Charlotte 49ers escape a late comeback attempt by Rice

RICE ATHLETICS

The Charlotte 49ers earned their first American Athletic Conference win with a 21-20 win against Rice. Charlotte improved to 2-3, 1-1 in the AAC.

Freshman quarterback Deshawn Purdie’s composure defined Charlotte’s 21-20 win at Rice.

“This is a great win,” head coach Biff Poggi said. “These two wins we have so far are great wins. This is a great win on the road. We got here late last night due to some issues with our plane, and believe me, that matters. It wasn’t exactly cool here today, and [the players] handled it very well. We got down early, and they just kept fighting and I’m very proud of them.”

Poggi elected to put in Purdie in during the second half after a stagnant offensive showing in the first. Purdie helped the 49ers (2-3, 1-0 AAC) take the lead 14-10 and then mount the game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter that ended on Hahsaun Wilson’s 1-yard run.

“[Purdie] is still not 100% [healthy] in his lower body,” Poggi said. “But we just felt that we left some plays on the field and on offense in the first half. And what Rice did, it was very smart by them is they were sitting on all of our routes, and they were, they were, locking a box because they didn't respect that we could throw it over their heads. And, we do have guys that can run by you, but they didn't think we could get it there. So, to loosen them up, we thought that we would bring Purdie in and let him see if we could hit some things over the top for our receivers. And he did it. He did a great job.”

Purdie was ready when his number was called. He said the chemistry among quarterbacks is good, which is why he was ready to pick up starter Trexler Ivey, as Ivey did in the Gardner-Webb win where the roles were reversed. Purdie finished with 183 passing yards on 10 completions and two touchdowns.

“It’s a ‘we’ thing, not an ‘I’ thing,” Purdie said. “[Ivey] picked me up, and I picked him up. We’ve got each other’s back until the end. That’s my brother. I got his [back] today and he’s got mine, that’s just how it works.”

Charlotte receiver O’Mega Blake had his best performance of the season and of his career with 153 receiving yards on just five catches and two touchdowns. The 66-yard connection from Purdie late in the fourth quarter set up the game-winning score.

“[Blake] played great,” Poggi said, “and he is a very talented kid. He is a wonderful kid, too. He is very quiet and kind of country. … He is pretty country but can flat out play. He was just looking for a chance and he came to Charlotte; he was given a chance and he is making the most of it.”

Rice moved downfield with under a minute to play to set up a potential game-winning field goal attempt that missed wide left.

“Only the good lord knows what the heart rate was,” Poggi said. “The blood pressure was probably right along with it, but I’m still standing.”

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