49ers football prepping to play in-state FBS teams in upcoming years. First up: Duke.

In its eight-year history, Charlotte football has yet to face an in-state ACC opponent. That changes Saturday when the 49ers head into the heart of the league’s “Big Four” country.

Charlotte (2-2) has a Halloween date with Duke (1-5) at 7 p.m. in Wallace Wade Stadium, in Durham. It’s also a chance for the 49ers — even in an empty stadium — to showcase their brand to a part of the state that hasn’t seen them yet as a Football Bowl Subdivision program. Charlotte was supposed to play its first in-state ACC team earlier this season against North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Sept. 19, but the game was canceled due to the coronavirus.

“It is big to get up in that Raleigh-Durham area and Duke is a team that everybody across the country respects,” 49ers coach Will Healy said. “But we’ve got to go play well. I think that’s what the biggest deal is. You can help your brand if you put a good product on the field. It’s important for us to continue to make waves in this state.”

The 49ers have played “Power 5” teams at least once a season since they moved up from the NCAA’s Football Championship Subdivision and joined Conference USA in 2015. They’re 0-2 against ACC opponents, losing 70-14 to Louisville in 2016 and 52-10 at Clemson in 2019.

“It’s a great opportunity to go and keep establishing our program,” Charlotte receiver Victor Tucker said. “A win versus an ACC opponent would be very big, for recruiting and just the confidence of the team to know that we can go out and beat anybody. So I think it’d be a huge, huge thing for Charlotte football.”

The 49ers’ future nonconference schedules will continue to feature ACC teams.

Charlotte looks ahead to ACC matchups

Duke, off this past weekend after losing to N.C. State 31-20 on Oct. 17, kept the 49ers on the schedule after the ACC whittled this season down to 10 conference games and one nonconference game due to coronavirus concerns. Charlotte and Duke are scheduled to play next season at Richardson Stadium.

Charlotte also has a home-and-home series against North Carolina in 2024 and ’25. The FBS portions of Charlotte’s nonconference schedules (which typically features two games against Power 5 teams, one against a Group of 5 team and one FCS opponent) are set through 2025. No games against N.C. State or Wake Forest have been scheduled.

After the 49ers canceled two early games — at Tennessee and at home against Norfolk State — they found replacement matchups against Appalachian State and North Carolina. Charlotte canceled the UNC game after nine members of the 49ers offensive line went through contact tracing protocol.

Except for 2023, Charlotte has at least one game scheduled against a Carolinas FBS opponent through 2030: Duke in ‘21; at South Carolina in ‘22; East Carolina and at North Carolina in ‘24; North Carolina and at East Carolina in ‘25; and a five-game series against Appalachian State beginning in 2026.

Recruiting within North Carolina

The intra-state FBS competition has a huge affect on the lifeblood of these program: recruiting.

The 49ers’ roster features seven players from the Triangle, including backup quarterback Dom Shoffner (Cary). The program’s all-time leading tackler, former linebacker Jeff Gemmell, is from Wake Forest, a suburb of Raleigh.

“Obviously, we’re recruiting the Carolinas extremely hard,” Healy said. “So it’ll be important that we do things that will continue to make sure that people take (us) seriously.”

The 49ers, coming off its first winning season and bowl appearance in program history, have won two straight games.

“It’s definitely changed the perceptions people know about you,” Healy said. “We’re fighting different (recruiting) battles than we were two years ago, even a year ago. You’re not going to win all the battles, (against) Power 5 schools and some of the schools in the state who have more tradition than we have.”

Healy said recruiting has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic in obvious ways.

“When you can’t have them come on campus and when they can’t have a chance to meet you, you can’t develop that relationship,” Healy said. “It makes that a little bit more difficult, so playing well in games like this should be something that could help us. We’ve got to put the work in to be able to put a good show together.”

49ers notes

▪ Senior safety Ben DeLuca had a team-high nine tackles against UTEP, eight coming in the first half. DeLuca now has 300 for his career and needs six more to reach Gemmell’s 306. DeLuca also broke up two passes and forced his second fumble of the season against the Miners.

▪ Against UTEP, the 49ers got contributions from three freshmen who haven’t received much attention this season. True freshman Panda Askew started at left guard after the offensive line was shuffled due to an injury to center Jaelin Fisher (Hunter Kelly moved from left guard to center). Running back Chavin McEachern picked up 27 yards on 4 carries (an average of 6.8 yards per carry) and redshirt cornerback Bryson Whitehead (Hough High) got his first start.

▪ Charlotte has picked up commitments from several high school players recently, most notably on the offensive line. B.J. Ragland, a 6-3, 285-pound senior offensive tackle from Chattanooga, Tennessee, is a three-star prospect, according to 24/7Sports recruiting website. Other offensive linemen who have committed are Trevor Timmons (Blythewood, S.C.), Caleb Rodkey (Missouri City, Texas) and Knox Boyd (Denton, Texas).

Five other three-star prospects have also committed to Charlotte: Receiver Jairus Mack (Athens, Ga.), quarterback Zyquez Perryman (Pleasant Grove, Ala.), receiver Elijah Spencer (Irmo, S.C.), running back Chavion Smith (Statesville) and defensive end Tyson Clawson (Independence High). Two-star prospects include: defensive end Miles Posey (Colonial Heights, Va.) and receiver Jack Reynolds (Davie County High). Charlotte also has commitments from defensive tackle Isaiah Potts (Fayetteville Pine Forest High), safety Steven Parker (Tampa) and quarterback Xavier Williams (Moultrie, Ga.).

The early signing period is Dec. 16-18.

Scouting Duke

▪ Duke has lost 22 turnovers (10 fumbles, 12 interceptions), most in the country. The Blue Devils had three turnovers in the loss against N.C. State.

▪ Blue Devils quarterback Chase Brice, a transfer from Clemson, has been inconsistent at best (12 interceptions, eight touchdowns), but is fifth in the ACC in pass efficiency (109.9).

▪ Duke gets to the quarterback: defensive end Victor Dimukeje has eight sacks and defensive end Chris Rumph has 6.5.

▪ Cornerback Mark Gilbert announced this week he’s opted out the remainder of the season. Another defensive back, Josh Blackwell, is also out for the season with an injury. Safety Lummie Young, who was ejected from the N.C. State game after a targeting call, is suspended for the first half of Saturday’s game.

Charlotte at Duke

When: 7 p.m., Saturday

Where: Wallace Wade Stadium, Durham

Watch: ACC regional sports networks