College football roundup: 49ers’ coach, AD to discuss resources this week
Charlotte 49ers’ head football coach Tim Albin said over the weekend that he plans to meet this week with athletics director Kevin White to discuss financial resources for the football program.
This comes in the wake of the winless 49ers’ latest one-sided loss – a 50-10 setback at North Texas on Saturday.
It was a rough weekend for Charlotte-area schools overall, with App State, Davidson and Gardner-Webb also losing. Johnson C. Smith, which won easily again, continues to be a bright spot.
Charlotte is 0-6 and has lost 15 straight games. Its last victory over an FBS program was in the final game of the 2024 season.
Several published reports have put the 49ers near the bottom of the American Conference in football budget and NIL and other payments to players. White announced last year a major fundraising drive to improve facilities and increase budgets for football and other programs.
Charlotte has been outscored 109-18 in its last two games by teams – Memphis and North Texas – thought to be near the top of the American Conference in spending.
“I’m on record saying that,” Albin said, referring to the spending gap between Charlotte’s program and some of the American’s big spenders. “I believe that’s absolutely true.”
He said the meeting with White will, hopefully, provide some ideas on how the football budget, including NIL and other payments to players, can be increased.
“We’re trying to figure out how to move the resources around, to give us the best chance to land talent,” Albin said.
Both Memphis and North Texas lost their head coaches to Power Four schools at the end of last season, but both schools also brought in large numbers of new players through the transfer portal. Albin said North Texas didn’t have a single returning starter this season.
“There are guys on both of those teams that we made a run at,” Albin said. “We’ve got to get to the bottom of landing those guys.”
As for Saturday’s loss at North Texas, Albin said the 49ers were missing several starters due to injuries, and the running game again fell short of what was needed.
“They were a big football team,” Albin said of the Mean Green. “There were some mismatches (on the offensive line). We were missing some guys – several guys – up front.”
He said Conner Harrell, who got his first start of the season at quarterback after recovering from a serious knee injury last year, played well. Harrell threw a pair of interceptions, but Albin said both passes were thrown a little high, and North Texas defenders won the battle for tipped balls.
“It felt good to be out there,” Harrell said. “Obviously, we can’t have the turnovers, but we’ll work on that.”
Harrell completed 15-of-22 passes for 218 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown pass to Derrick Eley.
“That felt good,” Harrell said.
North Texas led only 10-3 after the first quarter but outscored the 49ers 30-7 in the second quarter, including scoring plays of 61 and 75 yards.
Other Charlotte-area schools
App State
Final score: Old Dominion 10, App State 3
What it means: The Mountaineers (3-2, 0-1 Sun Belt) dropped their conference opener and have lost two in a row. Saturday’s game was played in a driving rain in Boone, as the remnants of Hurricane Isaias moved through.
How it happened: After a scoreless first half, App State took a 3-0 lead late in the third quarter, but the Monarchs (2-4, 1-2) scored a safety with nine seconds left in the period when App State had a bad snap on a punt attempt from the end zone. Old Dominion, which missed a pair of field goal tries in the first half, drove for a touchdown and a two-point conversion with 9:30 left.
App State totaled only 66 rushing and 92 passing yards. Quarterback Malachi Singleton, one of the FBS passing leaders entering the game, completed just 5-of-23 throws for 72 yards. He was injured late in the game, and head coach Dowell Loggains said he did not know the severity of the injury.
Dowell Loggains said: “We could never put anything together offensively. They (the Monarchs) had to deal with the same weather we did, so that’s not a reason.”
What’s next: The Mountaineers have a Friday night game this week, traveling to Conway, S.C., to face Coastal Carolina (8 p.m., ESPN2).
Davidson
Final score: Presbyterian 38, Davidson 21
What it means: The Wildcats (2-5, 0-3 Pioneer Football) suffered their third straight loss and were outgained 494 to 259 by the Blue Hose (3-3, 2-1). The game was played in a steady rain, like most of the games played Saturday in the Carolinas.
How it happened: You can point to the second quarter for this loss. Davidson trailed 17-14 after the first quarter but was outscored 20-0 in the second period. Presbyterian did the damage on the ground, rushing for nearly 130 yards in the second quarter and 359 for the game.
Davidson took a 14-0 lead on a Casey Bullock touchdown run and a scoring pass from Bullock to A.J. Adams. A Blue Hose fumble set up the second score. But the Wildcats were stifled by Presbyterian’s defense the rest of the way. A bright spot was the punting of Christos Tzoumakas, who averaged 42.2 yards for four kicks in the nasty conditions.
