Charlotte 49ers embarrassed in home loss to Temple. Here’s what we learned
Homecoming weekend is rarely kind to the Charlotte 49ers, and Saturday’s 49-14 loss against Temple proved more of the same.
Amid one of the worst seasons in the program’s brief 13-year history, Charlotte (1-6, 0-4 American) has now lost every FBS game this season by double digits, with an average defeat of nearly 22 points.
Temple’s 21-point second-quarter onslaught put the game away early, capitalizing on Charlotte’s continuous turnovers. Owls quarterback Evan Simon combined for four touchdowns in the win, and Temple (4-3, 2-1 American) scored its fourth win of the season, marking the first time the Owls have achieved that feat since 2019. Temple’s last road conference win came in the same year.
It’s been an all-around struggle for Charlotte’s football program, which just moved on from athletic director Mike Hill on Thursday, and the 49ers have now lost four straight homecomings, dating back to 2021. To add insult to injury, Charlotte has won just three home games against FBS competition since 2022.
For what Charlotte has been on the field this season, now falling to 1-6, the 49ers looked like a competitive team for the first 15 minutes of the game. It took seven games, but Charlotte finally scored a touchdown in the first quarter for the first time this season, and Tim Albin’s team played like it had nothing to lose (fake punts, tempo, fourth-and-long attempts, throwing the ball to its best players, and even throwing it to the defense).
But even with the aggressive approach, the talent gap was evident.
After the game, Albin addressed Hill’s firing.
“I’d like to start by thanking Mike Hill for believing in (wife Brooke) and I, and giving us a chance to lead this program here at Charlotte,” said Albin. “As we look ahead, I want it be perfectly clear. We are fully aligned with chancellor (Sharon) Gaber and the vision she has for this university and the athletic department. I look forward to working with her and our interim athletic director Jesh Humphrey.”
Here is what we learned from Charlotte’s fourth consecutive loss.
Loftis starts at QB, Wilcke finishes the game
Since starting quarterback Conner Harrell sustained a season-ending knee injury against Rice in Week 4, the 49ers have alternated between Grayson Loftis and Zach Wilcke at signal caller — to no avail.
In Saturday’s loss, Loftis got the start on his birthday, turning the ball over twice in the opening half and finishing the day 10 of 22 for 108 yards, a touchdown, an interception, and a fumble before being replaced by Wilcke midway through the third quarter.
Loftis led two promising drives early in the action, one resulting in a turnover on downs and the other being the team’s lone touchdown of the game. Loftis completed all four of his passes for 52 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown toss to Gus McGee on fourth and goal, marking the first touchdown of McGee’s career.
Wilcke wasn’t much better in relief, completing five of his seven passes for 50 yards. Wilcke scored a 10-yard touchdown on the ground with 57 seconds to play.
Charlotte has one other quarterback on the roster, true freshman Luke McNaulty, who has yet to see the field this season.
Turnovers continue
Charlotte continued its season-long trend of giving away the ball away, turning the ball over three times in plus territory, resulting in 14 points on defense for the Owls — tying Charlotte’s offensive production.
Trailing by a touchdown at the time, Loftis connected with a wide-open Derrick Eley for a 32-yard gain early in the second quarter. Charlotte, which has rarely utilized tempo this season, hurried to the line, and Loftis fired a ball between two wideouts, both running curls. Owls’defensive back Adrian Laing jumped the route, putting the dagger in the game in the first half with a 64-yard pick-six.
Later in the first half, Loftis fumbled in plus territory. And to continue the trend for Charlotte’s running backs, Cameren Smith fumbled in plus territory and was recovered for a 72-yard scoop and score by the Owls. Charlotte’s top three tailbacks have all fumbled multiple times this season (CJ Stokes, Rod Gainey Jr., and Smith). Albin was a longtime running backs coach at Ohio.
Charlotte entered the day with a -7 turnover margin, ranking 129th out of 134 FBS schools. The 49ers turned the ball over three times and didn’t record a takeaway, falling to -10 on the season.
Season-long struggles; still fighting
Charlotte has five games left on the schedule, starting with North Texas (6-1, 2-1 American) next Friday night on ESPN2.
The 49ers still have trips to Greenville to take on East Carolina (4-3, 2-1 American), Athens to take on the No. 9 Georgia Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1 SEC), and conclude the season in New Orleans at Tulane (6-1, 3-0 American).
Albin knows that Charlotte needs more in the NIL department going forward, and the team offers plenty of early playing time for prospective recruits.
“Obviously, I’ve been working on some things with our leadership. We all know how important resources are, and there’s no way in heck I am going to blame anything on the money piece,” said Albin. “This is on me, but you can help yourself in this day and age. I don’t look at it as paying players. That’s not what we’re doing. We’re investing in this university. We need all the help we can get. This is uncharted waters with some of this stuff.
“Now with one (transfer) window, it’s a whole new ballgame. Now it’s changed, and I’m not happy about it. We need help. We’ve got 10 recruits here, another group coming Friday, and another for the UTSA game. Critical. I just had a young man commit coming up the stairs before I walked in this room. We’ve got 18 kids committed. I’m excited about it.”
After the player availabilities concluded, Braden Mullen, a first-year player at Charlotte after four seasons at Dartmouth, expressed his gratitude to the fan base.
“It hurts. We hurt as a team putting together a performance like that. We’re working every day, and I love every guy in that locker room. We’re working our tails off, and we’ll keep working. We’ve got y’all.”
This story was originally published October 18, 2025 at 8:04 PM.