From offensive fireworks to food-truck fires on the stadium concourse, Week 3 of the North Carolina college football season had a little bit of everything.
The state’s two longest losing streaks finally went up in smoke. A head coach blew out birthday candles on the same day as his first win in our state.
No leads were safe. Kickers had their day. Freshmen newcomers showed out. Ranked opponents from out of state went down to defeat. Ranked teams from within the state survived upset bids.
Whew! It was a full weekend. And we’re here to give you the statewide overview as we put the third full weekend of games to bed, plus provide our view of each division’s power rankings. Let’s get started (and be sure to keep your fire extinguishers handy).
🌟 Team of the Week: North Carolina A&T Aggies
NC A&T 33, Hampton 30 | 2 OT
Stop us if you’ve heard this script before: North Carolina A&T kicker Andrew Brown hits a game-tying field goal in the final seconds to force overtime. Wesley Graves scores the winning touchdown on a rushing play during the extra period.
That scene unfolded last September as the Aggies fended off Winston-Salem State 27-20. It happened again on Saturday as A&T swept away a 12-game losing streak and sent signals that things are, in fact, changing for the better in Aggieland under new coach Shawn Gibbs.
This time, Brown’s game-tying field goal came from 37 yards out with 19 seconds left in regulation. It capped an A&T comeback from a 20-10 deficit earlier in the period. Graves enjoyed his heroics in the second OT, finding the end zone from 5 yards after Hampton had settled for a field goal.
Hampton had inflicted a 59-17 embarrassment on NC A&T last fall, on the Aggies’ homecoming no less. The Pirates were more than a touchdown favorite on Saturday, but A&T rose up in a major way once the game began – giving Gibbs his first win as head coach and giving the Aggies their first conference triumph since joining the CAA in 2023 (0-16 until that point).
“I was happy to see all the joy on the faces of these guys,” Gibbs said in the school’s official game recap. “They haven’t won in a long time. These guys have been through a lot. A lot of people doubted them. But they don’t give up.”
🔑 North Carolina FBS Football
Storylines of the Week
- NC State fans went from grumbling “maybe it’s time to move on from Dave Doeren” to shouting “we can win the ACC!” in the span of Thursday night’s comeback win at Wake Forest. And a food truck caught on fire at the stadium in the first half, which just feels like it needs mentioning.
- Conner Harrell passed for 382 yards and 3 TDs, and Tim Albin earned his first win as Charlotte’s head coach. On Albin’s birthday no less. Happy birthday, coach. And many more (wins and birthdays).
- East Carolina forced five turnovers and earned its first shutout in 25 years, blitzing Coastal Carolina 38-30. The Pirates have only surrendered 10 points since the first half of the NC State game.
- Duke spent millions on NIL to lure Tulane quarterback Darian Mensah to Durham, only to lose to Tulane. Ouch. Stock trending down right now for Blue Devils.
- Appalachian State’s 38-22 loss at Southern Miss raised questions: is this more of a rebuild year than we thought? Golden Eagles were picked near bottom of Sun Belt.
- North Carolina’s 41-6 rout of Richmond gave hints the Heels might be better than their shaky opener at TCU suggested.
Our FBS Power Rankings
- NC State (3-0)
- East Carolina (2-1)
- North Carolina (2-1)
- Duke (1-2)
- Wake Forest (2-1)
- App State (2-1)
- Charlotte (1-2)
Breakfast and Highlights anyone? 🥞#BrickXBrick🧱 pic.twitter.com/tg6WXCumYK
— Charlotte Football (@CharlotteFTBL) September 14, 2025
🔑 North Carolina FCS Football
Storylines of the Week
- We’ve used a lot of digital ink already on NC A&T’s 33-30 double overtime win over Hampton. It should be noted the Aggies were using their sixth and seventh quarterbacks of the season, freshman Nelson Layne and Noah Sanders, a Delaware transfer. This is why recruiting never ends.
- Dynamic quarterback Landen Clark and kicker Luke Barnes had a hand in all 37 points of Elon’s back-and-forth 37-31 win at Western Carolina. Phoenix showing they could be a dark horse in the CAA. New OC Doug Martin has given Elon’s attack a huge lift.
