Charlotte 49ers football hosts Florida Atlantic with a chance to turn its season around

It took seven games, but Biff Poggi’s Charlotte 49ers have finally found their identity.

Charlotte scored a much-needed victory over East Carolina last Saturday, holding the Pirates to just 127 yards of total offense and breaking a five-game skid to record its first American Athletic Conference victory.

Preparation for Friday night’s matchup with Florida Atlantic (3-4, 2-1 AAC) started on the bus ride home from Greenville as the 49ers (2-5, 1-2 AAC) look to keep their bowl hopes alive and beat a team that’s handed Charlotte four consecutive losses dating to 2018.

“Our defense continues to be a dominant force, and offensively, I think we took a really big step forward and found an identity,” Poggi said on Tuesday. “We’re starting to put things together, and I’m very proud of the maturity of the team. They’re really coming together, and we can see that in the way they play.”

ESPN2 will televise the Friday night matchup between the visiting Owls and the 49ers, who will look to rebound from their most recent home appearance — when Navy kept Charlotte off the board on homecoming at Jerry Richardson Stadium.

Sticking with Jones

Despite scoring just one touchdown in the past eight quarters of play, Charlotte’s offense has a renewed sense of confidence, with Poggi naming Jalon Jones the starting quarterback moving forward.

After being the season-opening starter, Jones was pulled in multiple games in favor of walk-on Trexler Ivey, including being moved to wide receiver against Navy just two weeks ago. Following Saturday’s victory, the quarterback battle is over, according to Poggi.

“(Jones’) challenge is that he’s got to deal with a head coach that can’t make his mind up, but my mind is made up finally — it took half the season,” Poggi said on Tuesday.

Jones has been Charlotte’s leading rusher in four of their seven games, including season highs in carries (26) and yards (127) in Saturday’s victory over the Pirates. But it’s Jones’ inconsistency in the passing game that created the quarterback controversy, and he’s working to take that next step against the Owls on Friday night.

“That’s a part of my game that I’m continuing to work on every day — just continuing to improve as a passer. That’s really where coaches have told me that I’m dynamic in the running game, but what can continue to break a team’s will is the passing ability,” Jones said. “I feel like I’m the type of player that you always have to game plan for, no matter what.”

Alongside Jones in the backfield is Shadrick Byrd, a team captain and holdover from Will Healy’s tenure. After two seasons of 500-plus yards on the ground, Byrd’s role has changed drastically under Poggi, utilized mainly as a third or fourth option with just 24 carries through five games.

But following the season-ending injury to four-star freshman Durell Robinson, Byrd’s production has jumped, with 32 carries over the past two weeks, including his career-best of 92 yards on 20 carries against Navy on homecoming. Not only is Byrd crafty with the ball in his hands, but he’s also providing Jones with a sense of security in the backfield.

“Having 13 back there beside me is so peaceful,” Jones said of Byrd. “He’s just a dog. He might not always show up in the stats as well as he should have, but there’s not a Saturday that goes by that Byrd doesn’t have an effect on this game. He’s just a calming presence.”

Byrd has seen 51 snaps in consecutive games and will continue to split carries with Northern Illinois transfer Terron Kellman against Florida Atlantic.

One of the 49ers’ struggles has been the turnover battle, where Charlotte is currently minus-6 and has given the ball away five times in the past two games. If Charlotte is to break the near five-calendar-year drought against Florida Atlantic, it starts with protecting the ball and sustaining long, clock-eating drives.

Small margin for error

While Ryan Osborn’s defense is trending up, currently ranking fourth in the AAC in both points (22.7) and yards (345.1) allowed, Charlotte’s offense, led by offensive coordinator Mike Miller, hasn’t shown the ability to match the level of production. Charlotte’s offense ranks 129th in the FBS, scoring just 14.6 points per game.

“We have to get better to win this game. We’ve done nothing. We’re 2-5,” Poggi said.

Boding well for Charlotte, Florida Atlantic quarterback Daniel Richardson has thrown an interception in five straight games, including two against Texas-San Antonio last week. The Roadrunners sacked Richardson five times — all while rushing just four, according to Pro Football Focus.

Charlotte boasts one of the best edge combos in the AAC, with Stone Handy and Eyabi Okie-Anoma combining for 13.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks this season. Following a weekend of film study, Osborn thinks Charlotte will have no problem slowing down the Owls’ offensive attack.

“What they do offensively, they put skill guys on lesser athletes and try and to get mismatches in that regard, by some of the different formations and motions they use,” he said. ”We’ve got to do a really good job playing our calls, and I think we’ll have a really good day on Friday night.”

Wideout LaJohntay Wester has been Richardson’s favorite target through five games, catching 66 passes for 636 yards and three touchdowns — 41 catches more than the Owls’ second-highest receiver. Wester has seen over 75% of his snaps in the slot, catching over half of his targets between the numbers in short to intermediate distances (0-9 yards beyond the line of scrimmage).

It means that Wester will often be matched up with Charlotte’s leading tacklers Nikhai Hill-Green and Demetrius Knight, with the latter achieving AAC Defensive Player of the Week honors following his nine tackle, two tackle for loss and two pass deflection performance against ECU last Saturday.

On the defensive side, Florida Atlantic will be preparing for Jones’ option attack, looking to take away the quick run-pass-option targets by getting their hands in the passing lanes at the line of scrimmage. The Owls are tied for seventh in the nation with two interceptions returned for touchdowns on the season, and Jones must play mistake-free football if the 49ers are to add to their win total.

Charlotte will again lean heavily on its defense in hopes that key takeaways will provide the offense with short fields and easy scoring opportunities.

“It’s the most sound defense that we’ve prepped for. There’s not a lot of different looks, there’s not multiple fronts or coverages — they kind of play what they play,” Miller said. “For us, it’s winning the turnover margin. Eliminating sacks, which was huge for us last Saturday — we didn’t take a sack. And then the penalties. We’ve got to do a better job in the red zone, finishing drives and putting points on the board.”