For the second straight week, North Carolina’s 33 colleges and universities that play football failed to produce a winning record. However, we’ll take a look at the best and worst of the week that was around the state.
North Carolina’s record: 14-16 (25-28 overall)
Winners (ranked in order of impressiveness of the victory—a combination of opponent and performance):
- Elon: 41-19 at NC Central
- Johnson C. Smith: 37-13 at Morehouse
- Duke: 26-20 (2 OT) at Northwestern
- Campbell: 24-16 at Western Carolina
- ECU: 20-14 at Old Dominion
- Shaw: 43-40 at Albany State
- Fayetteville State 35-31 over UNC Pembroke
- Guilford: 14-0 over Greensboro
- North Carolina: 38-20 over Charlotte
- Livingstone: 37-9 over Virginia University of Lynchburg
- Lenoir-Rhyne: 32-19 over Bowie State
- Elizabeth City State: 12-9 over Chowan
- Davidson: 49-14 over Catawba
- NC A&T: 27-20 (OT) over Winston-Salem State
The top six teams posted road wins. So, while the scores may have been closer than some of the blowouts below, the teams got credit for getting the victory in hostile territory. A&T was taken to overtime against a team a division below it, which puts the Aggies in the bottom spot this week.
Losers (ranked in order of impressiveness, despite the result):
- Winston-Salem State: 27-20 (OT) over NC A&T
- Chowan: L 12-9 at Elizabeth City State
- Gardner-Webb: 13-6 at James Madison
- UNC Pembroke: 35-31 at Fayetteville State
- Wake Forest: 31-30 to Virginia
- Barton: 27-24 to West Virginia State
- Campbell: 24-16 to Western Carolina
- Greensboro: 14-0 to Guilford
- Charlotte: 38-20 at UNC
- NC Wesleyan: 41-29 at Averett
- NC Central: 41-19 to Elon
- Catawba: 49-14 at Davidson
- App State 66-20 at Clemson
- St. Andrews: 51-14 at Anderson
- NC State: 51-10 to Tennessee
- Methodist: 33-14 to Shenandoah
Several blowouts appear in the bottom of the rankings. While Clemson, Tennessee and UNC are tough opponents, and two of the games were true road games, the fact that they scores got so out of hand pushed them down the rankings.
Off: Wingate, Mars Hill, Brevard
Name Game: Guilford defeated crosstown rival Greensboro College in the Soup Bowl, the eighth straight year the Quakers have raised the bowl. Fayetteville State got a wild win over UNC Pembroke in the Two Rivers Classic. NC State fell to Tennessee in the Duke’s Mayo Kickoff.
Old acquaintances, making new ones:
Campbell and Western Carolina met for the first time since 1939, while Charlotte and UNC met for the first time ever—a scheduled game in 2020 was cancelled after a COVID outbreak on the 49ers.
State title standings:
have 10 unbeatens in games against other N.C. foes.
Duke 1-0
NC State 1-0
Wake Forest 1-0
UNC 1-0
Campbell 1-0
Shaw 1-0
Wingate 1-0
Davidson 1-0
Guilford 1-0
Fayetteville State 1-0
Elon 1-1
NC A&T 1-1
Elizabeth City State 1-1
Charlotte 0-1
NC Central 0-1
Catawba 0-1
Greensboro 0-1
Chowan 0-1
Winston-Salem State 0-1
UNC Pembroke 0-2
Western Carolina 0-2
State title games this week:
NC Central at UNC
Gardner-Webb at Charlotte
Western Carolina at Elon
App State at ECU
Barton at Chowan
Catawba at Shaw
Methodist at Guilford
Out of state battles for Week Two:
Campbell at Rhode Island. Delaware at NC A&T. Ole Miss at Wake Forest. Louisiana Tech at NC State. UConn at Duke. Point U at Davidson. Elizabeth City State at Erskine. Delta State vs. Wingate. Tiffin at Lenoir-Rhyne. Fayetteville State at Valdosta State. UNC Pembroke at Charleston, WV. Allen (SC) at Livingstone. Lincoln University of Pennsylvania at JC Smith. Ohio Dominican at Winston-Salem State. Hampden-Sydney at Brevard. Averett at Greensboro. Ferrum at NC Wesleyan. St Andrews at Cumberland, Tenn.
Bad neighbors:
South Carolina teams are 4-0 against N.C. teams this season, while Virginia schools are 5-3.
All-state performances for Week Two:
Quarterback: Shaw’s Christian Peters tied a school record with six total touchdowns, five passing and one rushing.
Running backs; TJ Thomas, Elon 163 yards and a 74-yard score. Rahjai Harris, ECU, 131 yards, 2 TDs, including a 63-yarder.
Receiver: Donavon Greene, Wake, 11 catches, 166 yards, 1 TD; Jairus Mack, Charlotte, 5 catches for 118 yards.
Defensive line: Shi Gaskin, Fayetteville State, 9 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, a forced fumble and a pass breakup; Dre Butler, Charlotte, 2.5 TFL, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble
Linebacker: Jalen Brooks, Campbell, 12 tackles, an interception, a pass breakup; John Tessman, Davidson, 2 TFL, a sack, 6 tackles
Defensive back: Jesse Powell, Elon, a 40-yard pick-six, 1.5 TFL, a sack; Jamare Glasker, Wake, 5 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 interception, 2 PBU.
Special teams: Andrew Brown, NC A&T, had both a 50-yard punt and 50-yard field goal. His long boot was 53, as he averaged 41.2, with one punt inside the 20. He also hit two of three field goals, including a 52-yarder.
