The North Carolina FCS football schedule was mostly a road show this week (Nov. 1) . While Western Carolina and North Carolina Central collected important road victories to keep conference hopes alive, Gardner-Webb and Davidson came up just short in their bids.
Meanwhile, our only team defending home turf, North Carolina A&T, found itself overwhelmed against Towson.
Western Carolina won for the sixth time in a row, defeating Chattanooga 35-28. The Catamounts moved to 5-0 in the Southern Conference for the first time ever, setting up a huge matchup next Saturday in Cullowhee against the league’s other unbeaten, Mercer.
NCCU bounced back into the win column after a surprising loss to Delaware State, knocking off Howard 35-14.
Campbell and Elon had byes this week.
🔗 Jump To: Live FCS Scoreboard | Wrap-Up
🏈 More NC College Football Game-Day Threads: FBS | FCS | D2 | D3
🏆 Full Scoreboard: Complete North Carolina College Scoreboard
📊 Live Scoreboard: North Carolina FCS Football
| TOTAL | ||||||||
 | Towson | 14 | 28 | 6 | 14 | 62 | Final | |
 | NC A&T | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 | FloFootball | |
| TOTAL | ||||||||
 | Davidson | 3 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 24 | Final | |
| Morehead St | 7 | 6 | 0 | 15 | 28 | ESPN+ | ||
| TOTAL | ||||||||
 | Gardner-Webb | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 | Final | |
| Tennessee Tech | 3 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 27 | ESPN+ | ||
| TOTAL | ||||||||
 | NC Central | 14 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 35 | Final | |
| Howard | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14 | ESPN+ | ||
| TOTAL | ||||||||
 | WCU | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 35 | Final | |
| Chattanooga | 0 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 28 | ESPN+ |
✅ FCS Football Wrap-Up
Refresh this section when all games have gone final for quick-hit recaps and top performances from across the day in North Carolina FCS football.
🏆 Biggest Win of the Day
Western Carolina has never been here before. The Catamounts joined the Southern Conference a half-century ago but have never started league play with a 5-0 record. That changed today with a 35-28 triumph at Chattanooga.
WCU had to sweat this one out at the end (a common theme in 2025). Chattanooga drove to the Catamounts 5 in the final minute looking to tie. But Kenyon Partridge picked off a pass with 18 ticks remaining, and the Catamounts ran out the clock on this notable triumph.
Western Carolina has not lost since starting the season 0-3 with defeats to Gardner-Webb, Wake Forest and Elon. Quarterback Taron Dickens did not play in those three contests but has been one of the best players in all of FCS football since rejoining the squad.
Dickens threw four touchdown passes (and had no interceptions) on Saturday. James Tyre caught three of them in the first half, while Michael Rossin had the other in the fourth quarter to extend the lead. Markel Townsend provided WCU’s fifth TD on a 2-yard run late in the third.
Catamount Nation we need you next week! Big time match up vs Mercer next Saturday! Remember to wear your purple! Meet us there!#NoExcuses #LOTE pic.twitter.com/88QLqsoZPt — Western Carolina Football (@CatamountsFB) November 2, 2025
💪 Standout Performances
Walker Harris connected with Chauncey Spikes on touchdown passes of 13 and 80 yards in the first quarter, helping North Carolina Central set the tone at Howard. The duo connected for a third time in the third quarter on an 8-yard scoring play.
For the game, Harris completed 17-of-29 passes for 321 yards and four scores (despite two interceptions). Spikes tallied 208 receiving yards, one of the top pass-catching experiences in the state this season at any level.
Arthur Rodgers gave NCCU a 100-yard rusher as well, picking up 126 yards on 15 carries. Harris earned a rushing score on a 13-yard carry. His fourth TD pass went to Refeno Vangates.
⚡ Biggest Upset (Almost!)
Gardner-Webb raced to a 14-3 lead in the first half against undefeated Tennessee Tech but couldn’t hold it after the break. Tennessee Tech, ranked in the top 10 nationally in both the media and coaches polls, notched 17 points in the fourth quarter to rally.
Cole Pennington kept the Bulldogs in contention, throwing a 24-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Lowe to pull GWU within 27-21 in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs got the ball back after a punt but could not capitalize. The Golden Eagles ran out the clock to improve to 9-0 overall.Carson Gresock scored a pair of short-yardage touchdowns in the first half. Quasean Holmes didn’t find the end zone but finished with 130 rushing yards on 31 carries.
🔥 Other Highlights & Takeaways
- Samaurie Dukes and Ryan McKinnis each had 10 tackles for Western Carolina. McKinnis also added two sacks for 15 yards in losses. Ken Moore Jr. returned an interception 31 yards.
- NCCU evened its MEAC record at 1-1 with the win at Howard. The Eagles improved to 6-3 overall.
- North Carolina Central lived in Howard’s backfield, recording 10 tackles-for-loss and seven sacks. Ten different Eagles had a hand in the TFL onslaught. Jelani Vassell picked off a pass.
- Tennessee Tech came into Saturday as the highest scoring FCS team in the nation (50.5 ppg). Gardner-Webb held the Golden Eagles to their lowest scoring output of the season, 27 points.
- Davidson dropped to 0-5 in Pioneer Football League play with Saturday’s loss at Morehead State. But the Wildcats were competitive again. The ‘Cats led 17-13 at halftime thanks to a Mason Sheron TD run with 17 ticks left. The lead grew to 24-13 when Will Jones found the end zone from 2 yards out early in the fourth. Alas, Morehead State scored twice in the final 7:11 – including the game-winner with 1:06 on the clock.
- North Carolina A&T got off to a promising start against Towson when Andrew Brown kicked a school-record 56-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead midway through the first. But Towson responded with 55 unanswered points over the next three-plus quarters. Four different quarterbacks combined for 382 passing yards and Towson outgained the Aggies overall 527-259. Definitely a step backwards for a program otherwise making positive strides under first-year coach Shawn Gibbs.
FABULOUS 15: Find out which North Carolina FCS teams made this past week’s statewide college football rankings.
