Wake Forest created more ACC chaos, UNC slogged out another defensive victory, and East Carolina finally got the Charlotte monkey off its back. Duke remains in the ACC title conversation but suffered a non-conference loss at resurgent UConn.
Appalachian State lost its game against Georgia Southern on Thursday night, while NC State had the week off to prepare for a showdown next week against Miami.
With all of this week’s FBS games now complete, we recap what happened and what it means going forward.
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Jake Dickert should be the ACC Coach of the Year — Just Means Less ACC (@JML_ACC) November 9, 2025
📰 North Carolina FBS Scores & Summaries
East Carolina 48, Charlotte 22: After losing their first two games against the 49ers, the Pirates scored a decisive knockout on Saturday. Katin Houser threw two touchdown passes and rushed for two scores to lead ECU to bowl eligibility and dumping Charlotte to 1-8.
UNC 20, Stanford 15: The Bill Belichick era continues to pick up steam, with the Tar Heels holding on to beat the Cardinal for their second straight victory. The Heels sacked Stanford QB Elijah Brown nine times, while UNC’s Gio Lopez threw a pair of TD passes in the second half.
Keep Building. Keep Grinding. 🛠️ pic.twitter.com/3QzPGDqVzn — Carolina Football (@UNCFootball) November 9, 2025
Wake Forest 16, Virginia 9: Carlos Hernandez returned a first-half punt 88 yards for a touchdown, and Connor Calvert – the hero of the SMU win a few weeks back – booted three field goals for the Deacs. Wake Forest (6-3) reach bowl eligibility to highlight coach Jake Dickert’s debut season and handed No. 14 ranked Virginia (8-2) its first ACC loss.
Connecticut 37, Duke 34: The two basketball bluebloods played a memorable football contest, with the Huskies holding off the Blue Devils to improve to 7-3. In a back-and-forth game, UConn scored the winning points on a Joe Fagnano-to-Skyler Bell TD pass with 1:58 left. The Huskies then stripped the ball away from Duke QB Darian Mensah to end it.
✅ North Carolina FBS Wrap-up
East Carolina (6-3) and Wake Forest (6-3) reached bowl eligibility with Saturday wins, a nice notch for both programs after replacing coaches in 2024. Duke (5-4) still needs one more win to reach the magical six-win plateau.
The Pirates are going Bowling! 🏴☠️ pic.twitter.com/3E7m0H4eJe — ECU Football (@ECUPiratesFB) November 9, 2025
Wake Forest and NC State are the only teams to have beaten Virginia this season. Both games ended in a similar way, with the North Carolina-based team breaking up a Virginia drive in the end zone in the final minute.
Wake Forest won late Saturday night despite mustering just 203 yards of offense and only 64 yards through the air. The Deacs scooped up three fumbles and held Virginia out of the end zone. The Cavaliers converted only 3-of-14 third-down plays.
Melkart Abou Jaoude and Tyler Thompson each provided three sacks for UNC’s fierce defense. Andrew Simpson had two sacks. Khmori House led the Tar Heels with 13 total tackles, including eight solo stops. House also picked off a pass. Stanford did manage 284 passing yards but managed just 36 rushing yards on 35 carries.
A few weeks ago, the torches and pitchforks were out in Chapel Hill, and rumors swirled that UNC and Bill Belichick might part ways. Now, the Heels are starting to build an identity as a grinding, defense-first team. Believe it or not, UNC (4-5, 2-3 ACC) can make a bowl with two wins in its final three games against Wake, Duke and NC State.
Does anyone actually want to win the ACC this season? After another topsy-turvy weekend (Cal upset Louisville) left the league with four teams at 5-1 (Virginia, Georgia Tech, Pitt and SMU) and Duke lurking at 4-1. Miami has two losses. The Blue Devils host Virginia next Saturday, then closes with UNC and Wake Forest.
ECU set the tone early against Charlotte, scoring three TDs in the opening quarter. The Pirates led 35-14 at the break. Katin Houser’s TD throws went to Anthony Smith and Yannick Smith.
Grayson Loftis completed 20-of-31 passes for 279 yards and three touchdowns in the losing cause for Charlotte. Javen Nicholas caught two of the TD throws. Nate Sheppard rushed for an even 100 yards for Duke, scoring a pair of touchdowns.
📊 Live Scoreboard: North Carolina FBS Football
| TOTAL | ||||||||
 | Charlotte | 0 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 22 | Final | |
 | East Carolina | 21 | 14 | 10 | 3 | 48 | ESPN+ | |
| TOTAL | ||||||||
 | Duke | 7 | 7 | 14 | 6 | 34 | Final | |
 | Connecticut | 10 | 10 | 3 | 14 | 37 | CBSSN | |
| TOTAL | ||||||||
 | Stanford | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 15 | Final | |
 | UNC | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 20 | The CW | |
| TOTAL | ||||||||
 | Wake Forest | 0 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 16 | Final | |
 | Virginia | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9 | ESPN |
