Owls’ defense falters in rout of 49ers
Charlotte played like it was desperate for a win and willing to pull out all the stops to make it happen against Rice. The 49ers, under the leadership of a first-game interim head coach, were not looking like a 1-7 team.
The 49ers came into the Conference USA matchup ranking in the bottom 15 of the nation in numerous defensive categories. And they had not exactly been a juggernaut on offense either.
But Charlotte proved to be a dangerous team. The 49ers came to life on Saturday afternoon at Rice Stadium, surprising the Owls 56-23 and putting a damper on Rice’s homecoming crowd of 18,187.
“We owed our fans a better product,” Rice coach Mike Bloomgren said. “It’s not how we thought the game would go. It stings because we had fans in the stands that cared, and we wanted to put on a good show for them.”
Instead, it was the visiting team that outperformed. Both teams ran 63 plays, but Charlotte gained 514 yards and 142 of Rice’s 370 yards came in the first quarter. The 49ers also did not commit a turnover.
“They took us to the woodshed,” Bloomgren said. “We earned this loss every bit as much as Charlotte earned this win.
“We knew they were a good, talented offense. Largely the same offense as last year. And they hadn’t put it together this year and they did today.”
Behind quarterback Chris Reynolds, the 49ers shredded Rice’s defense, scoring touchdowns on seven straight possessions at one point. Three of Reynolds’ five touchdown passes went to Elijah Spencer.
“A guy like Reynolds, you let that guy get rolling he can put up points,” said end Trey Schuman, who had one of the Owls’ three sacks. “When we weren’t able to affect him, we’re letting their run game get rolling.”
Charlotte ran for 239 yards. Calvin Camp came off the bench in the second quarter. His first two carries netted 16 and 44 yards respectively on the way to an 80-yard effort.
A sixth-year player and former walk-on, Reynolds was an efficient 16of-19 passing for 254 yards. His counterpart T.J. McMahon threw three touchdown passes, two to Bradley Rozner. But that was not nearly enough to keep the Owls from avoiding their first loss at home this season.
While Charlotte put together two good halves, Rice could not get comfortable on offense and defense.
Rice led 14-7 after the first quarter and the Owls were up 17-14 midway of the second quarter following a 35-yard field goal from Christian VanSickle. But the 49ers ran off 35 unanswered points and the game quickly got away from the home team.
Charlotte (2-7, 1-4) took control in the second quarter and the 49ers kept it going, handing the Owls (4-4, 2-2) a humbling defeat. The 49ers scored on their final four drives of the half to take a 28-17 halftime lead.
Rice was looking to build off last week’s 42-41 overtime win at Louisiana Tech. But that did not materialize. Saturday was a crushing defeat for a team that has designs on reaching six wins and being bowl eligible.
The Owls don’t have much time to reflect on the disappointing loss that dropped them back to .500 for the season as well as in C-USA with a short recovery time. Rice plays host to UTEP on Thursday inside Rice Stadium for a 6 p.m. kickoff.
“We’re going to have to move on quickly,” Bloomgren said. “There are things that have to get fixed.”
McMahon threw scoring passes of 35 and 29 yards to Rozner, who had five receptions for 105 yards. McMahon connected with Luke McCaffrey for a 27-yard touchdown.
McCaffrey caught four passes for 58 yards. The receiver gained 37 yards on a second-quarter run. On his only carry of the game, he was Rice’s second-leading rusher behind McMahon’s 45 yards.
Rice pretty much abandoned its run game trying to catch up in the second half as the game clock was getting away from the Owls.
Offensive line coach Pete Rossomando was on the Charlotte sideline. Will Healy was relieved of his duties this past Sunday.
Rossomando called a few unconventional plays including converting a fake punt in the third quarter.
“They played loose,” Bloomgren said. “We have to relax and play, and that’s when we’re at our best.”