How 49ers coach Biff Poggi views his program heading into final home football game

A year ago this week, the Charlotte 49ers hired Biff Poggi to be the program’s third head coach. In the blink of an eye, 10 games have come and gone, and Saturday’s senior day matchup against Rice serves as the team’s penultimate bout in his first season as head man.

Coming off of a heartbreaking overtime loss at the hands of Memphis, Charlotte’s looking for a repeat of its last matchup against the Owls, when the Pete Rossomando-led 49ers left Houston with a program-best 56-point performance, blowing out Mike Bloomgren’s Rice team in the first game of the post-Will Healy era.

After scoring just 118 points through eight games (14.75 points per game) this season, Charlotte’s offense has exploded for a combined 71 in the past two contests, playing consecutive overtime games for the first time in program history.

With bowl eligibility out of reach, Poggi is focusing on the program’s growth and ending the season on a positive note — starting with honoring nearly 20 seniors on Saturday.

“We feel like our program is getting better every week. While we’re disappointed we didn’t win the Memphis game, we are encouraged by how we competed and played,” said Poggi. “If you look at the season, you see us getting better every week, and we feel like a good foundation is being laid.

“Senior days are mixed emotions. You’re happy because guys are graduating and are moving on with their lives and they’ve taken a step in their development as human beings. But they’re also sad days because you realize that all of those things are happening, and you’re not going to have a chance to be in their lives on a daily basis like you are when you coach them,” Poggi continued. “It will be an emotional day, but hopefully not too emotional because we have a game to play.”

The 49ers rushed for 223 yards in last week’s loss against the Tigers, their highest total of the season, with walk-on tailback Hahsaun Wilson leading the way with 198 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries.

Charlotte has seen a stark improvement in production in the running game, with the big guys up front paving the way for five different 49ers rushing for career highs in the past five games: Wilson 198 (Memphis), Henry Rutledge 92 yards (Tulsa), Terron Kellman 82 yards (FAU), Jalon Jones 127 yards (ECU) and Shadrick Byrd 92 yards (Navy).

Facing one of the worst run defenses in the conference, with the Owls surrendering over 160 yards per game on the ground, offensive coordinator Mike Miller and Poggi are optimistic about a repeat performance this Saturday.

“They’re coming together as people. They’re starting to understand the requirements and standards that we want from them, and they’re getting confidence,” Miller said of Charlotte’s offensive line. “It’s really nice to see them play that way.”

Poggi added: “It’s been a process. But building anything that’s going to last takes time. It’s the kind of style that Mike (Miller) and I want to play,” Poggi said of the rushing attack. “We want to be able to run the football, and when you do that, you have pretty good days throwing it, too.”

Quarterback play

After tossing four interceptions in Saturday’s loss, it’s back to square one for the 49ers at quarterback.

Trexler Ivey and Jalon Jones have split reps at the position throughout the season, and with Jones returning to good health, expect more of the same in the final two games of the season.

The two signal-callers shared a moment following the Memphis defeat, and Poggi told the media that they are the “best friends on the team.” The key to beating the Owls on Saturday starts with protecting the ball, and boding well for Miller’s offense, Rice has only recorded four interceptions all season — the second lowest in the AAC.

Despite losing three straight to some of the best teams that the American has to offer (Tulane, SMU and UTSA), the Owls (4-6, 2-4 AAC) still have bowl eligibility hopes and must win out to achieve the feat. Led by journeyman quarterback JT Daniels, who spent time at Southern California, Georgia and West Virginia before making a stop in Houston, the Owls have a potent passing attack (fourth best efficiency in AAC at 148.8) and will test Charlotte’s secondary on Saturday.

Daniels’ favorite target is Luke McCaffrey, brother of former Carolina Panther Christian McCaffrey. The youngest McCaffrey brother started his career at Nebraska as a quarterback and transferred to Rice in 2021, spending one season as a signal-caller before transitioning to wideout in 2022. McCaffrey has reeled in a career-best 768 yards and ten touchdowns on 51 catches this season and will likely be shadowed by Charlotte’s top corner, Dontae Balfour.

The Owls are only rushing for 90 yards per game as a team, the lowest in the conference. But tailback Dean Connors has been utilized early and often in the passing game and is currently the team’s second-leading receiver with 384 yards on 38 catches out of the backfield. Connors has been targeted 49 times on the season, with 23 of those coming behind the line of scrimmage, according to Pro Football Focus.

Charlotte’s defensive coordinator Ryan Osborn spoke about containing Connors, with defensive standouts Nikhai Hill-Green and Demetrius Knight in coverage. “Our scheme does a good enough job to handle those situations. If Mike (Bloomgren) is watching, we are going to account for (Dean) Connors,” Osborn joked. “So, keep him in protection. Thanks.”

When Daniels isn’t checking the ball down to Connors, he’s attacking the middle of the field — where Charlotte has struggled. The Owls are scoring 31.1 points per game this season, and the 49ers’ defense must be up to the challenge to score the first FBS win at Richardson Stadium this season.

Portal prophets

Following last Saturday’s heartbreaking overtime loss against Memphis, Osborn wasted no time pointing towards the transfer portal as a fix for some of Charlotte’s woes, stating, “There are some positions that we have to do a great job at the end of the year evaluating and find out where we need some more quality depth. I would say the safety position is that position. That’s the focus — that’s the asterisk. That’s the elephant in the room.”

Osborn followed those comments on Tuesday by saying he’d welcome Power Five players who aren’t experiencing the level of playtime and success they desire.

“There are plenty of guys in the country at Power Five schools who are not playing. ... We’re here. Charlotte, man. We’re here,” Osborn said. “We’ll take you, and we’ll play you. We’ll get the best out of you. We’ll put you in a position to be successful.”

Osborn expanded on three Power Five transfers who have been staples on his defense.

“Dontae (Balfour) is a big-time player. Obviously, we got him from UNC. I’m not really sure why they let him leave, but we’re happy they did,” Osborn continued. “You look at Dontae and Nikhai (Hill-Green) and Demetrius (Knight). Demetrius played nothing at Georgia Tech, and he comes here and is such an impactful player for us. It just shows the landscape of college football. We get more guys like that in this building; this place has a really good chance to be something. And I think we all know that.”

While it’s clear that Charlotte is looking to be takers, even buyers in the transfer portal, Poggi knows that the 49ers are bound to lose key pieces in what’s become college football’s version of free agency.

“We obviously won’t keep everybody. That’s just today’s game. Kids are going to leave. There will be kids that leave that we wish didn’t. That’s just the fact of life,” Poggi said. “We know that (other schools) will come looking because we’ve got a number of guys that have played really well.”