What does Charlotte football have to do to beat Maryland in College Park this week?

Game 1 has come and gone, and the Charlotte 49ers are now gearing up for a matchup that’s been circled since coach Biff Poggi took charge.

Following a 24-3 victory over FCS program South Carolina State, during which the 49ers’ revamped defense flexed its muscles and Charlotte fans saw the first glimpse of budding star Durell Robinson, Charlotte will now get a taste of a Power Five team.

A road trip to College Park to take on the Mike Locksley-led Maryland Terrapins in prime time on NBC is Poggi and the 49ers’ next test, and one they are not taking lightly.

“Maryland is a different animal. They are very well coached and have a lot of good players that we all know, being from that area. We’ve got to pick our game up a lot. Nobody in this building thinks that what we did ... is near good enough to win at Maryland. So, we’ve got five days to get a heck of a lot better, and we will,” said Poggi. “Teams make the biggest improvements after week one. I would think after today that the pundits will be firmly in the camp that they’ve been in that we will probably get smoked next week. But that’s why you play the games.”

Charlotte is a 24.5-point underdog in Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. matchup and was blown out by the Terrapins a season ago, surrendering 612 yards of total offense, including 16 chunk plays for 457 yards and four touchdowns of 30 yards or more in a 56-21 route at Richardson Stadium.

But this team has shown to be a far cry from the 49ers’ rosters of old, holding their Week 1 opponent to just 168 total yards, ranking the 49ers 8th in the FBS for total defense.

So, how can Charlotte leave College Park with the program’s second Power Five victory on Saturday night?

It starts up front on defense

In 2022, Maryland was 5-0 when allowing less than three sacks. The Terrapins started their 2023 campaign with a 38-6 victory over FCS program Towson, allowing just one sack in a victory where quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa accounted for four touchdowns in the first half.

If Charlotte is to be competitive throughout, it starts with rattling the senior quarterback, brother of Miami Dolphins signal-caller Tua Tagovailoa.

And Charlotte has the talent on defense to do just that, with more reinforcements on the way as edge Stone Handy and defensive tackle Isaac Washington are both slated to make their season debuts against Maryland.

The 49ers’ defensive front was dominant in Week 1, pressuring South Carolina State quarterback Andre Washington on 50% of his dropbacks. Tagovailoa and the Terrapin offense rely on a quick-passing game much more than the Bulldogs, throwing 34% of their passes at or behind the line of scrimmage a season ago, the seventh-most in the country, which typically negates an efficient pass rush.

How defensive coordinator Ryan Osborn adjusts will be key.

Charlotte blitzed on 40% of the Bulldogs’ dropbacks last week, according to Pro Football Focus. Maryland’s last loss — and also the last time they allowed a touchdown — came in Week 12 last season against Ohio State, when the Buckeyes sacked Tagovailoa five times, blitzing on 25.6% of their defensive snaps.

The key? Charlotte’s front four must get pressure without blitzing. It helps that Maryland allowed an 8.2% sack rate last season, ranking 109 out of 131 FBS teams.

Michigan transfer Eyabi Okie-Anoma was effective in his first game with the 49ers, recording three tackles, three quarterback hurries, two tackles for loss and a sack. And he’s going to have to play even better, or, as he says, “play like my hair is on fire,” for Charlotte to win.

Osborn played multiple personnel groups on the defensive line in platoon groupings throughout the first game. Michigan transfer edge Julius Welschof saw the most snaps on the defensive line with 42, DT Dez Morgan with 38, Okie-Anoma with 37 and DT Jalar Holley with 36. Expect Demon Clowney’s snap count of just 17 to increase on Saturday.

Winning one-on-one matchups will be key, and Osborn believes that the 49ers’ front four has what it takes.

“If you want to one-on-one block them, they’re going to (expletive) you up,” said Osborn. “They’re going to knock you off the ball and knock you back.”

Slowing down the Maryland offense is a tall task, but only half the battle for the 49ers. Charlotte has to find ways to put points on the board — and fast.

Fast start is important

Offensively, Charlotte cannot struggle out of the gates as they did against South Carolina State. It took Charlotte’s offense over 20 minutes of game time to put points on the board.

Charlotte eventually got on track when Robinson was inserted into the fold, and you can expect to see an increased role for the true freshman in College Park following cramps at the halftime break in Week 1.

Offensive coordinator Mike Miller’s unit cannot afford to fall behind the chains. The 49ers haven’t shown the explosive talent on the perimeter as they have had in years past, but Charlotte does expect Pittsburgh transfer and presumable number one receiver Jaden Bradley to return on Saturday, moving Colorado transfer Jack Hestera back into his natural position in the slot.

The Terrapins scored 21 points in the first quarter against Towson, nearly tripling their opening quarter average of 6.76 points from a season ago.

Charlotte associate head coach and offensive line coach Kyle DeVan knows that the 49ers can’t fall behind early on the road.

“We’ve got to start fast and start with things we do well. We’ve got to put points on the board. They have the ability to score and score fast. We’ll take our shots when we need to take shots, and we’ll run the ball,” DeVan said. “You are not going to win this game 0-3. This is a pretty high-scoring game. Now, we can limit them with our defense. We can control the clock to limit their shots on goal, but it’s taking advantage of what they’re giving us in each situation of the game.”

Locksley and the Terrapins know that the 49ers are a run-heavy offense and will likely stack the box and make quarterback Jalon Jones beat them with his arm. Jones had an up-and-down performance in Week 1, accounting for two touchdowns and two interceptions, and a 31.8 quarterback rating in his debut with the Niners.

Charlotte cannot afford to lose the turnover battle on Saturday, and Jones must protect the ball, manage the game, and extend plays with his legs to keep the 49ers’ offense on the field and Tagovailoa on the sideline.

Disciplined football and swing plays

There is going to be a key play or two in this game that either keeps the 49ers afloat — or takes them out of the game completely.

Osborn calls them “Gotta-have-it moments.”

That’s winning the turnover battle, which Charlotte failed to do last week. That’s limiting penalties both during and after the play. Boding well for the 49ers, Maryland has been the most penalized team in the Big Ten since 2021. That’s also controlling the emotions that a homecoming brings, with Poggi, 20-plus players from the DMV area, as well as six transfers from the Maryland program on the 49ers’ roster.

Guard Kevin Williams knows that this matchup is personal for many in the Charlotte locker room.

“Being in the locker room, knowing a lot of guys are from there — even transferred from there — the attention to detail has gone up. Everybody’s excited to do their job, compete and make a statement,” Williams said. “This is a business trip at the end of the day, but it’s definitely personal. And it’s about us. It’s not who we play, it’s how we play.”

This is a big stage for the 49ers. It’s the first time they’ve been on network television. It’s also huge on the recruiting front, with Poggi hoping to continue to add to the fruitful DMV-area recruiting pipeline.

“If we win games here, which really hasn’t been done before, this place will recruit itself,” said Poggi on ESPN 730 The Game’s Afternoon Rush. “This is not about Maryland; this is about Charlotte.”