The Charlotte 49ers have had a rough go on the gridiron since they launched an FBS program in the Conference USA in 2013. Their all-time record is 22-48, including a 5-7 mark in Brad Lambert’s final season in 2018.

Now the 49ers are under new leadership from head coach Will Healy who takes over the program after a successful revitalization stint at Austin Peay in the FCS. He took a program from a 29-game losing streak to an 8-2 finish last year that nearly put his team in the FCS Playoffs.

The team is a work in progress to say the least, but Healy is eager to establish a program that has yet to show much of anything since joining the FBS. The team has not finished with an S&P ranking greater than 118th but started to show slight progress last season.

On defense the team boasts veteran leadership with nine seniors set to start on its lineup. However, they have not faced an offense anything like Clemson’s.

The Niners forced opposing teams to throw the football with a strong ground defense led by defensive end Alex Highsmith, who forced turnovers and held opposing running backs at bay, and linebacker Jeff Gemmell. Charlotte was not very good in pass defense, though, and teams had their way through the air. So, 2019 will be a test to get what they can out of veterans for co-coordinators Marcus Cooper and Brandon West.

On the offensive side the struggles were even more intense for Charlotte. The primary weapon is Benny LeMay, the senior tailback. LeMay rushed for as many as 178, 158, 129 and 159 yards in single-game efforts and is likely to finish as a 3,000 yard back. He performed extremely well but did not get much help from the rest of the unit.

They also return weapons in juniors Victor Tucker and Rico Arnold, and the Niners are adding five receivers and two tight ends to this year’s team. At quarterback there is a three-horse battle between Chris Reynolds, Evan Shirreffs, who started his career at Miami, and USF transfer Brett Kean, all of whom are prototypical pocket passers.

The 49ers have a win probability of greater than 50 percent in just three contests this season — Gardner-Webb (FCS), Massachusetts and UTEP. They also have the slimmest of chances when traveling to Death Valley, officially listed as 0 percent in the metrics.

So expect a lot of Chase Brice and the second/third teams in this game in Week 4.