuff and move on in a hurry,” Healy said. “We’ve got to take accountability as coaches. That’s what it is. I told these guys this morning, ‘Your job is to play really hard with unbelievable passion, energy, enthusiasm and positivity. If you’re confused or not confident in what your job is, then that’s on us as coaches.’ I believe that, so I take responsibility for that.”

Roommate connection

Four different receivers have recorded multiple touchdown performances for Charlotte this season, and to much surprise, none of them are named Victor Tucker.

Saturday showed what many 49er fans have known — Cameron Dollar can play.

Reynolds and Dollar have been roommates for four years now and that chemistry has been apparent on game days.

Dollar finished the game catching four of his five targets for 50 yards and two touchdowns, the first multi-score game of his career. After leading the team in touchdowns in 2020 and ranking second in receiving yards in 2019, Dollar’s role has taken a substantial step-back in 2021 with only three catches coming into Saturday’s game.

He talked about the growing pains and his appreciation for the offensive staff following the performance.

“The loss is definitely going to sting. Coach (Mark) Carney, Healy and the rest of the staff kind of made it an effort to make sure it was enjoyable night for me regardless of the score,” Dollar said. “I can’t thank them enough for that opportunity. This whole season that’s what I wanted, an opportunity. But to see guys like (Elijah) Spencer and Grant (DuBose) coming in and they’re just great guys doing exactly what they came here to do, and that’s make plays.

“I have no choice but to lead those guys and help them grow. That’s my new role, and I’ve tried to embrace it the best way that I can. Carney and I have done some growing here in the past few weeks, and he did that for me. I appreciate it more than he knows, my family appreciates it and I appreciate my teammates for supporting me throughout.”

Reynolds spoke about Dollar in an emotional interview following the game.

“Blood couldn’t make us closer,” Reynolds said about Dollar. “That man is going to be in my wedding. He’s a special human being. It’s obviously not the year he’s wanted, but for him to come in and make plays like that, he’s a true vet and that speaks to the person he is. I love him to death and I was so happy to see him have success, but I know he wished we had success as a team, too.”

Third-quarter woes

The third quarter has not been kind to Charlotte this season.

Healy’s team has been held without an offensive point in the penultimate quarter in six of its 11 games in 2021.

Charlotte has been outscored a combined 107-54 in the third quarter on the year. Halftime adjustments have come into question repeatedly, but Charlotte has continued to regress down the stretch.

In the past four games alone, opposing offenses have scored more points (63) in the third quarter than the 49ers have through 11 games. Healy’s group had all the momentum heading into the half following Marshall’s missed field goal with seven seconds to play, but even on senior day and the program’s 100th game — Charlotte came out flat in the second half.

“In the first half, we got a couple of stops defensively, and I was excited thinking that we would be able to do more of the same in the second,” Healy said. “In the second half, we weren’t able to get stops. Obviously, (running) 44 times for 321 yards is a lot. We’ve got a lot to fix.”

Marshall would go on to score 21 straight to start the second half, opening a four-possession lead, emptying Richardson Stadium and bringing out the boo-birds.

With one game to play, Charlotte has one final chance to end the season the same way it started.

This story was originally published November 21, 2021 at 2:30 PM.