After its season-opening 38-6 win over Towson, Maryland will shift their attention toward week two as they welcome Charlotte and first-year head coach Biff Poggi to SECU Stadium next Saturday. It’ll mark the first game on NBC this season for Maryland with kickoff set for 7:30 PM, and the Terps will take the field as a heavy favorite.
Maryland opens as a 25.5-point favorite against Charlotte, per DraftKings.
Charlotte is coming off a 24-3 win over South Carolina St. in Biff Poggi’s first game as the 49ers’ head coach. Quarterback Jalon Jones, a former Florida signee, threw for 125 yards and a touchdown against a pair of picks, but it was the running game who led the way with Durell Robinson, Terron Kellman and Shadrick Byrd complementing Jones on the ground for 247 rushing yards.
There will be no shortage of connections on the field when Charlotte and Maryland square with six former Terps now with the 49ers, in addition to 29 former players from St. Frances to reload the roster. Mike Miller, former Maryland assistant, steps into his first season as Charlotte’s full-time offensive coordinator, while former assistant Jerry Prutos is now an offensive analyst.
Of course, first-year head coach Biff Poggi made a name for himself as the head coach at Gilman and St. Frances before making the jump to college. Poggi spent 27 years at Gilman, where he coached Kai Locksley, before becoming an analyst at Michigan in 2016, only to return to St. Frances in 2017 as he became a controversial figure within the DMV.
The 49ers will soon head to College Park after an offseason filled with chatter, looking to pull off an upset against the Terps. Maryland head coach Mike Locksley will look for his team to take a noticeable week two jump after Saturday’s win vs. Towson.
“We’ve got to turn the page on this one after 24 hours, get our minds set and prepared for Charlotte to be here in The Shell, 7:30, a national TV game with our new NBC partners. Really excited about it,” Locksley said following the win. “Usually see your biggest jump from game one to game two, and I’m looking forward to getting us prepared to do that.”
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