College football preview magazine season has arrived, and if Athlon, Lindy’s, Phil Steele and Sporting News are any indication, national observers remain skeptical about the state of North Carolina football entering the 2026 season.
That may come as a surprise given what happened a year ago.
Duke won its first ACC championship since 1989. The Blue Devils, East Carolina and Wake Forest each won nine games and earned bowl victories. NC State won eight games and also finished the season with a bowl triumph.
Yet not a single North Carolina program cracked the preseason Top 40 in the national rankings published by Athlon, Lindy’s or Phil Steele. (Sporting News only offered a top 25 in its print publication).
Here are five things we learned from the magazines heading into the 2026 season.
1. North Carolina football still has something to prove nationally
The state’s programs enjoyed one of their stronger collective seasons in recent memory, but national publications remain unconvinced that this is the norm.
NC State was the highest-ranked North Carolina team in all three preseason national rankings, checking in between No. 46 and No. 52. Duke, Wake Forest and North Carolina all landed within a handful of spots of one another in the 50s and 60s, while East Carolina, Appalachian State and Charlotte were well outside the national conversation.
In other words, the magazines see North Carolina as a state filled with solid teams at best in the 138-team FBS, but not one they expect to produce a national contender.
2. NC State is viewed as the state’s best team
Duke carries the mantle of reigning ACC champs, but NC State enters 2026 as the consensus top team in North Carolina (though not by much).
The Wolfpack consistently ranked ahead of Duke, Wake Forest and North Carolina in all of the publications and were projected to finish around the middle of the 17-team ACC. The highest pick was tied for fifth in the league by Phil Steele.
What’s interesting is that NC State generated relatively little individual preseason recognition compared to some of its peers – no projected first-team all-conference picks. The Wolfpack’s reputation appears to be built more on overall roster strength and stability than on nationally celebrated star power.
3. Duke is paying the Darian Mensah tax
No offseason move involving a North Carolina program appears to have affected perceptions more than quarterback Darian Mensah’s last-minute transfer to Miami.
Mensah was frequently cited as the nation’s most impactful transfer player heading into 2026 and appeared in Heisman Trophy discussions in some publications. Meanwhile, Miami is projected as an ACC title contender while Duke is generally forecast to finish toward the back of the pack.
“They might have been among the 2026 conference favorites had quarterback Darian Mensah not left for Miami along with Cooper Barkate, Duke’s top receiver in 2025,” Sporting News wrote.
The Blue Devils are coming off a nine-win season, but national analysts clearly want to see how Manny Diaz’s program responds without its former star quarterback and leading receiver Cooper Barkate. But Duke has been here before and exceeded expectations.
“Duke has done better than I have expected 4 straight years!” Phil Steele wrote in his latest preview magazine. “Duke has 5 ACC road games (in 2026), and can Duke beat my expectations a FIFTH straight year?”
4. East Carolina may be North Carolina’s most polarizing team
Few teams generated a wider range of opinions than East Carolina.
Phil Steele projects the Pirates fourth in the American Athletic Conference and calls them a legitimate conference championship contender despite significant roster turnover. Athlon also places ECU in the upper tier of the league.
Lindy’s is far less optimistic, projecting the Pirates ninth in the 14-team conference.
The disagreement is notable because ECU also produced several of the state’s most decorated preseason players, including wide receiver Brock Spalding and offensive lineman Brandon Best. The Pirates are 14-5 since Blake Harrell took over as head coach in the middle of the 2024 campaign, with two bowl victories over ACC foes.
5. Wake Forest and Appalachian State have doubters
Wake Forest and Appalachian State enter 2026 in very different situations, but both programs face similar questions from national observers.
The Demon Deacons are coming off a nine-win season under coach Jake Dickert, yet every major publication picked them 12th in the ACC. National analysts appear unconvinced that Wake can duplicate last year’s success after portal departures and a tougher road ahead.
Appalachian State, meanwhile, may be the hardest team in the state to project. Phil Steele views the Mountaineers as a contender in the Sun Belt East Division, while Lindy’s ranks them near the bottom of the league and outside the national Top 125.
The common thread is clear: both programs must continue proving themselves despite recent success.
Lindys on App State: “(Coach) Dowell Loggans continues to rebuild with 38 transfers on roster … Both QBs, AJ Swann and JJ Kohl have left the building … Might have had a chance with Swann or Kohl, but yikes!”
Five North Carolina Players Receiving the Most National Recognition
LB Colton Phares, Appalachian State
Phares earned first-team All-Sun Belt honors from Athlon, Phil Steele and Lindy’s, making him one of the most consistently recognized players in the state.
DL Melkart Abou Jaoude, North Carolina
Abou Jaoude appeared on every major ACC preseason team and also received preseason All-America recognition from Phil Steele.
WR Brock Spalding, East Carolina
The Pirates receiver was a first-team all-conference selection from Athlon and Phil Steele and remains one of the league’s most respected offensive playmakers.
OL Brandon Best, East Carolina
Best joined Spalding as a consensus preseason all-conference selection and gives ECU one of the conference’s most highly regarded offensive line anchors.
