USF football too much for Charlotte to handle as 49ers drop tough road test

The Sunshine State is rarely kind to the Charlotte 49ers, and Friday night’s nationally televised demolition at the hands of Alex Golesh and the South Florida Bulls proved more of the same.

It took less than one minute for the Bulls to light up the scoreboard at Raymond James Stadium, with former 49ers running back Cartevious Norton finding the endzone from 37 yards out, kickstarting a 54-26 blowout in Tampa.

“I tip my hat to coach Golesh and his football team. They got after us in all three phases. That quarterback (Bryum Brown) makes them go,” Charlotte head coach Tim Albin said. “Offensively, it was a rough first half. We had big eyes. Deer in the headlights type of thing. The defense was out there too much. Charlotte’s got to quit beating itself.”

South Florida (4-1) totaled 631 yards of offense in the win, with quarterback Bryum Brown combining for 373 yards and five touchdowns. It was an offensive clinic in the first and fourth quarters for South Florida, totaling 23 points in the opening period and bull-rushing the floodgates on what was a lopsided final score.

But despite the early deficit, Albin’s 49ers (1-4, 0-2 American) stayed in the game, cutting the Bulls’ lead to just two possessions in the fourth quarter, utilizing a night-and-day difference in the offense after Albin benched Duke transfer Grayson Loftis in favor of third-string quarterback Zach Wilcke.

Operating without starting quarterback Connor Harrell, who is out for the season with a knee injury, among other key players, Albin knew it would be a challenge. And despite the defense forcing its first turnover in a calendar month (four on the night), Charlotte’s frequent miscues and bad defense resulted in their fourth loss through five games.

Here is what we learned from Charlotte’s first road loss of the season:

Zach Wilcke should start moving forward

Following one of the worst quarters of offense in the history of college football, featuring seven times as many penalty yards (42) as total yards (6), negative-3 yards through the air, a turnover, 0.4 yards per play, and zero first downs, Albin elected to make a change at quarterback, benching Loftis in favor of Wilcke.

And Wilcke made the most of his opportunity, leading Charlotte’s offense and pulling the 49ers within two scores in the second half. Wilcke, the redshirt junior JUCO transfer, completed 14 of his 18 passes for 150 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception.

Wilcke’s best throw of the game came on a slot fade in the red zone, finding redshirt freshman Derrick Eley in the back of the endzone for his first collegiate touchdown. Wilcke did throw a bad interception, tossing right to D.J. Harris, who dropped into coverage from his defensive end position.

Loftis finished the game 2-of-11 for -1 yards passing and an interception. It was clear that Wilcke was the better option, but Albin elected not to name a starter moving forward after the game.

“We made a change, put Zach in there, and there were some sparks. We did some things we could build off of (in the second half),” Albin said. “I said that we’d probably see all three quarterbacks at a point in time, but I didn’t think it would be under these circumstances.

“We’ve got to see the film, and talk to Todd (Fitch). I know there was a spark there. We continued to get Zach reps, and that will be a question for the next presser. I’m encouraged with it.”

Second half resurgence; miscues still present

Trailing by 26 points to open the second half, Charlotte showed what Albin would call a “glimpse” of complementary football, but untimely turnovers and self-inflicted wounds nailed the comeback window shut.

It took just one drive for Wilcke to settle into Charlotte’s offense, pushing the ball down the field to wideout Sean Brown early and often. Although the scoring position turnover trend continued, with CJ Stokes and Javen Nicholas fumbling in plus-territory on consecutive drives in the third quarter, the offense was much improved with Wilcke in the game.

Even when Charlotte did have momentum, there were unforced errors, penalties, and turnovers that resulted in more South Florida points. The 49ers were penalized 11 times in the game for 82 yards and turned the ball over four times.

“If we don’t have (all of) the penalties and turnovers, we’re not going to win any games. You’re just not. And it doesn’t matter who is coaching,” Albin said. “We’re going to continue to work on it. We have to play complementary football.”

