Peter Holland, Jr. // Assistant Sports Director
The Panthers dodged a bullet in their 27-26 victory over University of North Carolina at Charlotte after a missed field goal by the 49er’s kicker, and improve their record to 3-0 in Conference USA for the first time in program history. Their overall record now stands at 3-4.
Though the game was tied going into halftime, the Panthers trailed 26-13 in the fourth quarter. Charlotte’s defensive front swarmed to the ball and wasn’t giving running back Alex Gardner an inch the entire game, causing the Panthers to struggle in getting a running game started. Quarterback Alex McGough rallied the offense and threw two touchdown passes to gain the Panthers’ first lead since being up 10-7 in the mid second quarter.
After the Panthers scored with 1:05 left in the fourth quarter, the 49ers, with three of their timeouts left, moved the ball and put themselves in field goal range. With five seconds left, Charlotte’s kicker Blake Brewer attempted a 49-yard field goal for the win but came up short, giving the Panthers their third-straight conference win.
One of McGough’s touchdown passes was to tight end Jonnu Smith; McGough finished the game 26-42 for 315 yards, 2 passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. His primary target of the night was wide receiver Thomas Owens, who finished the game with 11 catches for 148 yards. This is Owen’s second consecutive game with over 100 yards.
The defense were trying to contain the 49er’s mobile quarterback Hassan Klugh and their rushing attack led by their running back Khalif Phillips, who finished the game with 24 carries for 99 yards. The defense recorded three turnovers on the night. Two were forced fumbles from both Klugh and Philips which were recovered by defensive tackle Imarjaye Albury and defensive end Newton Salisbury. Klugh finished the game 21-31 for 171 yards, one touchdown and one interception, which was made by cornerback Emmanuel Lubin.
The Panthers will now focus on their homecoming game against Louisiana Tech University Saturday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m.
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