Charlotte 49ers mailbag: On bowl eligibility, Ja’Qurious Conley’s status, QB competition

From hot seats to potential bowl bids, the Charlotte 49ers’ roller coaster season finds them approaching a brutal stretch of their schedule, needing three more wins to qualify for the program’s second bowl appearance.

With a trip to No. 25 Navy up next, Charlotte utilized a much-needed bye week to prepare for the Midshipmen’s triple-option attack, and saw some favorable health news of their own with starting quarterback Max Brown returning to practice after being sidelined for more than a month.

The 49ers seemingly found an identity on the ground against ECU two weekends ago, setting up the back half of their season with a renewed sense of confidence. But with a quarterback controversy, a gauntlet of a schedule and an ongoing eligibility battle, The Observer has the answers to your questions.

49ers’ path to a bowl game

Hard Hat Dave (@hardhat2005): What does the path to bowl eligibility look like? If there weren’t enough six-win teams would our APR put us in position?

Here’s a quick synopsis for those who aren’t up to speed on the academic progress rate (APR). Each student-athlete who receives athletically related financial assistance earns one point for continuing education and a point for eligibility. The team’s total points are divided by the total possible points and then multiplied by 1,000 to equal the APR.

For some teams, it matters a lot. Minnesota, for example, finished 5-7 last season and received a bowl invite as not enough six-win teams qualified.

For Charlotte, not so much.

“The APR standard is super high for 5-7 teams. There are typically only 1 or 2 teams with that record who are needed to fill bowl slots (if at all),” 49ers athletic director Mike Hill told The Observer. “We would need to be in that top two to four teams in the nation and we are not.”

The bottom line is that Charlotte needs to win at least six games to qualify for a bowl.

Bradin Routh (@ginger_Bradin): Were we too hard on the losses this team took in non-conference play? Are we better than what we thought prior to conference play?

Regardless of the level of opponent, cycling through three quarterbacks due to injury hampers an offense. And for a team that’s lacked any sort of identity in the non-conference, but seemed to find one on the ground against East Carolina, Charlotte has the pieces to compete in AAC play.

While North Carolina is in a down year, that was a one-score game in the second half with true freshman DeShawn Purdie seeing his first collegiate snaps. Indiana and James Madison, on the other hand, are just much better football teams. With a combined record of 11-1, the Hoosiers and Dukes handled Charlotte just as they were supposed to.

The scare against Gardner-Webb is inexcusable, but the springboard this team has hit since Purdie was reinserted into the lineup in the second half against Rice has been season-saving. And while the offense is coming off its best game to date in the Biff Poggi era, the defense must be just as good if Charlotte can remain in the hunt in the conference.

The team is better than last season, but the schedule is much, much harder. There’s a three-game buzz saw upcoming for the 49ers, and with a short week to prepare for Tulane on Halloween, the toughest three conference games are all in a 12-day span.

49ers’ identity on the ground

Shane Worrel (@Sworl17): What’s the key to why we looked so different vs. ECU and how do we carry that performance forward?

The simple answer here — ground and pound football. Charlotte’s passing game opened up the rushing attack, and Mike Miller and the 49ers stuck with the ground game.

The 49ers had game rushing totals of 13, 49 and 67 yards early in the season. And the first four carries against ECU totaled 0 yards (2, -4, 2, 0). In the first quarter, Charlotte had just 36 rushing yards at 3 yards per clip.

And then Cartevious Norton and Hahsaun Wilson broke loose. Charlotte rushed for 271 of their 307 rushing yards in the final three-quarters of action, with 125 coming in the fourth and final period. It was the brand of smashmouth football that you would expect from a Poggi-led team. When Charlotte is connecting on the deep ball, which is both a strength of Purdie and Brown, opponents must respect that and keep their safeties deep — which gives Charlotte favorable numbers in the box.

The key ingredient against ECU was the fast start. Charlotte had just three total first-quarter points through five games and put 14 on the board in their first two possessions. If Charlotte can start fast and give the running game time to find its footing, the 49ers can eat up the clock and stay in these upcoming big-time games.

Ja’Qurious Conley’s eligibility

Todd Graden (@ToddG49): What’s the latest on Conley? Do you think he will get cleared to play this season?

Poggi was hesitant to speak on the Ja’Qurious Conley situation early in the season, but with six games to play and still no ruling, the floodgates seem to have opened.

Charlotte’s second-year head coach has called both North Carolina head coach Mack Brown and athletic director Bubba Cunningham regarding Conley’s eligibility, with the transfer safety currently being marked as academically ineligible by the Tar Heels. The 49ers are pushing for Conley to be switched to academic probation, allowing him to return to the field, but a hearing date has been set for Nov. 29 — the penultimate day of the regular season.

After leading the charge to allow Tez Walker to return to play a season ago, it seems that Chapel Hill — another school in the North Carolina system — could provide a statement on Conley’s eligibility. But with the continued silence, it seems that Conley will miss the 2024 season.

49ers have a QB battle?

Nathan (49er_Nathan): If Max Brown comes back, what does the offense look like?

With just under six quarters of film on Brown, Charlotte’s ceiling with the Florida transfer at the helm is still to be seen. It was a clear struggle against James Madison, tossing a brutal interception on a throw-away and committing his second turnover on a tip-drill interception. But Brown bounced back in the opening half against North Carolina, completing 8 of his 12 passes for 175 yards and getting wideout Jairus Mack involved with multiple deep balls.

Brown brings an element of scrambling and being utilized in the designed quarterback-run game that Charlotte hasn’t seen with Purdie or Ivey, which can open up the run-pass-option attack we saw the 49ers use in spurts a season ago. In just a game and a half, Brown has shown that he can make nearly every throw on the field and can make the off-schedule plays that keep drives alive. Returning during a bye week is beneficial, as timing and chemistry have an extra week to rebuild.

The challenging part here is removing Purdie from the starting lineup, as the true freshman had just found his footing and played his best complete game to date. Poggi, Miller, and the 49ers have a monstrous decision on their hands with Brown and Purdie, impacting not only the remainder of the 2024 season but also years to come in today’s NIL landscape.