CHARLOTTE, N.C. – There is a first time for everything.
- The Charlotte 49ers and Appalachian State play each other Saturday
- Charlotte has only played five complete seasons of football, while App State has won 3 national championships
- Officials say the schools are trying to work things out to make this a more common game for the schools
The Charlotte 49ers and Appalachian State Mountaineers will find that out first-hand on Saturday, when they meet on the football field on the Charlotte campus at 6 p.m.
The series is just beginning, but it is one that 49ers Head Coach Brad Lambert hopes will become a regular occurrence.
“It’s kind of a natural game, because of proximity,” Lambert said on Tuesday. “It’s two different programs because of the difference in age and the success that Appalachian has had.”
There is no comparing the two programs when it comes to on-field success. Charlotte has only played five complete seasons of football. Appalachian State has won 3 national championships at the FCS level, and 3 bowl games at the FBS level.
“We’re trying to establish ourselves as an FBS program,” Lambert said. “We’ve gone extremely fast, but it makes sense to play because they are right down the road.”
According to Lambert, the schools are trying to work things out to make this a more common game for the schools, but long-term scheduling is making that a bit challenging.
Lambert's team opened their campaign with a 34-10 victory over Fordham, while Appalachian State lost a heartbreaker, 45-38 in overtime to then 10th ranked Penn State.
The loss stung the Mountaineers, but Head Coach Scott Satterfield feels his team needs to turn the page quickly to be ready for Charlotte.
“They’re coming off a big win,” Satterfield said Wednesday. “They’re 1-0, they’re playing at home. It's a sellout. Coming off of a tough opponent that we had last week and didn’t win, our guys have got to be ready to go and not have any kind of a letdown.”