Charlotte's nine-game losing streak is still standing, and the 49ers open Year 2 of the Tim Albin era by trying to snap it against an FCS opponent that's built to play spoiler.
Bush’s Picks
CITCLT
CITCLT
OverUnder
Best BetCharlotte
Charlotte's the bigger, faster program even in a down year, and that talent gap usually shows up against FCS competition. But this pick comes with real hesitation — the 49ers needed a last-second score to beat an FCS team a year ago, so backing them outright isn't the free roll it looks like on paper.
The Citadel
+Improved statistically in 2025 despite 4-8 mark
+SoCon-best in tackles-for-loss allowed
+2nd in SoCon rushing offense and time of possession
−FCS-level roster facing an FBS opponent
−Playing on the road after a Week 1 opener
−3-5 SoCon record was still a losing mark
Charlotte
+Home opener with size/scale edge as the FBS side
+Full offseason under Albin to retool the roster
+Motivated to snap a nine-game losing streak
−1-11 in 2025, tying the worst mark in program history
−Needed a walk-off TD to beat an FCS foe last year
−Injuries and roster issues plagued the entire 2025 season
Saturday, September 5 kicks off the second act of the Albin rebuild in Charlotte, and a win here doesn't erase a 1-11 debut season — but a loss opens the door right back to the same questions that dogged the program all last fall. The Citadel arrives with a game of 2026 tape already banked, having opened its season on the road against Wofford in a SoCon test on August 29.
That matters because Charlotte's only win in 2025 came against another FCS team, Monmouth, and it took a walk-off touchdown with 90 seconds left to get there. The Citadel's defense finished last season first in the SoCon in tackles for loss allowed and third in pass defense, and Maurice Drayton's group controls the clock as well as anyone in the league — not exactly the profile of a team Charlotte wants to see in a season opener.
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CIT The Citadel
CLT Charlotte
Charlotte's rebuild is still very much under construction, and an offseason of roster work doesn't automatically fix what went wrong across an 11-loss season riddled with injuries. The Citadel, meanwhile, is the more stable program right now — a step forward statistically in 2025 even if the win total didn't show it — which is exactly the kind of gap that makes an FBS-FCS opener less automatic than the size mismatch suggests.
The Citadel Bulldogs
Charlotte 49ers
Recent form.
Drayton's team leans on ground-and-pound football: rushing offense and time of possession are the identity, and it's built to keep a track meet from breaking out against a Charlotte offense that's still finding itself under a new staff. If the 49ers can't get untracked early, this has the makings of a season-opening trap game in front of the home crowd.
For Albin, this is about establishing an identity before conference play starts. Beating an FCS team at home should be table stakes, not a signature win — but stumbling here, with last year's 1-11 finish still fresh, would be a rough way to kick off Year 2.