DE/LB Langston Hardy, Wake Forest
Hardy appeared on multiple preseason All-ACC teams and is one of the key reasons national analysts believe Wake’s defense can remain competitive despite roster turnover.
But Don’t Forget: QB C.J. Bailey, NC State
With Darian Mensah (Duke → Miami) sucking up much of the oxygen surrounding the best-quarterback-in-the-ACC conversation, let’s not forget the weapon NC State will put under center in 2026. CJ Bailey appears as a second-team ACC pick by a couple of publications and very easily could end up being our state’s FBS offensive MVP when the dust settles.
By The Numbers
National Rankings
Athlon
NC State – 46
Wake Forest 53
Duke – 54
North Carolina – 56
East Carolina – 75
Appalachian State – 117
Charlotte – 127
Phil Steele
NC State – 52
Duke – 53
Wake Forest 58
North Carolina – 60
East Carolina – 86
Appalachian State – 107
Charlotte – 122
Lindys
NC State – 47
Duke – 55
Wake Forest 60
North Carolina – 61
East Carolina – 93
Appalachian State – 128
Charlotte – 136
Predicted Conference Finish
ACC
NC State – T-5th (Phil Steele), 9th (Athlon, Sporting News), 10th (Lindys)
Wake Forest – 12th (Athlon, Sporting News, Lindys, Phil Steele)
Duke – 11th (Lindys, Phil Steele), 13th (Athlon, Sporting News)
UNC – T-12th (Phil Steele), 14th (Athlon, Lindys), 15th (Sporting News)
American
East Carolina – 4th (Phil Steele), 5th (Athlon), 9th (Lindys)
Charlotte – T-12th (Phil Steele), 14th (Athlon, Lindys)
Sun Belt
Appalachian State – T-2nd East (Phil Steele), 5th East (Athlon), 6th (Lindys)
Quotable: What National Pundits are Saying About NC College Football
Appalachian State
“The Mountaineers have had only one winning season in the past four. To reverse the slide, App State needs instant impact from the transfer additions and a strong return from injuries for several players.” – Athlon
“There’s enough pride with the people in those buildings [at Appalachian State] that they should be able to turn it around this year.” – opposing Sun Belt coach to Athlon.
Charlotte
“I think [head coach] Tim Albin is one of the best, so if he believes in his team enough to double down, that’s scary. But they had one of the worst rosters in college football last year. They really didn’t flip it, so you kind of wonder if they believe in it.” – opposing American assistant coach to Athlon
“Unless they find a way to generate more offense (14.3 ppg in 2025), they aren’t going to get many more than the one win they had last year.” – Sporting News
“There is hope in history: Albin’s Ohio teams went from 3-9 in Year 1 to 10-4 in the second season.” – Lindys
Duke
“The culture, the belief and the mindset are there at that place right now.” – opposing ACC assistant coach to Athlon
“If quarterback can be solidified, they might nab a fifth consecutive winning season, something that hasn’t happened since the 1950s” – Lindys
East Carolina
“Three of my 9 sets of power rankings call for 7 conference wins, so despite having to replace most of their starters, they still remain a contender in the American Conference” – Phil Steele
“They might have to take a step back in 2026 before rising again.” – Sporting News
NC State
“There is a belief that quarterback C.J. Bailey will take the next step forward in what will be his third season in Raleigh.” – Sporting News
“The Wolfpack have too much work to do to make this the year that they finally post a double-digit win total. Unless Bailey emerges as a star, they might struggle to even go .500 in conference play.” – David Schoenholt for Sporting News
North Carolina
“The early returns on the Bill Belichick experiment at North Carolina left a lot to be desired … With Belichick making more than $10 million per season, another losing record and limited on-field progress would prompt plenty of questions about where this experiment is headed.” – Athlon
“The scrutiny and confidence level could be an issue if there aren’t signs of success by the end of September.” – Lindys
Wake Forest
“No one outside of Winston-Salem expected Wake Forest to do what it did last year in Jake Dickert’s first season as head coach … The Demon Deacons were hit hard in the transfer portal and could have a team that looks a lot different. They’re also not going to catch opposing teams by surprise like they did in 2025.” – Sporting News
“Wake may be a dog in all 6 road games and at home vs. Miami so I do not see them matching last year’s remarkable 9 win total, but they clearly showed last year (4 upset wins) that they come to play each week and back-to-back bowl games is a clear possibility this year.” – Phil Steele
What Does It Mean?
Preseason magazines won’t decide a single game this fall, but they do offer a snapshot of how North Carolina college football is viewed nationally entering 2026.
The consensus appears clear in some places: NC State is viewed as the state’s top team, Duke and Wake Forest must prove last year’s success was sustainable, East Carolina and Appalachian State remain difficult to project, Bill Belichick’s North Carolina rebuild still has skeptics, and Charlotte will start the year looking up at most everybody else.
But if history is any guide, at least one of those projections will look silly by November.
Looking ahead to 2026? Check out our team schedule pages:
- NC State schedule
- Duke schedule
- Wake schedule
- UNC schedule
- ECU schedule
- App State schedule
- Charlotte schedule
