- AROUND THE STATE -

Old North State vs. Palmetto State match-ups headline week one

UNC, Duke, Charlotte and Shaw will kick off against SC foes

Eric Lusk

Published

August 1, 2023

Four NC vs. SC games will highlight the firsts weekend of college football: Charlotte/SC State, UNC/USC, Duke/Clemson and Shaw/Benedict.

The North Carolina Tar Heels will get the royal treatment in their season opening game against rival South Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Kickoff Classic on Sept. 2.

ESPN Game Day will be in Charlotte all day, and the contest at Bank of America Stadium will be broadcast nationally on ABC with a prime-time 7:30 pm kickoff.

But Tar Heels-Gamecocks won’t be the only game during the first full weekend of college football to feature a North Carolina vs. South Carolina dimension. Four games in all comprise what NC Football News is unofficially dubbing the Old North State vs. Palmetto State Challenge.

The other three games will pit the Charlotte 49ers hosting South Carolina State, Shaw University traveling to Benedict and Duke hosting Clemson. The Devils and Tigers meet on Labor Day Monday night on ESPN, another national audience tuning in.

Here is a breakdown of each of the four games to get you ready, plus a look at other NC vs. SC match-ups that await the rest of the season:

Shaw (4-6 in 2022) at Benedict (11-1)

Saturday, Sept. 2 * 6 p.m. * HBCU GO

The Bears, picked fourth in the CIAA and second overall in the Southern Division, have high hopes for this season. But coach Adrian Jones’ team has a tall order in week one, facing the defending Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) champions on their home field in Columbia, SC.

Benedict’s only loss a year ago came against Wingate (11-2) in the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs, 23-6. The Tigers beat Elizabeth City State 58-14 in last year’s Carolinas Classic. Benedict has hosted this particular HBCU showcase since 2019.

Shaw’s record from 2022 can be a bit deceiving. Of the six losses, two came by four points (Virginia State and Johnson C. Smith), one came by seven points (Winston-Salem State) and two came by eight points (Wayne State and CIAA champion Fayetteville State).

The Bears dropped a 21-7 decision early in the season to the Wingate team that would go on to beat Benedict in the playoffs. Similar final scores.

“I trust these guys, I know how good this football team is,” Jones told CBS17 in a recent interview, referencing a solid number of returnees. “This is one of the best football teams I’ve coached. I look forward to seeing how they play and they feed off me. We want to win a championship, and we know we’re not only one of the best teams in the CIAA but we truly think we’re one of the best teams in Division II football.”

South Carolina State (3-8) at Charlotte (3-9)

Saturday, Sept. 2 * 6 p.m. * ESPN+

Charlotte’s football program underwent a major reset in the off-season after letting Will Healy go.

New coach Biff Poggi, who comes to the Queen City from the University of Michigan, has certainly stirred the public relations pot – sparring with opposing coaches and fans on Twitter and then walking off the stage at the AAC Media Days last week, offended at only being asked three questions.

While the 49ers’ record might not reflect it, they should be much better talent-wise this season. Poggi has leaned heavily on the transfer portal, bringing in a number of guys with Power 5 experience, including a few from from Michigan.

Getting a win in the opener would certainly stoke a fan base that has already fully embraced the launching of a new era as a member of the American Athletic Conference.

South Carolina State won’t be a pushover, though. The Bulldogs have been picked to finish third in the MEAC. South Carolina State pulled off one of the bigger upsets in the league a year ago, edging eventual Celebration Bowl champion NC Central 26-24 mid-season.

North Carolina (9-5) vs. South Carolina (8-5)

Saturday, Sept. 2 * 7:30 p.m. * Charlotte * ABC

This series has a long history, dating back to 1903. While UNC went 10-0-2 in the first 12 meetings and held a 33-13-4 lead in the rivalry through 1983, South Carolina has dominated since.

The Gamecocks have won seven of nine since ’83, including the most recent meeting in the 2021 Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte, 38-21. Carolina’s most recent victory came in Mack Brown’s first game back as the Tar Heels’ coach, 24-20 in 2019.

This year’s clash will have star power at the quarterback position. UNC’s Drake Maye and USC’s Spencer Rattler have impressive resumes and All-America potential.

Is it too early to call it a must-win for a UNC team aiming to challenge for another ACC title game appearance and putting Maye in New York for the Heisman presentation? The outcome may depend on how well North Carolina’s defense has improved over a year ago when it was one of the most porous in the nation.

Clemson (11-3) at Duke (9-4)

Monday, Sept. 4 * 8 p.m. * ESPN

Clemson has had the ACC in its grips for nearly a decade, winning seven of the last eight league championships. Duke has only appeared in the ACC title game once since the game began in 2005, falling to Florida State 45-7 in 2013.

But don’t overlook the Blue Devils in this one. Yes, Clemson looks loaded again, but Duke brings back one of the most experienced rosters in the nation – 3^rd overall in “experience points” out of 133 FBS teams, per Phil Steele’s College Football Preview magazine.

Second-year coach Mike Elko has the Devils believing that last year’s nine-win campaign wasn’t a fluke. Getting Clemson early, with the Tigers adjusting to a new offensive coordinator (Garrett Riley) and youthful quarterback (Cade Klubnik) could play in Duke’s favor.

Again, stellar quarterbacks should be on display on both sides. Duke’s Riley Leonard has All-ACC potential. . But like UNC-USC, the lone Monday game of the weekend could come down to the defenses. Elko has a defensive coaching background.

“Being on that national stage is what we want Duke football to be,” Elko said at last week’s ACC Kickoff in Charlotte. “Obviously, Clemson has been the gold standard in this conference … They have done so many things to carry the ACC and be our representative for so long. But if we want to get our seat at the table and we want to get talked about in that light, those are the games we’re going to have to play …

“To be able to play that game in Durham, in front of a packed house on Monday night with everybody watching, that is what you want.”

More NC vs. SC Match-Ups

The opening weekend is just a warm up of our self-described Old North State vs. Palmetto State Challenge. By our count, there will be 33 total games featuring a North Carolina collegiate team playing a South Carolina opponent, including one junior college showdown (Louisburg vs. Myrtle Beach Collegiate).

With the odd number of games, one state is guaranteed some measure of bragging rights at season’s end.

Here are the rest of the Old North State vs. Palmetto games:

NCAA FBS (4)

Oct. 7: Wake Forest at Clemson

Oct. 10: Coastal Carolina at Appalachian State

Oct. 28: Clemson at NC State

Nov. 18: North Carolina at Clemson

NCAA FCS (8)

Sept. 9: Campbell at The Citadel

Sept. 23: Charleston Southern at Western Carolina

Sept. 30: Western Carolina at The Citadel

Oct. 21: Furman at Western Carolina