Charlotte football beats FAU: 3 takeaways from 49ers’ win under interim head coach
Charlotte football is back in the win column.
To cap the week in which the 49ers’ athletic department embarked on the search for the football program’s next head coach, Charlotte jumped ahead of Florida Atlantic early before rallying late in Saturday’s 39-27 victory at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida.
Now under the direction of interim head coach Tim Brewster, the Niners (4-7, 3-4 American Athletic Conference) scored a pair of late touchdowns and held off a push from the Owls.
The late-season win included another career-best performance from true freshman quarterback Deshawn Purdie, who threw for nearly 400 yards in the season’s penultimate game.
“It’s the same game we’ve been playing since we were in Pop Warner,” Purdie, who recorded the third-best single-game passing performance in program history, said in the news conference. “That’s a big message (from Brewster). You go out there and play ball, you won’t overthink. Play the game you love, it’s gonna come so natural.
“That was a great message for us to just go play ball. Go be free, have fun — and enjoy these moments.”
Charlotte concludes its regular season next week, hosting Alabama Birmingham at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Jerry Richardson Stadium.
Niner QB Deshawn Purdie spreads the wealth
Six different receivers caught passes for Charlotte.
The 49ers’ first two touchdowns came on a pair of deep passes — 54 and 75 yards, respectively — from Purdie to leading receiver O’Mega Blake. Charlotte’s top wideout finished with a team-best 205 yards on five receptions in Saturday’s win.
Purdie finished with 396 passing yards on 16 of 30 throws, which mark the third-most yards in a single game in program history, behind Chris Reynolds’ respective 448-yard and 401-yard performances. He becomes the first true freshman at Charlotte to exceed 300 yards in a game.
“The sky is the limit for Purdie,” Brewster said, “and I know we’re gonna have to work really hard to keep him.”
One of Purdie’s biggest plays of the day was to Jairus Mack. The 59-yard catch powered a scoring drive in the second quarter. Mack finished with 91 yards on three catches; Sean Brown, the Waxhaw native and Marvin Ridge graduate, caught four passes for 59 yards.
A historic performance from Charlotte kicker Stephen Rusnak
The 49ers’ kicker scored the equivalent of two touchdowns himself.
Stephen Rusnak drilled four field goals, setting the program’s new single-game record. Along with a pair of extra points, the redshirt junior totaled 14 points, tying the mark that Blake Brewer set twice.
Three of Rusnak’s four blasts were at least 40 yards, including a successful 50-yard kick in the first quarter. That was his third field goal of at least 50 yards this season, which ties the single-season record set in 2018 by Jonathan Cruz.
“I’d kick the kid from 65 (yards out),” Brewster said. “The other place where he’s so good is on kickoffs — we never get a return. Everything’s kicked out of the end zone. It is such an amazing weapon. And (special teams coordinator and running backs coach Greg Froelich) … we need to salute him. He does such an outstanding job.”
Charlotte’s defense forced FAU to run the football
The 49ers’ defense made its opponent throw the football.
Florida Atlantic (2-9, 0-8 American) appeared to have a 66-yard touchdown pass on its third play from scrimmage, but the score was nullified because of an ineligible man downfield penalty. The Owls’ offense pounded the rock and moved up to the 1-yard line — helped by a 49-yard blast from running back CJ Campbell Jr. — before being stopped by the Niner defense on third down and kept to a field goal.
While Charlotte surrendered 279 rushing yards, its defense limited FAU’s passing game to just six completions during the first half. The Niners ran the ball for only 46 yards themselves and allowed 458 total yards from the Owls, more than their 442 total yards.
They kept Florida Atlantic’s offense on the ground — and stopped the Owls on their last tries. Charlotte redshirt junior defensive lineman Katron Evans scooped up a loose ball and scored the Niners’ final touchdown, then forced a turnover on downs that secured the victory.
“When the game was on the line and we needed a fourth-down stop, we got it done,” Brewster said. “(Defensive coordinator Ryan Osborn) and the defense got it done. We were bending, we were breaking a little bit, but those kids never stopped believing that we were going to win this football game. And as a coach, that’s all you want to do: Instill in your players that regardless, we’re going to find a way to be in the game and have a chance to win.
“I brought the guys up at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and I’m just saying: ‘We’re 15 minutes away from a significant victory for this program.’ And our locker room was really, really awesome.”
This story was originally published November 23, 2024 at 6:51 PM.
