Charlotte was just trounced by FAU on homecoming, but the 49ers aren’t done yet

Charlotte’s lopsided homecoming loss Saturday evening to Florida Atlantic is not a measuring stick of where the 49ers’ program sits in the Conference USA football race, coach Will Healy said.

“This is not the end of what we’re trying to do,” Healy said after the 49ers were handed a 45-27 setback at Richardson Stadium.

“It’s a roadblock,” he added. “We have seven more games, and we plan to get where we want to go. We’re not done.”

Here’s what that roadblock looked like:

• Florida Atlantic (3-2, 1-0) totaled 557 yards offense, with quarterback Chris Robison completing 20-of-27 passes for 312 yards.
• The 49ers (2-3, 0-1) were especially prone to big plays. Florida Atlantic had six gains of 30 yards or more — half of those in the first quarter, when the Owls quickly built a 14-0 lead and never trailed.
• The 49er defense seemed hard-pressed to stop the Owls when they needed to. Twice, Charlotte battled back to within a field goal. Florida Atlantic drove for a score on its next series both times.
• Charlotte’s ground game, which entered the contest ranked No. 1 in Conference USA, was held to 52 yards.
• The 49ers hurt themselves with penalties. Perhaps the most costly was in the third quarter, when Charlotte rallied to within 24-21 and forced the Owls into a fourth-and-1 at their own 40. Florida Atlantic decided to go for the first down and threw an incomplete pass. But Charlotte went offside, giving the Owls new life. They drove for a touchdown.

“What we put on the field tonight was unacceptable,” Healy said. “But we’re not done.

“What I’ve seen from this group is they’ll come out hungrier than ever to change it. It’s a resilient group. Everyone in the locker room understands this is not the product we want to put on the field.”

Bye — friend or foe?

The 49ers now have an off week before returning to action Oct. 12 at Florida International. Healy said he has mixed feelings about that.

“I don’t like going into a bye off a loss,” he said. “I hate to go recruiting off a loss. You have to go tell players that this is what we could be.”

But, he added, “It will give us two weeks to fix the things we have to fix.”

49ers linebacker Henry Segura said he feels the team played well at times … but not all the time.

“I feel we’re working toward eliminating mistakes, but we haven’t been consistent,” he said. “It’s important for us to find that consistency.”

What about Benny?

Charlotte running back Benny LeMay seemingly was a forgotten part of the 49er offense Saturday. He rushed 11 times for 50 yards, and Healy said that needs to change.

“I don’t ever want to throw the ball 31 times like we did, but when you get down 14-0, your strategy changes,” he said. “Benny LeMay is a good running back who deserves more than 11 carries a game.”

Some bright spots

• Early in the fourth quarter, defensive end Alex Highsmith recorded his sixth sack of the season. That broke Charlotte’s single-season record of five, set in 2014 by Larry Ogunjobi, now a starter with the Cleveland Browns.
• The 49ers’ Chris Reynolds threw for three touchdowns, giving Charlotte 12 passing touchdowns in five games. The team had only 10 passing touchdowns all of last season.
• Sophomore wide receiver Victor Tucker had his first 100-yard receiving game of the season. He had six catches for 115 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown snag.
• Linebacker Jeff Gemmell, who missed the previous two games with an ankle injury, returned to the lineup and intercepted a pass.

Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle

This story was originally published September 29, 2019 at 9:26 AM with the headline "Charlotte was just trounced by FAU on homecoming, but the 49ers aren’t done yet."