Cole Gonzales was responsible for 30 of Charlotte's 41 points

Bring an abacus. The Citadel outduels Charlotte, 43-41 at Jerry Richardson Stadium. The two sides combined for 84 points, and The Citadel had just a little more. Gavin Garcia ran 21 times for 137 yards and three scores.

The difference-makers

Gavin Garcia ran 21 times for 137 yards and three scores — two of them from inside the 20 and two third-down conversions. Nick Billoups threw for 91 yards on 10 attempts and ran 11 times for 38 yards and two scores — that score from inside the 20 and five third-down conversions. Sebastien Boyle ran seven times for 70 yards and one score and caught two passes for 22 yards. For Charlotte, Cole Gonzales threw for 322 yards on 41 attempts with three touchdowns and ran six times for 31 yards and two scores — three of them from inside the 20, eight third-down conversions and a hand in nine plays of 15 yards or more. Jaylen Hampton caught eight passes for 117 yards, two of them for touchdowns, including two of them from inside the 20, five third-down conversions and a hand in three plays of 15 yards or more. Khamani Alexander ran 14 times for 138 yards and one score and caught one pass for 5 yards, with two third-down conversions and a hand in three plays of 15 yards or more. Zyion Brown was the disruptive one for The Citadel: 1 sack, 1.5 TFLs, 1 INT, 1 PBU, 8 tackles.

The snaps that mattered

It came down to a few snaps. Khamani Alexander's 66-yard run for a touchdown on 3rd-and-1 at Q1 06:03. Then Sebastien Boyle's 56-yard run for a touchdown on 2nd-and-8 at Q3 12:48. Later, Nick Billoups's 41-yard throw to Damir Abdullah on 3rd-and-8 at Q3 05:55.

The turnover battle was the game

The Citadel won the turnover battle 0-2: Zyion Brown (1 sack, 1.5 TFLs, 1 INT, 1 PBU, 8 tackles) and Zeb Stroup (1 INT, 2 tackles). Charlotte produced 12 plays of 15+ yards to The Citadel's 7, chiefly Cole Gonzales (involved in 9), Jaylen Hampton (involved in 3) and Khamani Alexander (involved in 3). That's what carried The Citadel.

How we got here

The Citadel struck first through Gavin Garcia, Charlotte led 14-7 at the half and The Citadel got the final points on a late score by Whit Hobgood.

The number

The closing line had Charlotte -20.5. The Citadel covered. The total was 49.5; the teams combined for 84, an over. Gavin Garcia accounted for 18 of The Citadel's points.

What it means

Points were never the problem for The Citadel; stops will be the offseason project for both. Cole Gonzales was responsible for 30 of Charlotte's points; there was not enough behind him.