First takeaways since season-opener

For the first time in 15 quarters and over a month of real-time, the Charlotte 49ers’ defense forced a takeaway, totaling four on the game. It had been since the first quarter of the season-opener against Appalachian State since Charlotte’s defense had given its offense an extra possession, but spotting the Bulls 23 points in the first quarter was the 49ers’ undoing.

Charlotte forced two fumbles in the first half, with defensive linemen Caleb Irving and linebacker Reid Williford punching the ball out to stop the bleeding early in the action. The Bulls slowed their tempo in the second half and seemed to let up – and Charlotte’s defense continued to be opportunistic.

Ohio transfer Kadin Schmitz recorded the team’s first interception of the season late in the first half, and Ja’Qurious Conley snagged a tip-drill interception and nearly returned it for a touchdown — setting up Wilcke’s first touchdown pass of the night to E. Jai Mason.

It’s impossible to say the defense played even decently, allowing over 600 yards, 407 rushing yards, and 50 points, but the takeaways showed a pulse to what was a lifeless unit in the first quarter. The Bulls’ tempo was relentless in the first half, totaling 97 offensive snaps on the game, with an average of 6.5 yards per play.

“It’s fast. We practiced all two weeks for it, and did as much as we could with our scout team,” Williford said. “You can never train as much until you’re in the game and see it. I think partially, we might have freaked ourselves out a little bit about the tempo. Maybe a little too much. We started stale. Just didn’t do a good enough job.”

And allowing a season-worst 21 chunk plays, it could have been much worse. The Bulls’ wideouts dropped six catchable balls in the first half alone, and played what Golesh considered a “sloppy” game in a three-score victory.

Outclassed by a much better team, program

To give context to what was a lopsided game, and one that could have been even worse without some self-inflicted wounds by the Bulls, we’ll look at both sides.

Charlotte was a 28.5-point underdog coming into the game, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. That’s the first time since 2023 (against SMU; now in ACC) that Charlotte was a 20-plus point underdog against a Group of Five team. And that four-touchdown differential in the odds was well-earned by South Florida, which has faced one of the toughest schedules in the nation, scoring victories over No. 25 Boise State and No. 13 Florida, and losing to No. 5 Miami on the road.

After taking the head coaching job in 2023, Golesh rebuilt a program that had won just four games in its last 33 contests. Since taking over, the Bulls have won consecutive bowl games, knocked off multiple nationally ranked teams, and have a real chance to make the College Football Playoff — all while playing a challenging non-conference slate, featuring SEC and ACC competition, much like the 49ers. The South Florida football program was established in 1997, 16 years before Charlotte’s began (2013).

And for Albin, who took over the 49ers after the brief Biff Poggi tenure (6-16 in fewer than two seasons), the turnaround he is tasked with isn’t quite as stark as Golesh’s. The 49ers won five games a season ago, tying for the second-best record in the program’s history. However, the combination of transfer portal exits and compounding injuries across the board has derailed the first half of Albin’s first season.

In Albin’s first season at Ohio, he won just three games. The next three seasons, he totaled 31 wins, two MAC Coach of the Year Awards, and a MAC Championship. And that’s the hope that Charlotte fans are holding on to, as Albin is the most qualified head coach at the FBS level that the program has had.

Former Charlotte RB Cartevious Norton hospitalized

After scoring the game’s first points and totaling 69 yards on 13 carries, South Florida tailback Cartevious Norton was taken off the field on a stretcher and hospitalized following a hit on the goal line late in the game. Golesh told the media that Norton was transported to Tampa General Hospital immediately after the play, and he’s dealing with a neck injury.

“Obviously praying that nothing terrible (happens). You never want to see that as a dad and as a coach,” said Golesh. “God’s hands are all over him.”

Norton played for Charlotte last season under Biff Poggi, and both teams took a knee as the medical team helped Norton. Albin shared his thoughts and prayers after the game.

“Thoughts and prayers go out to Cartevious. We’ll follow up and see where that’s at. There’s a history with Cartevious at Charlotte. I don’t know him well, but I spoke with him when I took over here, and we are thinking about him and a speedy recovery.”