Grading Charlotte 49ers’ loss against UNC: ‘We are moving in the right direction’

Visiting Chapel Hill for the first time in program history, the injury bug bit the Charlotte 49ers yet again, this time losing nearly double-digit starters in their second-consecutive lopsided loss.

In another game where Charlotte was competitive early, the 49ers’ injury woes, third-down struggles, and troublesome redzone offense were the difference. Charlotte dropped to 0-2 for the first time since 2022, falling 38-20 against North Carolina, in its first of two matchups against Power Four opponents in the non-conference.

After entering the season with “eight or nine starters” out with injury, Biff Poggi’s injury-riddled 49ers saw eight more added to that total, headlined by starting quarterback Max Brown exiting the game with an injury to his throwing hand midway through the second quarter. To add insult to injury, Brown was on the sideline in street clothes sporting a cast on his right wrist/hand for the final 30 minutes of action.

“It looks like a fairly serious injury. He definitely won’t play next week,” Poggi told the media after the game.

Without its leader for the entirety of the second half, Charlotte had its opportunities, with backup quarterback DeShawn Purdie flashing and leading the 49ers’ first touchdown drive, tossing the first touchdown of his true freshman season to tight end Bryce Kennon to cut North Carolina’s lead in half. Trailing by eight after Purdie’s score was as close as Charlotte would get in the final 30 minutes, and second-year head coach Biff Poggi was pleased.

“What I think I know is this — this football team got better from the first week. This is a significantly better football team than we had last year,” Poggi said. “We are moving in the right direction.”

The Tar Heels would cut on chew-clock in the game’s final quarter, improving to 2-0 and sending the visiting 49ers back to Charlotte with their second-consecutive loss.

Charlotte’s medical team was busy Saturday afternoon, tending to Brown, Edge Stone Handy, DT Dez Morgan, LB Prince Wallace-Bemah, WR Justin Olson, C Jonny King, RB Terron Kellman and CB Dontae Balfour throughout the contest.

Here is a look at how the 49ers graded out against the Tar Heels:

49ers’ rushing offense

Despite doubling down on establishing the running game during Poggi’s media availability on Tuesday, Charlotte rushed 14 times in the opening half at less than one yard per clip, amounting to just 49 total yards on the game.

With injuries to King, Kellman and Brown, Charlotte’s rushing attack was a shell of itself as the sun set over Kenan Stadium. Hahsaun Wilson saw his name called in the second half, leading Charlotte with 29 yards on eight carries.

Despite missing practice for much of the preseason, Michigan transfer CJ Stokes made his Charlotte debut in the second half, catching a pass from Purdie and posting the longest run of any 49ers’ tailback — 8 yards. It was one of those days on the ground, but in a clear switch from the opener, Charlotte wanted to push the ball down the field early and often.

Grade: D

49ers’ passing offense

Prior to Brown’s exit, Charlotte’s offense looked night and day from the opening loss to James Madison, attacking down the field with regularity. Brown hit deep shots to Justin Olson and Jairus Mack, with the latter reeling all five of his targets for 118 yards, the third 100-yard game of his career, after being held without a catch in the opener.

With the rushing attack again struggling to get going, offensive coordinator Mike Miller opened the playbook and let Brown cook in the game’s first 30 minutes. Charlotte brought back the tight end screen game, which was a staple a season ago, getting Colin Weber the ball in open space and dialing up timely shots to set themselves up in scoring position. After averaging 8.8 yards per completion against James Madison, Charlotte was up to 18.2 yards per catch against a much tougher opponent.

Despite the improvement between the 20s, Charlotte’s red zone offense stalled its two most promising drives of the first half inside North Carolina’s 10-yard line. Poggi took the conservative approach, trading touchdowns for field goals against a Tar Heel offense that was humming in the second half.

Purdie’s second drive showed promise, completing four of his six passes and combining for 62 of Charlotte’s 75 yards on the lone non-garbage time touchdown drive. Purdie finished with 134 yards and a completion percentage of 47%, connecting on two deep balls to Mack and O’Mega Blake, as well as a catch and run swing pass to Henry Rutledge to score the game’s final points.

Third-down success was an issue, with Charlotte converting two of 14 third-down attempts. Charlotte converted two of its three fourth-down attempts, including one of Brown’s deep ball connections with Mack, but just couldn’t sustain drives to keep the offense on the field. North Carolina won the time-of-possession battle by nearly seven minutes, wearing down Charlotte’s defense.

