Each week, NC Football News tracks the Statewide Standings, the win-loss records of all 35 college football programs in the Old North State.
We’re a bit somber this week, as this is the end of the line for our state’s Division III teams, our lone NAIA squad and most of our Division II schools. The FCS regular season has one more week, while our FBS season has two. Where has the time gone?
Here are some notes and takeaways from Week 11:
Three of the longest active win streaks came to an end. Fayetteville State had won eight in a row, Davidson seven in a row and North Carolina Central six in a row before a trio of losses on Saturday. Gardner-Webb, UNC Pembroke and Wingate now have the longest streaks, at four wins apiece.
* Wingate had the best record of any team in the state a year ago, finishing 11-3 with a couple of D2 playoff victories. Lenoir-Rhyne could be on pace to better that mark in ’23. The Bears improved to 10-1 on Saturday en route to capturing a conference championship — the best record in the state by a couple of wins — and likely will host a playoff game this weekend. Coach Mike Jacobs has a talented and experienced team, which looks built to make a post-season run.
* North Carolina earned its eighth win of the season late Saturday night, beating Duke in double overtime 47-45 near the stroke of midnight. Video of Tar Heel fans storming the field made the rounds on social media and predictably drew the ire of its neighboring rivals.
We’re not sure why storming the field/court after a big win gets fans from other schools so bent out of shape but it does (Proof: HERE). It’s a right of passage for college students. And for UNC in particular on Saturday it likely was a cathartic reaction after so many disappointments and unmet expectations the past few years — fading down the stretch in 2022, losing two winnable games against Georgia Tech and Virginia this year after getting into the CFP conversation, and nearly stumbling to a Duke team playing its third-string quarterback.
Consider the video of the field rushing (which is an impressive sight) one gigantic sigh of relief from Chapel Hill faithful. So can UNC exceed last year’s total of nine wins? Games at Clemson and NC State (surging at 7-3) await, along with a bowl game.
* Duke fans, who saw their team fall to 6-4 in frustrating fashion (bad officiating on multiple plays), might want to keep their ears alert to the goings on in College Station, Texas. Sunday brought the first major firing since Michigan State and Northwestern dispatched of their head coaches early in the season. Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher was sent packing (with a tidy $76.8 million buyout).
Duke coach Mike Elko served as an assistant at A&M before taking the head job in Durham. His name appears first on the list in an ESPN+ story today listing candidates to replace Fisher. He’d be a great pick but does he really want the headaches that pressure-cooker job would bring?
* It can be easy to overlook Division II UNC Pembroke because the Braves currently play in a conference without any other North Carolina rivals (the Mountain East, which features mostly West Virginia schools). Meanwhile, there are five D2 schools from the Old North State that play in the South Atlantic and seven in the CIAA.
Though not on as many radars around the state, the Braves (7-3) exit the 2023 season as one of the hottest teams at any level. After suffering a 31-21 loss at Frostburg State on Oct. 7, UNCP blitzed through a four-game stretch against Fairmont State (a playoff contender), West Virginia Wesleyan, Glenville State and Concord by combined 222-28 scoring margin.
Saturday’s finale against Concord, a record-breaking 68-21 triumph (most points in a game), provided the icing on the season. The Braves gained 637 total yards, the second-most for a game in school history, and scored 51 points after halftime.
Sincere Baines rushed for 178 yards and notched a single-game school record with five touchdowns. Quarterback Colin Johnson accounted for 466 total yards (309 passing, 157 rushing) and three scores.
For the season, UNCP outscored its foes by a 404-189 clip (another school record for most total points) and averaged 40.4 points per outing. It’s too bad this group can’t continue on in the post-season. They could be as dangerous as any team in the field.
UNCP will play in the Mountain East for one more year before joining Barton, Chowan, Erskine, North Greenville and Shorter in Conference Carolinas, which is debuting football as a league sport in 2025.
* What UNCP has been to offense this season, Wingate (8-3) has been on defense in recent years. The Bulldogs, fittingly, closed the books on 2023 by blanking UVA Wise 27-0. It was the team’s second shutout of the season. The ‘Dogs won their last four games and seven of the last eight.
* Only Brevard from the Division III ranks finished with a .500 overall record. The Tornados completed their season at 5-5. It was tough at times for our D3 teams. NC Wesleyan earned a 4-6 mark. Greensboro, Guilford and Methodist all finished 2-8, though Greensboro did win its last two games.
* Fayetteville State (8-3) lost in the CIAA title game to Virginia Union on Saturday. That defeat may keep them out of the D2 playoffs. But the Broncos’ season may not be over. FSU and Johnson C. Smith (7-3) likely will get consideration for the new Florida Beach Bowl, which will pit a CIAA team against an SIAC opponent in a mid-December showcase in Ft. Lauderdale.
Some nuts and bolts on our Statewide Standings after Week 11:
- Undefeated teams: 0
- Winless teams: 3
- Teams with winning records: 16
- Teams with .500 or better records: 18
- Teams with losing records: 17
- FBS bowl eligible: North Carolina, NC State, Duke, Appalachian State
- Still in the hunt for FBS bowl eligibility: Wake Forest (needs to win last two games at Notre Dame and at Syracuse).
- Conference champions: Lenoir-Rhyne (D2 South Atlantic)
- Conference runners-up: Fayetteville State (D2 CIAA)
- Still in the hunt for conference titles: UNC (ACC), Gardner-Webb (Big South/OVC), NC Central (MEAC)
Statewide Standings
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How Our Fabulous 14 Fared This Week
