Each week, NC Football News tracks the Statewide Standings, the win-loss records of all 35 college football programs in the Old North State.
This past weekend brought the second round of the Division II playoffs (Lenoir-Rhyne advanced!), the first round of the FCS post-season (NC Central and Gardner-Webb both lost) and the end of the FBS regular season (how ’bout that Wolfpack!). The D3, NAIA and JUCO seasons have been complete for a few weeks for all our North Carolina schools.
Lenoir-Rhyne’s 35-25 triumph over Benedict gave the Bears their first-ever NCAA playoff triumph in a true road game. It also assured that no other North Carolina team will catch them in the wins column or in winning percentage. Lenoir-Rhyne improved to 12-1.
Only two other teams have the possibility of reaching 10 wins this season. NC State moved to 9-3 with its smackdown of North Carolina late Saturday night and still has a bowl game coming. Appalachian State jumped to 8-4 by beating Georgia Southern and still has both the Sun Belt title game this Saturday and a bowl game after that.
Coming out of Week 13, we’re down to six teams with games left to play. Lenoir-Rhyne and Appalachian State will be the only teams in action this Saturday, Dec. 2. The Bears travel to Valdosta State for a D2 quarterfinal match-up at 1 p.m. App State, meanwhile, will play at Troy at 4 p.m. for the Sun Belt trophy.
Johnson C. Smith (7-3) will play next, facing Fort Valley State in the brand new Division II Florida Beach Bowl on Wednesday, Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m.
NC State (9-3), Duke (7-5) and North Carolina (8-4) will find out their bowl destinations following conference championship weekend.
Wherever the Wolfpack ends up, the team has a chance for its first 10-win season under coach Dave Doeren. The Pack won nine games in 2017, 2018 and 2021 under Doeren. NC State earned eight wins in 2014, 2020 and 2022.
This could be Doeren’s best coaching job in his 11 years in Raleigh. NCSU has won its last five contests since getting drubbed by Duke 24-3, including victories against Clemson, Miami and North Carolina. The Pack now has a three-game win streak against the Tar Heels.
North Carolina Central (9-3) got its first-ever taste of the FCS playoffs this past Saturday. The Eagles looked ready to advance with a strong first half at Richmond, building a 20-7 lead. Quarterback Davius Richard ran for two scores and completed a 91-yard touchdown pass to Devin Smith, who spun away from a tackler and outraced the defense to the end zone.
But Richmond rallied after the break, going on a 28-0 run to close out the 49-27 triumph.
NCCU finished 3-1 against opponents from the Coastal Athletic Association, beating Elon, Campbell and NC A&T during the regular season. Richmond, meanwhile, went 4-0 against teams from North Carolina — topping Elon, Campbell and A&T during conference play in addition to the playoff triumph over Central.
Duke (7-5) clinched its second-straight winning season under Mike Elko by beating Pitt 30-19. The Blue Devils won nine games a year ago. (READ MORE: Elko likely the next coach at Texas A&M).
No matter what happens the rest of the season, there will be 17 teams out of 35 total that finish with winning records. Brevard ended its season at 5-5, leaving 17 schools under .500 for the year. Three teams did not win a game.
Gardner-Webb looked hard-pressed to get on the positive side of .500 earlier in the season. The Bulldogs dropped their opener to Appalachian State, beat Elon the next week but then dropped three of the next four. A five-game winning streak to close the regular season, gave GWU a conference championship and the Big South/OVC’s automatic bid into the FCS playoffs.
Mercer, playing its first-ever FCS post-season game, beat Gardner-Webb 17-7 on Saturday in Macon, Ga. Mercer forced four turnovers and held the Bulldogs under 300 yards of total offense.
App State and NC State currently have the longest active winning streaks among North Carolina schools. Each have won the last five. Lenoir-Rhyne has won four in a row. Wingate and UNC Pembroke closed out their D2 seasons by earning four-straight ‘W’s.
