Charlotte travels to No. 9 Ole Miss for another challenge 

MATT LACZKO

The Charlotte 49ers, who lost their season opener 43-41 to Citadel in triple overtime, travel to Oxford, Mississippi, to take on Ole Miss in a nonconference game.

The tallest task of the season awaits Charlotte in week two. 

The 49ers (0-1), who are coming off a 43-41 triple overtime loss to The Citadel, will face arguably their toughest opponent of the season in No. 9 Ole Miss in Oxford on Sept. 12. 

“[Ole Miss] is a huge challenge,” 49ers coach Tim Albin said. “Their quarterback, the [Trinidad] Chambliss kid, is the best one I’ve ever faced in my 38 years [of coaching]. He is electric, makes all the throws. He creates plays and extends plays. … He is the best player in the country and I mean bar none.” 

The Rebels are coming off a 41-38 win against No. 24 Louisville in their opener. Chambliss passed for 336 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 60 yards and a touchdown. 

Ole Miss also has two talented running backs in Kewan Lacy and Makhi Frazier. Lacy played limited snaps after sustaining a thigh bruise against Louisville but had 61 rushing yards and a touchdown. He also had four receptions for 19 yards. Late-game tackling proved to be a problem for the 49ers against The Citadel, so Albin is emphasizing it in practice.

“We are going to have some challenges, guys in space,” Albin said. “I think it’s just the fundamental piece of it. Our tackling in the first half [against The Citadel] was pretty good. … but the second half explosives. Nate [Faanes] did bring up that we do our tackling technique circuit at the beginning of practice, so we are going to move it towards the end. But, when you have some of the types of athletes that we are going to see this week, you can be perfect technique-wise, but they are just really good players. It’s going to be a huge challenge.”

The 49ers faced an SEC opponent last year when they went to Georgia for a late-season game. Albin feels these types of games are better early in the year. 

“If I had the chance to pick, we want to do it early,” he said. “Week zero, week one and get on with it. Ours is early, so it’s here. I think the benefits of having it early outweigh going late. We are looking forward to our first road trip as a football team with our new players. We just have to improve and have to get better.” 

Charlotte quarterback Cole Gonzales shook off a shaky start to his first game in a 49ers uniform — throwing two interceptions in the first quarter — but finished with five all-purpose touchdowns. 

“He responded the way you want your quarterback to respond,” Albin said. “I was pleased with how he handled himself after those two errors. … We used him a little bit in the run game and he made some plays, so there’s things there and everybody saw the explosives. He’s got some guys around him and I’m looking forward to the next 11 games working with him.” 

Backup quarterback Conner Harrell (knee) wasn’t listed on the two-deep roster last week but is continuing to progress through rehabilitation. The possibility of return may be looming. 

“I’ll know more today,” Albin said, “but I think he is pretty close to being ready to go. I think today’s practice will tell us a lot.” 

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