The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill may be our state’s flagship school. But UNC Pembroke is our flagstaff college football program these days, holding the best record of any team in the state coming out of Oct. 9-11 games.
The 6-1 Braves continue to hold down the top spot in our weekly Fabulous 15 statewide college football rankings. Coach Mark Hall’s bunch returns to the pole position for the third week in a row after dispatching of Shorter 52-21 on homecoming this past Saturday.
Quarterback Tre Robinson had a role in four first-half touchdowns, and Justin Foreman returned an interception 30-yards for a score after the break. If you’re not on the UNCP bandwagon already, jump on. Hall’s teams tend to pick up steam deeper into the season, and the Braves have quite a bit of momentum already.
This past Saturday brought a few shakeups in our Fab 15 rankings. Catawba had been in third place but ran into an angry Wingate team. No. 6 Elon let a nationally ranked Villanova team get away after holding a 14-3 halftime edge.
NC State and East Carolina both drop from our top 10 after defeats. Mars Hill and Lenoir-Rhyne drop out altogether after suffering conference losses.
As always, a reminder that the Fabulous 15 is NOT an attempt at a pure power ranking. We’re taking all 33 of North Carolina’s college football programs and ranking them based on which ones are having the most special seasons and creating the most buzz for all the right reasons.
OK, on to the rankings!
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🏈 NC College Football: Fabulous 15 Statewide Rankings
Based on results through Oct. 9-11 game action.
1. UNC Pembroke (6-1): The Braves really haven’t been tested in Conference Carolinas play thus far, beating Ferrum, Erskine and Shorter by wide margins. That could change this weekend with a visit to North Greenville. Both the Braves and Trailblazers own 3-0 conference marks. The winner assumes the driver’s seat in the Conference Carolinas regular season title race, but a conference championship game still awaits in November.
https://t.co/JzJjmtxL2D pic.twitter.com/cxNwShWbqQ — UNCP Braves Football (@UNCP_Football) October 12, 2025
2. Johnson C. Smith (5-1): The Golden Bulls were on pause from game action this past weekend and return to play with a three-game gauntlet standing between them and a trip to the CIAA title game – at Shaw (Oct. 18), home to Winston-Salem State (Oct. 25), at Fayetteville State (Nov. 1). Can JCSU get over the hump this year?
3. Duke (4-2): Crazy stat of the week: Georgia Tech (6-0) is ranked No. 12 in the nation right now, but the unranked Blue Devils are a slight favorite (-1.5) to win Saturday’s head-to-head showdown in Durham. Duke is 3-0 in ACC play and could generate serious ACC title game buzz with a win (upset?) over the Yellow Jackets.
4. North Carolina Central (5-2): The Eagles arrive at their bye week after whipping a second overwhelmed SWAC opponent on the season. It’s all MEAC action from here, with the race for a Celebration Bowl berth hitting high gear.
5. Wake Forest (4-2): The Demon Deacons certainly didn’t leave things better than they found them after beating Oregon State in Corvallis. The Beavers fired their head coach the next day. Two more wins, and Jake Dickert’s first Wake team will be bowl eligible.
6. Gardner-Webb (4-2): Bulldogs just out of the FCS Top 25 this week after an impressive defensive display at Eastern Illinois (8 sacks, 15 TFLs, 230 yards allowed). GWU has the chance to improve to 3-0 in league play Saturday at home against UT Martin.
7. Western Carolina (4-3): If the defense continues to improve and the running game can compliment all-star quarterback Taron Dickens like it did against Furman, this is a legitimately dangerous FCS team.
8. Wingate (4-2): Reigning South Atlantic champs flexed against an in-state rival after suffering two straight losses. Bulldogs still can make noise in a tight conference race.
9. Catawba (5-2): Tough loss to Wingate still doesn’t dampen Indians’ magical season. Catawba still managed 28 points against one of the top D2 defenses in the state.
10. Fayetteville State (4-3): The Broncos continue to maul CIAA opposition, winning their fourth game in a row Saturday. No one in the conference has stayed close – 51-8 (ECSU), 34-14 (Virginia State), 38-10 (Bowie State) and 38-14 (Livingstone).
11. Appalachian State (4-2): The Mountaineers continued their mastery against Georgia State (12-0 all-time) and now will get the chance to end a three-game skid against rival Coastal Carolina on homecoming. JJ Kohl impressive at QB in two starts.
12. Elon (4-2): The Phoenix started off like a house of fire on Saturday but couldn’t hold off No. 18 Villanova in the second half. Elon still in the CAA mix with just one loss, but it’s a crowded field around them (two no-loss and six one-loss teams in CAA right now).
13. NC State (4-3): This is a confounding team to rank when using a metric focused mostly on vibes and “specialness”. The Pack has a solid resume all things considered, but there is a gray cloud over the program as NCSU plays out the string of what many believe to be Dave Doeren’s final year in Raleigh.
14. East Carolina (3-3): The Pirates very easily could be 5-1 and much higher in our rankings, but slow starts doomed them in losses to Tulane and NC State. Still, they rallied in both and had chances at the end. No-quit approach is a great trait.
15. Brevard (3-2): The Division III Tornados held off Southern Virginia 35-32 to preserve a homecoming win and hand the visiting Knights their first loss of the season. Brevard (1-1 in conference play) still can challenge for the USA South crown by winning out.
Outside Looking In
Mars Hill (3-3) and Lenoir-Rhyne (3-4) are plenty talented and still have chances to make noise in the SAC … Same with Livingstone (3-3) in the CIAA. Remember what the Blue Bears did at the end of last season against Johnson C. Smith?
North Carolina Wesleyan (2-3) has one of the best small-schools running backs in the state and a potent offense overall. Winston-Salem State (3-4) can still play spoiler in the CIAA. Both of these teams have chances to bounce back into our rankings.
Does North Carolina (2-3) belong in the next Fab 15 with a win at Cal on Friday night?
🔍 STATEWIDE STANDINGS RECAP: View the win-loss records of all 33 of North Carolina’s college football programs stacked against one another.