What’s next? After two straight road games, Davidson comes home to face Morehead State at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Johnson C. Smith
Final score: Johnson C. Smith 49, Shaw 6 (played Friday)
What it means: The game was moved from Saturday to Friday, to avoid the bad weather from Hurricane Isaias. It was the fifth straight victory for the Golden Bulls (5-1, 4-0), who remain atop the CIAA.
How it happened: Quarterback Damien Menzil accounted for five touchdowns, throwing for four scores and running for another. The Golden Bulls totaled 518 yards’ offense and held Shaw (4-3, 2-3) to 212 yards. Mazil completed 12-of-18 passes for 301 yards, and running back Fabian Duncan carried 19 times for 100 yards. The Golden Bulls never had to punt in the game.
What’s next? Johnson C. Smith has homecoming Saturday, facing Lincoln (PA) in a CIAA game.
Gardner-Webb
Final score: Eastern Illinois 21, Gardner-Webb 7
What it means: Without standout quarterback Cole Pennington, the Runnin’ Bulldogs offense had a tough time generating points. But the Bulldogs’ defense limited Eastern Illinois to six first downs and 173 total yards.
How it happened: After a scoreless first half, a Gardner-Webb fumble gave Eastern Illinois the ball at the Bulldogs’ 1. The Panthers scored on the next play. Gardner-Webb (2-5, 1-1 Ohio Valley) tied it on a 37-yard pass from Lan Farmer to Kory Jones early in the fourth quarter. But the Panthers (2-4, 1-0) put together a long scoring drive, then added a touchdown with 1:18 left after the Bulldogs’ failed to convert on a fourth down at their own 22.
Gardner-Webb officials did not say why Pennington, who had thrown for 1,880 yards (No. 3 in FCS) did not play. Farmer, a freshman and a former Shelby High standout, threw for 96 yards and ran for 74.
What’s next: Gardner-Webb travels to Ohio Valley foe UT Martin for a 3 p.m. game Saturday.
Catawba
Final score: Newberry 28, Catawba 17
What it means: Catawba (3-4, 2-3 South Atlantic) was hurt by three turnovers, while Newberry (4-2, 3-2) had no turnovers. Catawba was outscored 21-0 over the game’s final 21 minutes.
How it happened: Newberry passed for 273 yards in the driving rain, including a 21-yard toss in the third quarter and a 64-yard throw for the go-ahead score in the final period. Freshman Jayden Jones, a former Independence High standout, rushed for 49 yards, including a 40-yard burst.
What’s next? Catawba visits South Atlantic foe Anderson for a 2 p.m. game Saturday.
Lenoir-Rhyne
Final score: Lenoir-Rhyne 50, UVA Wise 24
What it means: The Bears (3-4, 2-3 South Atlantic) got a huge game from running back Shermon Davis, who rushed for 243 yards. It was the most rushing yardage for a Lenoir-Rhyne player since Nelson Brown ran for 256 yards nine years ago against Tusculum.
How it happened: Lenoir-Rhyne reached the 50-point mark for the first time since beating Shepherd 63-17 in the 2023 NCAA Division 2 playoffs. The Bears raced to a 24-0 lead, scoring on runs by L.J. Turner and Wells Bettenhausen, on a Bettenhausen-to-Carson Spoonts pass, and on a Daniel Deneen Jr. field goal. The Bears lead reached 50-10 before UVA Wise (1-6, 1-4) scored twice in the closing 4:35. Lenoir-Rhyne totaled 564 yards’ offense
What’s next? Lenoir-Rhyne celebrates homecoming Saturday with a 2 p.m. game against Wingate.
Wingate
Final score: Wingate 31, Tusculum 14
What it means: Wingate (3-4, 3-2 South Atlantic) turned in one of its best defensive perfomances of the season, holding Tusculum (3-4, 2-3) to 122 yards’ total offense and five first downs. The Pioneers averaged only 2.8 yards per play.
How it happened: Brooks Brient threw a pair of first-half touchdown passes, giving Wingate a 14-0 lead. That margin shrunk to 17-14 early in the third quarter, but Wingate scored on a 2-yard run by Ethan Wallace and a 1-yard run by Zymil Patterson. Among the leaders of Wingate’s strong defensive performance was linebacker G.W. Clemmer, of Butler High. He had seven tackles.
What’s next? Wingate travels to Lenoir-Rhyne for a 2 p.m. game Saturday.
