Remember back in August when we drove the 2023 college football season off the lot? All those teams with shiny helmets and clean uniforms — riding with the top down and basking in that new car smell?
Well, the calendar has rolled into November, the weather has chilled considerably and everyone in our Old North State college football convoy has accumulated its share of dings, scratches and dents. Bumpers have fallen off. A few headlights have failed. Vehicles have ended up in ditches or made wrong turns and gotten lost.
But everyone is still driving, all 35 schools from our state, and the regular season is drawing closer to its end (mercifully in some cases). There is still a lot to race for and still a lot to celebrate in the annual endurance journey that is college football in the state of North Carolina.
With automobiles and racing as our theme, here is our updated Fabulous 14 statewide rankings after Week 9 — an attempt to headline the teams having the most special seasons and making the most splash as they drive though the oftentimes perilous college gridiron landscape:
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1. North Carolina Central Eagles (7-1)
The Eagles have been Greased Lightnin’ thus far, returning to the top spot in our rankings after starting the season there. NCCU got sideswiped once by a vehicle in a much heavier weight class (at UCLA) but otherwise has been supreme, the four-speed on the floor, as it blitzes through the FCS portion of its schedule.
2. Mars Hill Lions (7-1)
The Lions, meanwhile, have been a dependable and durable vehicle, the Chevy Suburban of the D2 South Atlantic Division, unassumingly winning seven of eight games. Mars Hill will travel to Tusculum this Saturday for a spot in the SAC title game on the line.
3. Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (8-1)
Even the best monster trucks get flipped upside down once in awhile. The Bears suffered their first loss Saturday in a barn-burner of a game against Wingate, but the team still has big prizes — a conference title, a D2 playoff berth — in front of them.
4. Fayetteville State Broncos (7-2)
The Broncos have been the boss car in the CIAA’s annual demolition derby. No matter how many times they’ve been rammed by other worthy challengers, the Fayetteville State engine just won’t stop. FSU has already punched its ticket for the Nov. 11 league title game in Salem, Va. — the sixth season in a row for that milestone.
5. Western Carolina Catamounts (5-3)
The Catamounts had been red-lining through their early FCS schedule, dispatching of five opponents in a row in impressive fashion. Injuries have slowed things down, and mistakes/turnovers hurt them last week against Mercer. Still, this sleek purple vehicle can find its way into the FCS playoffs.
6. Davidson Wildcats (6-2)
The Wildcats slipped a few gears in the early part of the schedule and got stuck at the start line for a few weeks. But coach Scott Abell’s group has been picking up speed ever since, winning its last six games to vault back to the top of the Pioneer Football League.
7. North Carolina Tar Heels (6-2)
The Tar Heels had all the looks of an ice-blue Ferrari through its first six laps, building promise of the school’s first ACC checkered flag in football since 1980. But the past two games, unexpected losses to Virginia and Georgia Tech, have revealed engine flaws that most thought had been fixed.
8. Duke Blue Devils (5-3)
Sometimes, the others cars just go a little bit faster and catch the slipstream coming out of the final turn (Notre Dame). And sometimes, you get shoved into the wall trying to race your hardest (injuries to QB Riley Leonard). We’ll see what the Devils have left in the tank starting Thursday against Wake Forest.
9. NC State Wolfpack (5-3)
No matter the conditions, no matter how hot or cold, no matter what obstacles await or what has happened in the past, you know the Wolfpack’s engine is always going to start and is going to give you maximum RPMs under the control of its current driver, coach Dave Doeren. After a race, you may just get a salty interview as well.
10. Wingate Bulldogs (6-3)
The Bulldogs seem built more for endurance races like the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Alas, three early-season losses likely will be too much for Wingate to overcome when the D2 playoff field is announced. Which is a shame because the ‘Dogs seem to be rounding into form at just the right time, much like they did in 2022 when they got on a roll late and advanced to the D2 quarterfinals.
11. UNC Pembroke Braves (6-3)
New head coach Mark Hall has overhauled the Braves’ engine in a short time, using parts from all sorts of different vehicles. For the past three weeks, things have been running red-hot for UNCP, and Hall’s team has blitzed a trio of Mountain East Conference foes by a combined 154-7. Smokin’!
12. Gardner-Webb Bulldogs (4-4)
The ‘Dogs seemed to veer off course in the early going and almost ran aground amid Pirate ships in Greenville in late September (a 44-0 defeat to ECU). But coach Tre Lamb’s squad has found its way back into the race, beating a top-15 foe this past weekend in UT Martin. GWU can still make noise in the Big South/OVC and looks primed for a respectable finish.
13. Brevard Tornados (5-3)
The ‘Nados had trouble weaving through early-season traffic but have found the fast lane over the past month and a half — winning five straight. Brevard will play the other two USA South Conference contenders the next two Saturdays for the chance to claim a league title.
14. Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls (6-3)
A la Bumblebee from the Transformers universe, Coach Maurice Flowers has transformed the Johnson C. Smith program into a robust golden Chevrolet Camaro, one of the class vehicles in the CIAA. The Bulls have won six games, with a chance for one more regular season victory this weekend, for the first time in more than a decade.
Still racing for a spot in the Fabulous 14
Elon (4-4), off this past weekend, still has a chance for a finish among the leaders of the CAA … Louisburg College won its fifth game in the JUCO ranks this past weekend … Barton had been in our rankings for several weeks but has fallen on tough times. The Bulldogs host another formidable foe Saturday in Limestone … Recent Fabulous 14 members App State and Wake Forest both own 4-4 records and still could finish among our elite … NC Wesleyan has won four straight and will conclude its home schedule Saturday against Maryville.
