Charlotte 49ers drop season opener 43-41 to The Citadel

MATT LACZKO | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Charlotte 49ers receiver Derrick Eley catches a pass for a 43-yard touchdown as The Citadel's Khaleb Bridges defends in the Bulldogs' 43-41 triple overtime win at Jerry Richardson Stadium.

Charlotte’s 2026 season opener was one to forget.

The 49ers (0-1) opened the season as 20.5-point favorites against FCS The Citadel (1-1). Crucial mistakes kept the Bulldogs within striking distance late and they capitalized with a 43-41 triple overtime win. The last time Charlotte lost to an FCS opponent was in 2022 against William & Mary. 

“My heart hurts for the staff and the fan base,” Charlotte coach Tim Albin said. “I’ve got to do a better job as a head coach getting our guys ready to go. … I’m disappointed, not disappointed with their efforts. We’re going to have to get some things cleaned up. 24 hours, we’re going to correct the mistakes. The season’s not over. You get 12 opportunities, and we had chances to win the game, but didn’t get it done.”

Charlotte gave up 268 yards on the ground –140 to Bulldogs running back Gavin Garcia, who also had three touchdowns. His most important run arguably came in overtime when he took it 25 yards to the endzone on what appeared to be a broken play. 

Albin said there were a lot of things to clean up in the run defense.

“We had some things dialed up pressure-wise, and we missed tackles,” Albin said. “[Garcia], that kid, we couldn’t get him on the ground. He broke numerous tackles.”

The Citadel swapped quarterbacks at halftime from Quentin Hayes to Nick Billops, who was 7-for-11 passing for 91 yards but did most of his damage on the ground with a pair of scores and 47 rushing yards. 

“There were a couple formations that we hadn’t seen before with [Billops],” Albin said. “I think that was in the game. Just the straight sprint-out look but was a designed quarterback run. We hadn't seen it. We didn't get lined up to it the first time in the third quarter on their second touchdown I think maybe fourth… but the kid did a nice job. … There was a time we had them third and long, and they hit the big, long pass down our sideline. You know that was a huge play in the game. You know that wasn't the only play, but that was a big play in the game.”

Charlotte quarterback Cole Gonzales went 28-for-41 in the game with 322 yards and three touchdowns. He started the game shaky with two interceptions in the first quarter but bounced back. Albin has full confidence in him and knows the leadership qualities he brings to the team.

“You saw the toughness in him,” Albin said. “I'm probably most proud of him. He had two picks in the first quarter, and I liked his body language. He's a leader. He's under the fire, and he didn't get rattled. He was disappointed but made a few adjustments. … There’s some things to build on there for sure from his performance.”

Albin applauded the 49ers’ effort, but at some point, the execution has to catch up. 

“As the head coach, I’m like, “did we tackle enough in preseason?’” he said. “You have to ask yourself that. How much do you go live and risk injuries? I know we certainly work on it but just getting them on the ground. I'll have a better answer probably just after I see the tape. But it just was with the turnovers and the field position thing, we just didn’t have enough gas in the tank to get the game put away. It was a game, and our guys again, our guys had shown a lot of character to come back, and they did it. We just couldn't get it done.”

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