It’s a bittersweet time here at North Carolina Football News headquarters.
On the one hand, ‘tis almost the season for holiday feasts – and feasts of post-season football games. On the other hand, it’s almost time to close the books on the 2024 football campaign across the Old North State.
Most of our small-school teams from D2 and D3 have finished already. The FCS regular season concludes after this weekend, with our FBS squads having two more weekends of games before hearing of their bowl destinations (provided they qualify).
We’ve had a blast (trying to) compile our Fabulous 15 statewide rankings the past few months. Determining which schools are having the most special seasons has been a challenge, for sure. This will be our last Fabulous 15 of the regular season, then we’ll wait until everyone’s done before crowning our 2024 Fabulous 15 champion.
Wingate has the inside track toward the No. 1 spot at this point. The Bulldogs (9-1) just earned a pair of South Atlantic trophies over the weekend – one for being the Piedmont Division champs and one for being the overall conference champs.
But nothing is guaranteed for the ‘Dogs. Louisburg College has JUCO national title aspirations. Lenoir-Rhyne will join Wingate in the D2 playoff field. Schools like Duke, UNC, NC State and East Carolina have at least three more chances to move up the rankings. Would a 10-win Duke team, should that scenario unfold, qualify as the best college football story in our state?
Before we present the latest Fabulous 15, we want to thank our presenting sponsor, The North Carolina Sports Network, which always has great college sports content. NCSN will be in Boone this weekend, taking in App State’s home finale against James Madison.
Fabulous 15 | All-North Carolina Statewide Rankings
1. Wingate Bulldogs (9-1) | D2
Next Game: Saturday vs. Virginia Union
The Bulldogs became the first and only North Carolina college team to win a conference championship this fall, felling Carson-Newman 28-13 on Saturday. The ‘Dogs will take a No. 2 seed into the D2 playoffs, where hard-charging Jada Byers and the CIAA champions await in round one. The defense is stout against the run. This will be a great strength-on-strength match-up.
2. Louisburg College Hurricanes (8-2) | JUCO
Next Game: Dec. 7 at College of DuPage (Ill.)
We’ll pencil the Hurricanes into the NJCAA national championship game even though the pairing isn’t officially official yet. Louisburg is ranked No. 2 in the latest rankings which determine who qualifies for the junior college showcase game. The top two teams will play for the title in Glen Ellyn, Illinois in a few weeks.
3. Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (9-2) | D2
Next Game: Saturday at West Alabama
The Bears made the D2 Final Four a year ago and earned their way back into the field with nine wins and a narrow win over Anderson this past Saturday. Can LR make another run to a Super Region title?
4. Duke Blue Devils (7-3) | FBS
Next Game: Saturday vs. Virginia Tech
Duke has already exceeded expectations in Manny Diaz’s first season at the helm, beating both of its Triangle rivals and earning a bowl berth. Now, the quest is to get to nine wins in the next two weeks, sweep the Big Four (Wake Forest is next week) and claim one of the ACC’s better bowl slots.
5. Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls (8-2) | D2
Next Game: Season Complete
The Golden Bulls have chosen to take a chin-up approach after being left out of the D2 playoffs (maybe unfairly?). Despite the snub, this will still rank as one of the best seasons in JCSU history. And coach Maurice Flowers believes this is only the beginning of something special at Charlotte’s HBCU.
6. North Carolina Central Eagles (7-3) | FCS
Next Game: Saturday at Delaware State
A post-game fight after the Howard win, which left more than a dozen players suspended for the season finale, marred what otherwise was a stellar get-back game against the team that kept the Eagles out of last year’s Celebration Bowl.
7. Winston-Salem State Rams (7-3) | D2
Next Game: Season Complete
The Rams were a long shot to make the D2 playoffs, boasting a solid overall resume. Ultimately not enough things broke their way on the final weekend of games for them to leapfrog into the bracket. Winston-Salem State put two players on the CIAA first-team all-conference list, plus two more on the second-team.
8. UNC Pembroke Braves (6-5) | D2
Next Game: Season Complete
At one point, UNCP owned an 0-4 record and the season looked like a wash. Coach Mark Hall’s team went 6-2 down the stretch, including a bundle of high-scoring romps against overmatched Mountain East foes (read more about Saturday’s 63-7 triumph at Concord). Turns out, those early-season losses came against some great teams, like 9-1 Wingate and 11-0 Charleston.
9. North Carolina Tar Heels (6-4) | FBS
Next Game: Saturday at Boston College
Another team whose season looked like a wash a few weeks ago. UNC has now won three straight, clinched bowl eligibility and cemented running back Omarion Hampton as one of the best rushers in the nation. Interesting how much better 6-4 looks and feels when the wins come later in the season instead of all at the beginning, followed by a strong of losses.
10. East Carolina Pirates (6-4) | FBS
Next Game: Saturday at North Texas
The Pirates tripped over themselves several times last Thursday at Tulsa, but still managed to come away with their third straight win. Interim coach Blake Harrell could make his case to have the interim tag removed if ECU can take care of business against North Texas and Navy the next two weeks.
11. Western Carolina (6-5) | FCS
Next Game: Saturday at Samford
This team will play with your heartstrings. The Catamounts’ roller coaster ride, which has had them flirting with the Top 25 all season, is currently on the upswing with a 58-28 trouncing of VMI on Saturday. Could WCU backdoor into the FCS playoffs by beating Samford convincingly this Saturday? Sam Herder, a national FCS analyst for Hero Sports, lists the Catamounts as the “first-team-out” in his most recent FCS bracket projections.
12 Shaw Bears (7-3) | D2
Next Game: Season Complete
The Bears haven’t played a game for a couple of weeks but can still rest on the laurels of a solid 2024 showing. Shaw may have experienced one of the bigger snubs on the CIAA’s all-conference list. Wide receiver Ah’shaan Belcher had a big year for the Bears – 43 catches, 620 yards, 9 TDs – but was left off the first- and second-teams.
13. Brevard Tornados (6-3) | D3
Next Game: Season Complete
The Tornados had a dependable core of players who seemed to deliver every week – quarterback Ethan Beamish, wide receiver/returner Zackary Orr, running back Chancellor Lee-Parker and defensive lineman Robert Dorsey among the most notable. Lee-Parker earned offensive player of the week honors in his Brevard finale Saturday, rushing for a career high 208 yards and two touchdowns.
14. Livingstone Blue Bears (6-4) | D2
Next Game: Season Complete
The proverbial “team that no one wants to play” in the CIAA in 2024 scored one of the most monumental wins of the D2 schedule in its last outing, knocking off Johnson C. Smith. What do you expect from the oldest rivalry in HBCU football.
15. Davidson Wildcats (6-4) | FCS
Next Game: Saturday at Valparaiso
The ‘Cats will look to finish strong and are within reach of having two 1,000-yard rushers. Mari Adams is already there with 1,137 yards. Mason Sheron needs a robust 187-yard day in the season finale to hit the magical rushing plateau.
Outside looking in
Mars Hill wrapped up its season with a 5-4 mark after falling to Limestone 31-26. Quarterback JR Martin enjoyed a solid season leading the Lions’ offense … NC State (5-5) can play its way back into our final Fabulous 15 with a strong finish … Elon (5-6) hasn’t had qualifying numbers for the Fab 15 in awhile (teams need at least a .500 record) but can climb back into our final rankings by winning for the fourth time in a row this weekend.
How Last Week’s Fabulous 15 Fared In Week 12
