CHARLOTTE — After going down to the wire in their last three games, the 49ers are ready to break through and get back on the winning track. Charlotte (3-3) is riding a three-game losing streak in which the games were decided by 16 total points.
Special teams and penalties hurt them most Saturday in a 37-24 loss to Gardner-Webb. Gardner-Webb took a 7-3 lead less than five minutes into Saturday’s game with a 95-yard kickoff return by J.J. Hubbard. The 49ers were plagued with penalties — 10 for 96 yards.
“We really have to focus in and readjust our focus and make sure we’re doing the right things off the field like game preparation and things of that nature,” offensive tackle Jamal Covington said.
Head coach Brad Lambert insisted the slide back to .500 after starting 3-0 is not a source of frustration.
“We try to spin it as not wearing on you. It’s just a fine line you walk,” he said. “So, it’s a situation where our guys take it as we just keep going, keep cleaning up, keep getting better, and we could be sitting here 6-0.
“The first half of the season is over, and we’re focused on these last five [games]. That starts this Saturday.”
Charlotte and The Citadel square off in a 2 p.m. game at Johnson Hagood Stadium.
Like the 49ers, the Bulldogs (1-4) are coming off a defeat that went down to the wire. One of the Bulldogs’ losses this year was also at the hands of No. 1 Florida State.
“Their record is deceiving because I think three of the teams they played are undefeated,” Lambert said.
The Bulldogs are under first-year coach Mike Houston. Houston was the head coach at Lenoir-Rhyne last year as the Bears rode a potent triple-option offense all the way to the Division-II national title game in Florence, Alabama.
Houston took that offense to The Citadel.
“The hardest part is just being so fundamental and sticking to your assignments knowing they’re going to keep running and running and running,” free safety Desmond Cooper said, “and then they’ll come and hit you with a pass and knowing we have to focus in and be ready for that to come.”
The Bulldogs average 13.4 pass attempts per game. Meanwhile, their offense churns out 279.8 yards rushing per game. Quarterback Aaron Miller leads that ground game with 76.2 yards per game and has run for three touchdowns.
Follow Adam Houston on Twitter at @AdamRHouston.