Benny LeMay had a career night at FIU, but mistakes continue to doom Charlotte 49ers
The Charlotte 49ers will need to quickly figure out what went oh-so wrong in Saturday’s 48-23 Conference USA loss at Florida International.
The 49ers (2-4, 0-2 C-USA) can’t afford another performance like they had against the Panthers (1-2, 3-3) with Western Kentucky — the league’s surprise team — next on the schedule this coming Saturday in Bowling Green, Ky.
Charlotte, now on a three-game losing streak, was beaten in every aspect of the game against FIU. Running back Benny LeMay did his best to keep the 49ers in it, but even his career-best 234 yards from scrimmage (144 rushing, 90 receiving) were overshadowed by the Panthers’ trio of Anthony Jones (117 yards and four touchdowns), Napoleon Maxwell (114) and D’Vonte Price (86). FIU ended up with 510 total offensive yards, 350 on the ground.
The 49ers came into the game allowing a league-high 39.6 points per game, as well as 392.4 total yards. First-year coach Will Healy said that during the week his team had off after losing 45-27 against Florida Atlantic on Sept. 28, the defense completely reinstalled the new 4-2-5 system Healy brought with him from Austin Peay.
That didn’t faze the Panthers, who dominated a 49ers defense that was either caught out of place on many plays or, when the opportunities presented themselves, missed a multitude of tackles.
“We’re not executing like we need to,” Healy said. “If we have self-inflicted wounds, don’t tackle well and don’t get aligned properly, that’s what’s going to happen.”
Except for LeMay, the 49ers were punchless on offense. Quarterback Chris Reynolds completed 6-of-10 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown. Only one receiver — Cameron Dollar — caught a pass, and he caught just one. The others were to LeMay and backup running back Aaron McAllister.
The 49ers had a chance to at least keep the game close or potentially take the lead late in the first half after LeMay scored on a 43-yard pass from Reynolds to cut the Panthers’ lead to 21-17. On FIU’s next possession, Charlotte’s Marquees Lyon sacked quarterback James Morgan, who fumbled.
Healy encourages — actually mandates — that the 49ers celebrate good plays. They did so this time, but prematurely. Instead of somebody falling on the ball, it squirted out of the pile and was scooped up by Price, who ran 34 yards to the Charlotte 47.
Seven plays later, the Panthers scored again and it was 28-17 at halftime.
The mistakes — mental and physical — were costly. With East Division-leading WKU (4-2, 3-0) next, a cleanup can’t come quickly enough for Charlotte. But the problems have been building for most of the season and were glaring against FIU.
“They kicked our butt,” Healy said. “I don’t think there’s any other way to put it. They ran the ball really well and had no turnovers. We obviously have so much to work on to grow and respond next week.”