“We didn’t do a good job of that today. It’s hard to be efficient on third down if the run game isn’t working. We’ll figure some stuff out,” Poggi said. “We have some cool stuff in the playbook that we’re going to use, that will kind of simulate the run game and take some pressure off the young quarterback. We have to be better on that.”

Charlotte threw the ball for 309 total yards, the most since October 1st, 2022. With so many injuries and an uphill battle against a more talented ACC program, Charlotte’s offense looked much more organized and precise in Week 2, providing optimism for the conference slate ahead.

Grade: B

49ers’ rushing defense

After holding James Madison in check for much of the Week 1 matchup, North Carolina’s rushing attack posed a different beast for Ryan Osborn’s defense. After rushing for 147 yards in its opening victory over Minnesota, North Carolina totaled 160 yards in the first half, on the legs of preseason All-American Omarion Hampton and a myriad of explosive carries.

The Tar Heels rushed for 269 yards and three touchdowns on six yards a carry, generating missed tackle after missed tackle and accumulating 12 rushes of 10 yards or more. For reference, North Carolina moved the ball for 490 total yards, 378 of which came on chunk plays (19 total).

Michigan State transfer Dre Butler flashed for Osborn’s group on Saturday, racking up four tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a sack early in the action. This group must have a better showing against Gardner-Webb next week to get back on track.

Grade: D-

49ers’ passing defense

With North Carolina’s rushing attack rolling, the Heels passed the ball just 26 total times, with new starting quarterback Conner Harrell throwing for 219 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

In what seemed like the put-away drive midway through the third quarter, Harrell tossed his only costly error of the afternoon, throwing right to Charlotte safety Maguire Neal, who was all alone in Charlotte’s defensive backfield. The 49ers were unable to capitalize, and North Carolina would go on to salt the game away on the ensuing possession.

Down Handy, Morgan, Wallace-Bemah and Balfour, Charlotte’s defense was missing at least five key starters, not including safety Ja’Qurious Conley, who was inactive for the second straight game.

Before returning to the action with a club on his left hand, Balfour’s replacement Trevon Booker had a solid showing for Charlotte. In just 23 snaps on defense, Booker posted four tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass breakup, ranking second on the team with a 74 coverage rating, according to Pro Football Focus.

Trick plays have hampered Charlotte’s defense in consecutive games, but rather than putting the loss on the defense, Poggi praised Mack Brown and the Tar Heels.

“If you’ve got to lose, I’d rather lose to trick plays than somebody just beating the brains out of you, and I don’t think they beat the brains out of us,” Poggi said. “They did call a nice game though.”

Grade: C

49ers’ special teams

If your special teams don’t cost you, it checks out as a plus. After multiple mental errors in the opener, Greg Froelich’s unit played a clean game. Kicker Kyle Cunanan connected on his first two field goal attempts of the season, putting Charlotte on the board in the first half with makes from 20 and 25 yards out.

Punter Michael O’Shaughnessy had a much better showing, averaging 39.3 yards per punt on six attempts, with a long of 46 yards.

North Carolina had no intention of kicking to returner Henry Rutledge, sending every kickoff out of the back of the endzone.

No shanked punts, no untimely penalties, no back-breaking returns — Charlotte’s special teams held up. They didn’t necessarily provide any swing plays to keep the 49ers in it, but they didn’t lose Charlotte the game.

Grade: B

Overall grade

Despite the double-digit loss, Saturday evening seemed to be the happiest Poggi had been to this point in the season, and it’s clear that the team is on board with Purdie running the show in Brown’s absence.

“He’s ready. He’s hungry. I feel great about it,” Mack said of Purdie. “We’ve got to keep him up, because he’s a freshman, but we’re going to be fine.”

Charlotte entered Chapel Hill as a 22-point underdog with much of its roster intact and stayed in the game for three quarters despite losing eight key contributors. The timetables for return will be key, but this was a performance that Charlotte can build on.

Handling business against Gardner-Webb next week, the only FCS school on the schedule will be key — even with a true freshman at quarterback. Charlotte must score its first victory of the season next week, and Saturday’s outing in Chapel Hill gave 49ers fans hope moving forward.

Grade: C+