All 60 minutes on the clock matter, but the middle eight have hurt Charlotte most.

The 49ers fell prey to touchdowns on each side of the halftime break in a 28-17 loss to Rice on Thursday at Jerry Richardson Stadium, continuing an unwelcome trend for the hosts.

Charlotte opponents have scored on the final drive of the first half in every game this season, putting the 49ers behind at the intermission in each of their four chances — the latest a six-play, 75-yard drive by the Owls in 1:05, capped by quarterback Chase Jenkins' 34-yard scamper into the north-side end zone with just over a minute left.

Rice used the momentum of Thursday's sequence to outscore the 49ers 21-8 in the game's final 31 minutes, 18 seconds.

"You call it the middle eight if you're a football junkie," head coach Tim Albin said. "We've talked about it, we've got to look at it. I don't think it's calls, do we get tired? I don't know, but we've got to fix it."

Rod Gainey Jr. nearly stole the momentum back after Rice's swift touchdown drive.

The running back took a delayed handoff up the middle before breaking to Charlotte's sideline, where his 37-yard run — the longest of the game for the 49ers — came to an end at Rice's 29-yard line. Another draw by Grayson Loftis set up a 42-yard field goal attempt that veered left after Liam Boyd's three preceding makes from 29, 25, and 40 yards. He entered the game after Conner Harrell's exit following a 19-yard dash in the second quarter.

Six of Charlotte's offensive drives ended inside Rice's 30-yard line, but only one resulted in more than three points.

"We've got to start clicking together a little more," receiver Sean Brown said. "We've just got to put more time and patience into the red zone at practice — come in ready to go and punch it in, because that's been our problem for three or four weeks."

Despite the late miss, Loftis found footing once again in the second half. An 11-yard completion to Brown on fourth down along Rice's sideline set Charlotte up at the Owls' 26-yard line before the team's lone turnover, a fumble from the quarterback, ended the third quarter, and a promising drive to possibly pull within five points.

Rice's 55 yards on the ground in the fourth quarter — a portion of the Owls' 255 rushing yards in the game, the most Charlotte has given up since Nov. 16, 2024 — enabled it to pull away. A one-yard plunge by Daelen Alexander, his second score of the game, proved to be more than Javen Nicholas' 31-yard touchdown and subsequent two-point conversion, midway through the fourth quarter, could overcome.

"Rice was more ready in the second half than we were," defensive back Randy Franklin said. "We have to be more locked in and prepared to finish the game and close it out."

The next two weeks offer a rare gap for Charlotte to regroup. South Florida, and the team's first trip away from the Queen City, come after a 15-day layoff, thanks to a bye week before the 49ers' next chance on Friday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

"We've got to have a next-man-up mentality," Albin said. "This break couldn't come at a better time — I told them to keep their heads up, because we're going to fight. We love Charlotte, and they love the Niners, and we're going to keep battling. You have my word."