Charlotte’s hopes for upset of South Carolina come crashing down in disastrous 2nd half

It was a tale of two halves Saturday night for the Charlotte 49ers, which dropped their final non-conference game to South Carolina 56-20.

The sold-out Williams-Brice Stadium was rocking, with the loudest moment coming when Gamecocks tailback MarShawn Lloyd hurdled Wayne Jones on his way in for a touchdown from 25 yards out.

The South Carolina (2-2, 0-2 SEC) rushing attack, headlined by Lloyd’s 169 yards and three scores, proved far too much for the 49ers. The Gamecocks moved the ball for 545 yards of total offense, including 295 yards on the ground.

Charlotte (1-4, 0-1 C-USA) was competitive early, scoring on their first two possessions as Chris Reynolds threw a pair of touchdowns to tight end Jake Clemons and wideout Victor Tucker.

The 49ers trailed 20-14 at the half. The second half wasn’t quite as fruitful.

Charlotte received the second-half kickoff and went three-and-out for the first time all game, starting a disastrous third quarter that ultimately derailed their upset hopes.

“We didn’t get a signal in correctly,” Healy said of the three-and-out. “(Chris) held the ball too long and it was bad communication between him and the sideline. Obviously, it cost us getting him hit and getting us behind the sticks.”

South Carolina would quickly capitalize, doubling their lead with Lloyd’s second score of the day. The Gamecocks would pour it on in the third quarter, intercepting Reynolds twice and scoring on every single drive.

Following 22 unanswered points and a big hit on his sixth-year quarterback, Healy pulled Reynolds to save him for Conference USA play. Xavier Williams and James Foster saw action at quarterback the rest of the way.

“I thought we played about as well as we could possibly play in the first half, but it didn’t carry over,” Healy said following the loss. “I think (Chris) is sore, but when we were down 28, he just had kind of a look in his eye that we needed to get Xavier in. And then, of course, Xavier gets hurt and we had to put James (Foster) in. We’ll see how it goes this week — it’s quarterback monopoly.”

On the opposite sideline, Gamecocks quarterback Spencer Rattler’s night ended in the third quarter, finishing the game 17 of 23 for 187 yards.

Here are two takeaways from Charlotte’s final non-conference game.

SECOND HALF MELTDOWN

South Carolina scored on every drive in the first half, but the 49ers were able to hold in the red zone, forcing two field goals.

That wasn’t the case in the final 30 minutes.

Charlotte had four drives in the third quarter, resulting in a three-and-out and three interceptions. Three turnovers in as many possessions sealed any hopes of an upset bid.

“You can’t turn the ball over, especially against an SEC football team. That’s just the moral of it,” Reynolds said.

South Carolina scored touchdowns on four-straight possessions, capitalizing on the turnovers and absolutely dominating the visiting 49ers.

“We knew it was coming. We started to see them trying to heat Chris up at the end of the first half,” Healy said. “We were down nine defensive backs in the game. Solomon (Rogers) gets hurt, Valerian (Agbaw) gets hurt, Prince (Bemah) gets hurt. We just haven’t been able to stay healthy on defense.”

Charlotte has given up 40-plus points in eight-straight games, allowing 56 points in three of those. South Carolina scored one fewer point (36) in the final 20 minutes of Saturday night’s contest than they did the past two games combined (37).

Charlotte forced two takeaways in the second half, with Wayne Jones recording his first interception as a Niner and Jordan Anderson recovering a fumble inside the 49ers’ five-yard line — both of which came with the game completely out of reach.

TIME FOR C-USA PLAY

It was a non-conference slate to forget for Charlotte. The team’s final seven games will all be in Conference USA play, starting with Texas El-Paso on Oct. 1, followed by an open week.

The defense is now allowing over 47 points per game. Charlotte’s best chance at finding success in conference play will be via shootout. While Reynolds and the offense have the talent and explosiveness to do that, it isn’t sustainable.

When asked about allowing 40-points in eight straight contests, Healy remained positive.

“We’re going to be really good on defense. And I know it’s hard for people to understand and figure out why I’m positive about it, but I watch the work that they put in week in and week out,” the fourth-year head coach said. “As we continue to get bodies back healthy, I think we’ll continue to get better and better.

“The season starts today,” Healy said. “You’ve got one more game and then half of your season is done. This is the most important week of the year.”

Reynolds spoke about shifting to conference play, and trying not to press down the stretch.

“I’ve got nothing to lose. Everything is on the table,” Reynolds said. “I’m going to do everything in my power to get everything out of myself, this offense and this team, to do the best we possibly can.”