- BEST IN STATE -

Fabulous 14: Lenoir-Rhyne football ascends to top of rankings for first time

Mars Hill, Fayetteville State make big jumps; Tar Heels fall after upset loss

Eric Lusk

Published

October 25, 2023

Week eight of the college football season left us with just one remaining undefeated team in the Old North State.

All hail Lenoir-Rhyne, which bolstered its Division II playoff resume with a 24-10 win over defending conference champion Newberry. The Bears ascend to the top of our Fabulous 14 rankings for the first time, holding a shiny 8-0 record.

Can they get through the regular season gauntlet unscathed? A couple of in-state rivals stand in the way of that perfect mark: Wingate this Saturday and Catawba the next.

Nothing is guaranteed in college football. Just ask the UNC Tar Heels. Right at the moment folks started considering them as genuine College Football Playoff contenders, the Heels went thud against Virginia. It may have been the worst loss in modern program history. It certainly validated fans’ mistrust of the program ever becoming an elite, top-10 caliber entity.

Saturday was tough overall on our Fabulous 14. Four of the top seven teams suffered losses.

But other teams continued to string together wins. Fayetteville State won for the sixth time in a row and jumps four spots in our rankings. Davidson earned its fifth straight ‘W’. Mars Hill leaps forward three positions to No. 3 after improving to 6-1.

NC State didn’t play Saturday, but an otherwise uneasy Wolfpack fan base enjoyed the weekend as much as any from the season because who got beat around them.

Without further ado, here is our Fabulous 14 for this week (read more about each team below the graphic):

14. Barton Bulldogs (5-3)

The ‘Dogs have dropped their last two games to South Atlantic stalwarts Lenoir-Rhyne and Wingate. But they showed some fight in the Wingate loss, rallying from a 21-point deficit to pull within four late in the third quarter. Barton is still writing a special story in 2023 and will look to finish strong.

13. Brevard Tornados (4-3)

The only thing stopping Brevard’s four-game winning streak was a bye week. The Tornados have a solid chance to make it five straight this weekend with a conference contest at winless LaGrange.

12. Elon Phoenix (4-4)

Quarterback Matthew Downing had a career game in leading the Phoenix back into the win column after a two-game slide. With only one conference loss, Elon still has a shot at contending for a conference title but tough games remain, including this weekend against Delaware.

11. Wingate Bulldogs (5-3)

The Bulldogs played their most complete offensive game of the season in racing past Barton on the road. Next up: a home game against the state’s lone undefeated team, Lenoir-Rhyne. This could be the match-up of the season in the SAC Piedmont – two quality defenses and offenses.

10. UNC Pembroke Braves (5-3)

The Braves have played four teams listed in the initial D2 super regional rankings, beating two of them — Fayetteville State 19-17 and Fairmont State 49-7. The losses to Charleston (37-29) and Frostburg State (31-21) weren’t runaways. UNCP is close.

9. NC State Wolfpack (4-3)

Let’s see, UNC lost. Duke lost. East Carolina lost. Clemson lost. Yep, NC State absolutely won its bye week. The rested Pack could be catching a reeling Clemson at the right time this weekend — or the absolute wrong time depending on how Dabo Swinney’s group responds to an uncharacteristic Clemson losing skid.

8. Fayetteville State Broncos (6-2)

If stats don’t lie, explain this: Fayetteville State is 11th out of 12 teams in the CIAA in scoring (15.6 ppg) and total offense (242.3 ypg) — ahead of only winless St. Aug’s — and yet the Broncos are 6-0 in conference play. FSU’s ‘O’ ranks 152 out of 161 in all of Division II. A stingy defense, a winning culture and a few positive bounces (and kicks!) in games have kept this team’s conference record unblemished thus far.

7. Davidson Wildcats (5-2)

The Wildcats won for the fifth time in a row Saturday and hold the top spot in the Pioneer Football League along with Drake. The ‘Cats average 43.3 points per game (second in the FCS) and have one of the nation’s top rushing attacks (301.7 yards per game).

6. North Carolina Tar Heels (6-1)

Back in the summer, a 6-1 record with a No. 17 national ranking sounded pretty good for the Tar Heels at this point in the season. And it still might be a magical autumn for the Heels, with a chance at an ACC title still within reach. But the wind just seemed to come completely out of UNC’s sails on a stale Saturday night in Chapel Hill, hence why the team dropped so far in our rankings. Not a Fabulous performance at all.

5. Duke Blue Devils (5-2)

It’s hard to penalize the Devils too much for their second loss of the campaign. Duke played toe-to-toe with a top-five team for better than three quarters, and lost its star quarterback to injury down the stretch. This defense is legit, and a trip to Charlotte for the ACC title game still isn’t out of the question.

4. Western Carolina Catamounts (5-2)

Like UNC and Duke, the Catamounts came down to earth on Saturday, falling to a top-five Furman team at home. Still, the 29-17 defeat hasn’t shaken many pundits’ view of WCU, which is still included in most projected FCS playoff brackets. The Catamounts are still ranked No. 10 in the FCS media poll.

3. Mars Hill Lions (6-1)

Ryan Gladwin, who covers the SAC for D2Football.com said this about the Lions before the weekend: “Mars Hill, almost unnoticed, has been a really good football team this year and I believe would be in the postseason if the season ended today.” The Lions were included in the initial D2 regional rankings, keeping playoff hopes alive by eeking out a win over Carson-Newman. Mars Hill, for now, has first place all to itself in the SAC’s Mountain Division.

2. North Carolina Central (6-1)

Before its MEAC opener last week, we posted on Twitter/X that they should just give the Eagles the conference trophy because their record, stats and national resume seems head-and-shoulders above the other teams. But NC Central fans were quick to point out that crazy things happen in the MEAC, and that league play can be a grind. The opener certainly was a physical affair, with the Eagles rallying in the second half for a hard-earned 16-10 triumph. Still several weeks away from any trophy presentations.

1. Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (8-0)

The Bears have outscored conference foes 244-51 this season, but there is still work to be done to claim a spot in the SAC’s title game. Wingate, which edged Lenoir-Rhyne 24-21 a year ago to break a five-game losing streak to the Hickory school, features probably the best defense the Bears have faced all season. Lenoir-Rhyne is fiesty on ‘D’ as well. It could be a low-scoring affair on Saturday.

Knocking on the door

Wake Forest topped Pitt on Saturday and absolutely would jump back into our Fabulous 14 with a win this Saturday against No. 4-ranked Florida State … Campbell has won two in a row to move into the upper half of the CAA standings … Johnson C. Smith has assured itself of at least a .500 season no matter how the last two weeks conclude, one of its best campaigns in years …

Louisburg College beat Brevard’s JV squad 42-0 for its fourth win of the season … Winston-Salem State finishes the season on the road at Johnson C. Smith and Fayetteville State with a shot at finishing as high as second in the CIAA Southern Division.