Western Carolina football has the most prolific offense in the FCS after four weeks of games.
The Catamounts (3-1) are one of just two FCS teams to compile more than 2,000 yards of total offense thus far. WCU has 2,071 after Saturday’s monster win over Charleston Southern — an average of 517.8 per game.
Montana State (3-1 and ranked third in the latest FCS polls) trails Western Carolina by 10 total yards, averaging 515.2 per game. No other FCS team is averaging more than 493 yards per contest. The FCS features 128 schools in all.
WCU has been moving the ball at an average of 7.2 yards per play. That ranks eighth in the FCS. The Catamounts have picked up 109 first downs, first in the FCS.
Coach Kerwin Bell’s team jumped into the FCS coaches poll at No. 21 this week and sits at No. 17 in the Stats Perform rankings. Quarterback Cole Gonzales, who hit his first 12 passes on his way to a 299-yard, five-touchdown performance against Charleston Southern, picked up Southern Conference Player of the Week recognition.
Western Carolina’s gaudy total yardage numbers lead all levels of North Carolina. Davidson, 2-2, sits in second place in that category (469.3 ypg), buoyed by an 84-6 triumph this past weekend over St. Andrews from the NAIA ranks. North Carolina (464.0 ypg) and Appalachian State (446.3 ypg) follow next, then Campbell (440 ypg). UNC is 4-0, while App State and Campbell are 2-2.
Davidson’s yardage tally is seventh in the FCS. Campbell’s is 13th.
Davidson (23) and Campbell (20) have scored the most offensive touchdowns of any school in the state. Western Carolina comes in third in that category with 19. Catawba and Duke have 18 apiece.
Davidson surged into the statewide lead in scoring, with its 84-point outburst on Saturday boosting its average to 42.8 points per game. Lenoir-Rhyne follows at 38.8 points per contest, while Campbell and Duke are tied for third (37.3 ppg).
A few more notes and notables on team offense after Week 4:
* Brevard has the best total yardage numbers among Division III schools in the state (392.3). Barton leads the way in the Division II ranks statewide (392).
* NC Wesleyan (D3), NC A&T (FCS), St. Andrews (NAIA) and St. Augustine’s (D2) have had the most sluggish offenses thus far. None of the four teams are averaging more than 188 yards per game. None are scoring at more than 8.5 points per game. A&T has just one offensive touchdown.
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Statewide Stats: Total Offense
| TOTAL OFFENSE | DIVISION | GAMES | YARDS | YPG | OFF TD |
| Western Carolina | FCS | 4 | 2071 | 517.8 | 19 |
| Davidson | FCS | 4 | 1877 | 469.3 | 23 |
| North Carolina | FBS | 4 | 1856 | 464.0 | 17 |
| Appalachian State | FBS | 4 | 1785 | 446.3 | 16 |
| Campbell | FCS | 4 | 1760 | 440.0 | 20 |
| Catawba | D2 | 4 | 1755 | 438.8 | 18 |
| Wake Forest | FBS | 4 | 1706 | 426.5 | 12 |
| Duke | FBS | 4 | 1698 | 424.5 | 18 |
| Mars Hill | D2 | 3 | 1232 | 410.7 | 7 |
| Brevard | D3 | 4 | 1569 | 392.3 | 10 |
| Barton | D2 | 4 | 1568 | 392.0 | 15 |
| Methodist | D3 | 4 | 1532 | 383.0 | 13 |
| NC State | FBS | 4 | 1525 | 381.3 | 13 |
| Lenoir-Rhyne | D2 | 4 | 1516 | 379.0 | 15 |
| NC Central | FCS | 4 | 1443 | 360.8 | 16 |
| UNC Pembroke | D2 | 4 | 1431 | 357.8 | 13 |
| Wingate | D2 | 4 | 1427 | 356.8 | 11 |
| Johnson C. Smith | D2 | 4 | 1370 | 342.5 | 12 |
| Elon | FCS | 4 | 1290 | 322.5 | 11 |
| Gardner-Webb | FCS | 4 | 1268 | 317.0 | 10 |
| Charlotte | FBS | 4 | 1225 | 306.3 | 8 |
| Guilford | D3 | 3 | 903 | 301.0 | 11 |
| Shaw | D2 | 3 | 870 | 290.0 | 4 |
| Greensboro | D3 | 4 | 1141 | 285.3 | 8 |
| East Carolina | FBS | 4 | 1130 | 282.5 | 9 |
| Winston-Salem State | D2 | 4 | 1124 | 281.0 | 10 |
| Elizabeth City State | D2 | 4 | 1089 | 272.3 | 7 |
| Fayetteville State | D2 | 4 | 1017 | 254.3 | 5 |
| Louisburg | JUCO | 3 | 707 | 235.7 | n/a |