- What to make of WCU? Started the season ranked in the FCS top 20 (and on top of our Fabulous 15). Now Catamounts are 0-3, with two losses at home to in-state non-conference rivals.
- Gardner-Webb improved to 2-0 against the SoCon with 23-13 win over The Citadel.
- Walker Harris doing Walker Harris things (387 passing yards, 3 TDs) to lead North Carolina Central to a rout of visiting Fayetteville State.
- Campbell was right there on the doorstep of victory again, taking the ball inside Furman’s red zone in the final minute before getting stopped on fourth down. So close.
- Three straight blowouts against scholarship FCS programs (including Saturday’s 72-18 loss at Tennessee Tech) underscore how tough Davidson’s non-conference slate has been for the non-scholarship Pioneer League team.
Our FCS Power Rankings
- Elon (2-1)
- Gardner-Webb (2-1)
- North Carolina Central (2-2)
- Western Carolina (0-3)
- North Carolina A&T (1-2)
- Campbell (0-3)
- Davidson (0-3)
▶️ Read our FCS Game Day Thread for more highlights from Week 3.
🔑 North Carolina D2 Football
Storylines of the Week
- A clean sweep for North Carolina teams in the South Atlantic Conference – Wingate (72-7 over Bluefield State), Lenoir-Rhyne (31-28 over Emory & Henry), Mars Hill (31-24 over Carson-Newman) and Catawba (44-34 over UVA Wise).
- Out-of-state ranked teams go down: UNC Pembroke dropped No. 18 Delta State 25-21, getting two fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns from quarterback Tre Robinson. Mars Hill topped No. 23 Carson-Newman in overtime, getting three passing touchdowns from quarterback JR Martin.
- Kevin Barnette got his first win as Mars Hill’s head coach, after enjoying scores of victories as a long-time assistant with the Lions.
- Wingate set a new program record – and a new 2025 season high in North Carolina college football – with its 72-point outburst against Bluefield State.
- Johnson C. Smith averted the upset against a scrappy Elizabeth City State team, which also pushed FCS Hampton to the limit a week ago.
- Daniel Deneen Jr. booted a 32-yard field goal as time expired, helping Lenoir-Rhyne slip past Emory & Henry, which had clawed back from a 28-3 deficit to tie the game
- Daylin Lee was near perfect in passing for Winston-Salem State (15-of-17, 251 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs) as the Rams broke 50 points for the first time since 2018 (51-14 win over Lincoln).
- Barton, a charter member of what is now Conference Carolinas, played in the first Conference Carolinas football game in 51 years, falling at North Greenville 41-28.
Our D2 Power Rankings
- Johnson C. Smith (3-0)
- Wingate (2-0)
- Lenoir-Rhyne (2-1)
- UNC Pembroke (2-1)
- Winston-Salem State (2-1)
- Mars Hill (1-1)
- Catawba (2-1)
▶️ Recap the day in D2 football with our Week 3 Game Day Thread
🔑 North Carolina D3 Football
Storylines of the Week
- Nahjiir Seagraves galloped for 159 yards and four touchdowns, and North Carolina Wesleyan overwhelmed The Apprentice School, 49-16. Battling Bishops have outscored their first two foes 113-28, with Seagraves piling up 311 rushing yards and five TDs.
- Guilford nearly squandered a 28-0 lead – giving up a pick six and a kickoff return for a TD – but stopped Methodist on a late 2-point try to seal a 42-40 triumph.
- Quakers receiver Shane Shapiro caught 14 passes for 210 yards and two TDs against Methodist, the best statistical performance from a receiver in our state this season.
- Brevard used a bevy of running backs and a ball-control offense to earn its first win of 2025, topping visiting Sewanee 26-10.
- Freshman Kyjuan Westmoreland rushed for 173 yards and two touchdowns – and caught four passes for 46 yards – but it wasn’t enough for Greensboro in a 32-22 home loss to Roanoke.
D3 Power Rankings
- North Carolina Wesleyan (2-0)
- Brevard (1-1)
- Greensboro (1-1)
- Guilford (1-1)
- Methodist (0-2)
