Charlotte 49ers seek offensive spark against high-scoring Monmouth

It’s been just two weeks since college football returned to the Queen City, and the Charlotte 49ers have already found themselves in must-win territory following consecutive lackluster offensive performances.

The early-season concerns are not because Charlotte lost to in-state opponents Appalachian State (2-0) and North Carolina (1-1). The 49ers were underdogs in both games — and understandably so.

It’s how Charlotte (0-2) has looked on offense in both contests that is raising concerns. And with an FCS team on the schedule this Saturday, which is family weekend and the 49ers’ Hall of Fame Game, Charlotte must use this opportunity to right the ship before American Conference play begins the following week.

But as Charlotte fans remember, FCS opponents are seldom easy victories — and Monmouth (2-0) is a Top 25-ranked FCS foe. The Hawks return their first-team all-conference quarterback, Derek Robertson, and are scoring at will — averaging over 45 points per game.

Monmouth runs an up-tempo offense featuring a heavy dose of run-pass options (RPOs). They Hawks lead the FCS in yards per game at 573.5.

“They’re going to put pressure on us with the scoreboard. Offensively, we’ll have to play our best; we’ll have to play our best game period to be in the game,” Charlotte head coach Tim Albin told the media on Tuesday. “I’m encouraged. Our coaches are coaching the heck out of (our players). They haven’t shown any splintering. My confidence level is fine; I’m just banging my head on how to fix the issues. Good coaches fix problems, and really good coaches fix what causes them.”

And the No. 1 problem Albin and his staff must address? A total of 14 points scored in two games.

Charlotte has found the end zone just once this season, and its rushing attack ranks 133 out of 134 FBS teams with just 48.5 yards per game. That’s an average of 1.67 yards per carry on 58 attempts. And when the 49ers have strung together long drives to put themselves in position to score, the redzone has resisted. Charlotte has scored on just one of its five red zone attempts, which is again in the bottom three of the FBS.

So, what must change?

“First of all, I’ll tip my hat to the front sevens of our first two opponents. I’d like to say it’s all mistakes — it’s not. We’re not good enough on offense to overcome second-and-long, which was the theme in the first game. We had a better jump in the second game, but we just couldn’t finish,” Albin said. “The light at the end of the tunnel is that in both of those games, we’ve had long drives. We’re turning over all the rocks to give us our best chance to be able to finish.”

Through two games, the biggest improvement we’ve seen under Albin’s 49ers is the defense. After allowing 18 chunk plays and nearly 600 yards of total offense against the Mountaineers, Charlotte’s defense found its footing against the Tar Heels. North Carolina totaled 303 yards of total offense and just three points in the second half.

The 49ers’ defensive coordinator, Nate Faanes, found the right lineup combinations in Saturday night’s loss, even without starting defensive linemen Jaylon Johnson and DJ Burgess, the latter out for the season with an upper-body injury.

And Charlotte’s defensive front will be heavily relied on Saturday.

Robertson, Monmouth’s graduate signal-caller, has a common theme through two games: if there’s pressure in the pocket, the Hawks are turnover-prone. Robertson has tossed five interceptions in the first two games, just one shy of his 2024 season mark, when he totaled 31 touchdowns to just six interceptions.

This season, opposing defenses have blitzed the Hawks nearly 50% of the time, resulting in four of Robertson’s five interceptions. When under pressure this season, Robertson has completed just two of his seven attempts for 13 yards and three interceptions.

Meaning that if Charlotte can win up front, which hasn’t been proven, recording just one sack through two games, the 49ers can win the turnover battle —and possibly the game.

Looking back at Charlotte’s recent FCS opponents, dating back to 2021, the 49ers haven’t won the turnover battle in any of the four matchups, resulting in uncomfortably close games and even a lopsided loss to William & Mary in 2022.

How can Charlotte avoid another home FCS nailbiter on Saturday? Prepare like it’s not an FCS team, according to Elon transfer defensive back Caleb Curtain and right tackle Mason Bowers.

“I used to play in the CAA (Coastal Athletic Association), so I know any team is capable of winning any game,” Curtain said. “We’re not saying this is an FCS coming in here; this is a team that’s capable of winning.”

Said Bowers: “As a team, we’re not looking at this team like they’re an FCS team. We haven’t won a game yet. We’ve got something to prove, and we’re hungry.”

Albin seems to have anticipated the early struggles, stating at media day that “(Charlotte) would be a good football team, I just don’t know when.”

The 49ers will need every bit of their sold-out home-field advantage on Saturday night to score their first victory.

Week 3 injury report

Albin announced that both wideout Jayden McGowan (lower body) and defensive end DJ Burgess (upper body) are out for the season.

Edge Jaylon Johnson missed the North Carolina game but returned to practice Tuesday and is expected to play against Monmouth.

Wideout Sean Brown sustained a contusion during his catch and run in the UNC loss and is expected to be OK, but didn’t practice on Tuesday, according to Albin.

Running back Henry Rutledge is awaiting the results of an MRI for a lower-body injury after pulling himself after playing five snaps against the Tar Heels.

Center Jonny King is considered questionable for Saturday’s contest after exiting in the second half against UNC.

This story was originally published September 10, 2025 at 5:30 AM.