| Livingstone | D2 | 4 | 918 | 229.5 | 6 |
| Chowan | D2 | 4 | 883 | 220.8 | 6 |
| NC Wesleyan | D3 | 3 | 563 | 187.7 | 3 |
| NC A&T | FCS | 3 | 511 | 170.3 | 1 |
| St. Andrews | NAIA | 4 | 590 | 147.5 | 4 |
| St. Augustine’s | D2 | 4 | 556 | 139.0 | 3 |
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Statewide Stats: Offensive Touchdowns
| OFFENSIVE TOUCHDOWNS | DIVISION | GAMES | OFF TD |
| Davidson | FCS | 4 | 23 |
| Campbell | FCS | 4 | 20 |
| Western Carolina | FCS | 4 | 19 |
| Catawba | D2 | 4 | 18 |
| Duke | FBS | 4 | 18 |
| North Carolina | FBS | 4 | 17 |
| Appalachian State | FBS | 4 | 16 |
| NC Central | FCS | 4 | 16 |
| Barton | D2 | 4 | 15 |
| Lenoir-Rhyne | D2 | 4 | 15 |
| Methodist | D3 | 4 | 13 |
| NC State | FBS | 4 | 13 |
| UNC Pembroke | D2 | 4 | 13 |
| Johnson C. Smith | D2 | 4 | 12 |
| Wake Forest | FBS | 4 | 12 |
| Elon | FCS | 4 | 11 |
| Guilford | D3 | 3 | 11 |
| Wingate | D2 | 4 | 11 |
| Brevard | D3 | 4 | 10 |
| Gardner-Webb | FCS | 4 | 10 |
| Winston-Salem State | D2 | 4 | 10 |
| East Carolina | FBS | 4 | 9 |
| Charlotte | FBS | 4 | 8 |
| Greensboro | D3 | 4 | 8 |
| Elizabeth City State | D2 | 4 | 7 |
| Mars Hill | D2 | 3 | 7 |
| Chowan | D2 | 4 | 6 |
| Livingstone | D2 | 4 | 6 |
| Fayetteville State | D2 | 4 | 5 |
| Shaw | D2 | 3 | 4 |
| St. Andrews | NAIA | 4 | 4 |
| NC Wesleyan | D3 | 3 | 3 |
| St. Augustine’s | D2 | 4 | 3 |
| NC A&T | FCS | 3 | 1 |
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Statewide Stats: Scoring Offense
| SCORING OFFENSE | DIVISION | GAMES | POINTS | PPG |
| Davidson | FCS | 4 | 171 | 42.8 |
| Lenoir-Rhyne | D2 | 4 | 155 | 38.8 |
| Campbell | FCS | 4 | 149 | 37.3 |
| Duke | FBS | 4 | 149 | 37.3 |
| Western Carolina | FCS | 4 | 147 | 36.8 |
| North Carolina | FBS | 4 | 143 | 35.8 |
| Appalachian State | FBS | 4 | 141 | 35.3 |
| NC Central | FCS | 4 | 129 | 32.3 |
| Catawba | D2 | 4 | 127 | 31.8 |
| UNC Pembroke | D2 | 4 | 122 | 30.5 |
| Guilford | D3 | 3 | 89 | 29.7 |
| NC State | FBS | 4 | 117 | 29.3 |
| Barton | D2 | 4 | 116 | 29.0 |
| Wake Forest | FBS | 4 | 116 | 29.0 |
| Johnson C. Smith | D2 | 4 | 115 | 28.8 |
| Elon | FCS | 4 | 99 | 24.8 |
| Wingate | D2 | 4 | 92 | 23.0 |
| Brevard | D3 | 4 | 91 | 22.8 |
| Methodist | D3 | 4 | 91 | 22.8 |
| Winston-Salem State | D2 | 4 | 89 | 22.3 |
| East Carolina | FBS | 4 | 88 | 22.0 |
| Mars Hill | D2 | 3 | 66 | 22.0 |
| Louisburg | JUCO | 3 | 64 | 21.3 |
| Gardner-Webb | FCS | 4 | 83 | 20.8 |
| Charlotte | FBS | 4 | 76 | 19.0 |
| Elizabeth City State | D2 | 4 | 60 | 15.0 |
| Fayetteville State | D2 | 4 | 57 | 14.3 |
| Greensboro | D3 | 4 | 56 | 14.0 |
| Livingstone | D2 | 4 | 42 | 10.5 |
| Chowan | D2 | 4 | 41 | 10.3 |
| Shaw | D2 | 4 | 40 | 10.0 |
| St. Andrews | NAIA | 4 | 34 | 8.5 |
| NC Wesleyan | D3 | 3 | 21 | 7.0 |
| St. Augustine’s | D2 | 4 | 26 | 6.5 |
| NC A&T | FCS | 4 | 25 | 6.3 |
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Season High: Scoring
| SEASON HIGH – SCORING | DIVISION | POINTS | NOTES |
| Davidson | FCS | 84 | W, 84-6 vs. St. Andrews on Sept. 19 |
| Western Carolina | FCS | 77 | W, 77-21 vs. Charleston Southern on Sept. 19 |
| Lenoir-Rhyne | D2 | 62 | W, 62-0 vs. Erskine on Sept. 16 |
| Campbell | FCS | 56 | W, 56-7 at The Citadel on Sept. 9 |
| Catawba | D2 | 55 | W, 55-15 vs. Livingstone on Sept. 9 |
| Davidson | FCS | 49 | W, 49-21 at Marist on Sept. 16 |
| Johnson C. Smith | D2 | 49 | W, 49-6 vs. West Virginia Wesleyan on Sept. 2 |
| North Carolina Central | FCS | 47 | W, 47-21 vs. Winston-Salem State on Sept. 2 |
| Appalachian State | FBS | 45 | W, 45-24 vs. Gardner-Webb on Sept. 2 |
| Campbell | FCS | 45 | W, 45-31 at Monmouth on Sept. 16 |
| Lenoir-Rhyne | D2 | 45 | W, 45-7 vs. St. Augustine’s on Sept. 2 |
| NC State | FBS | 45 | W, 45-7 vs. VMI on Sept. 16 |
| North Carolina Central | FCS | 45 | W, 45-3 vs. Mississippi Valley State on Sept. 23 |
