Charlotte 49ers defense no match for Maryland as Terps roll to 56-21 victory Saturday
It was another Saturday to forget for the Charlotte 49ers, who allowed the visiting Maryland Terrapins to rack up 35 points and 403 yards of total offense — in the first half alone.
Maryland went on to win 56-21, handing Charlotte its third consecutive loss, and second at home, to start the season.
It’s soul-searching time for head coach Will Healy and the Charlotte defense, which has yet to hold an opponent to fewer than 40 points through three games.
Saturday’s contest saw Maryland rack up 617 yards of total offense, including touchdowns on eight of its first nine drives. Terps quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa completed 27 of 31 passes for 391 yards, four touchdowns and an interception in the win — the interception being Charlotte’s lone takeaway of the season.
Healy, despite the five-touchdown defeat, spoke about the positives following the loss.
“I’m disappointed in the result. I never feel like it’s acceptable to lose a football game around here. I’ve said that for four years now, and I still feel the same way,” Healy said. “Their quarterback — he’s one of the best in the country. I thought they had a great game plan, and obviously, they were going to be difficult for us to stop. I don’t expect people to understand the positives that will come from this, but I left knowing that I have a football team that will fight and that I have a football team that is understanding and getting better. I feel good about where this football team is going to be by the time we finish game 12.”
The 49ers have seen a league opponent in Florida Atlantic, an FCS foe in William & Mary, and now a Power Five program in Maryland. The remaining non-conference schedule includes two road contests against Georgia State and South Carolina before jumping back into Conference-USA play on Oct. 1 against Texas El-Paso.
There are many changes the 49ers must make if they are to turn the season around. Here are two takeaways from Charlotte’s troublesome start to 2022:
TALENT, SCHEME OR BOTH?
The defense has been an issue since Healy’s arrival, even during the 2019 season when Charlotte had its lone winning season and bowl appearance.
Following three years under co-defensive coordinators Marcus West and Brandon Cooper, Healy moved on from Cooper following the conclusion of 2021 and allowed West to retain his position until the Buffalo Bills brought him on as an assistant defensive line coach.
There was a nearly three-month gap in the offseason while Healy searched for a new defensive coach. He landed on Greg Brown, who hadn’t called a defense since 2012. Brown’s coaching style seemed to rejuvenate the players’ mindsets through the offseason, but that was quickly tossed aside following the first snaps of the year.
Charlotte’s defense has blown multiple assignments, begging the question: Is it talent, scheme or both?
Healy answered that question following the loss.
“I think that the biggest thing for us to do now is go back and look at what our guys do well, and then demand that they do it. It’s been crazy the first three weeks. It’s been some more of how you felt last year where we felt like we were inches away from making a play,” Healy told The Observer. “Then you’d have two or three of those inches plays, then you’d have a coverage bust. And you’re like, ‘How in the heck did those five plays just happen in one defensive series?’
“I think there are places where we are missing some guys. I think there are a lot of different reasons. Some of it is not having your guys, some of it is not putting our guys in positions to have success, and some of it is I thought we had a great week of preparation, but we ran into a buzzsaw in their offense. How good of a defense are you? I don’t know that today is going to tell you how much better you’ve gotten. The next two weeks will be challenges in themselves.”
Since Healy took the reins four seasons ago, Charlotte’s recruiting has been among the bottom 30 in the nation, averaging 105th in the FBS, according to 247 sports.
Of 86 recruits during Healy’s tenure, 72 have continued and/or finished their careers as 49ers, compared with 14 who have entered the transfer portal. Forty-six of those were listed as at least three-star recruits, including two four-stars in Ty’Kiest Crawford (transferred) and James Foster.
QUARTERBACK QUESTIONS
After entering the season as the third-string quarterback, Xavier Williams became the starter after just five quarters of play due to a pair of injuries. He has shown flashes of the future for the 49ers, who will enter the American Athletic Conference in the 2023-24 season.
Chris Reynolds, the program’s leading passer, has been sidelined with an upper-body injury since the season-opening matchup against Florida Atlantic. Reynolds practiced through the week and dressed for the contest, although there was no intention of playing him against the Terps. Healy sounded optimistic about Reynolds’ availability moving forward.
“He looks a lot better,” Healy said of Reynolds. “I told him when he feels like he can take a shot and keep playing, then he needs to play. Until then, he doesn’t. But it’s in his hands, and he wants to play — bad. He wanted to play tonight, bad. When he’s ready, he’ll be back.”
It’s hard to imagine that Reynolds won’t be the starter in Atlanta against Georgia State next Saturday, but this week of practice will be the deciding factor, according to Healy. It’s clear that Reynolds is the heart and soul of the team.
In terms of the future, Charlotte has a lot to like with Williams, the redshirt freshman from Colquitt County, Georgia. Saturday’s contest was Williams’ first career start at Charlotte and just the seventh start of his high school and college career.
After getting off to a hot start with two touchdown passes in the first half, the Terps’ defense tightened quickly to hold him at bay the rest of the way, finishing his day completing 19 of 35 passes for 192 yards and two scores. He was replaced by redshirt sophomore Trexler Ivey in the fourth quarter, who also threw the first touchdown of his career.
There aren’t too many bright spots for Charlotte through three games, but sixth-year wideout Victor Tucker, who caught two touchdowns Saturday, talked about Charlotte’s path forward.
“You can’t say you’re battle-tested if you haven’t been through some battles. That’s what I’ll be preaching to everyone, and through the tough times let’s all stick together. We know what we can do,” Tucker said. “I feel like we have the guys, it’s just a matter of putting it all together. Just being consistent in the little things, even when the result isn’t what we want, and I think over time you’ll see that.”
This story was originally published September 10, 2022 at 9:31 PM.