A total of 33 college and universities in North Carolina field a football team. Throughout the season, we’ll take a look at the best and the worst of the week that was and preview the week to come.
All 14 of North Carolina’s FBS and FCS teams opened their season in Week One. While the majority of the Division II and III teams will open play this week, a handful got an early start to the year.
North Carolina’s record: 11-12
Winners (ranked in order of impressiveness of the victory—a combination of opponent and performance):
- Winston-Salem State: 34-3 over Bluefield State
- John C. Smith: 21-13 over Tuskegee
- Shaw: 17-13 over Elizabeth City State
- Wingate: 17-12 over UNC Pembroke
- NC Central: 31-24 over Alabama State
- UNC: 19-17 over Minnesota
- East Carolina: 42-3 over Norfolk State
- Appalachian State: 38-10 over East Tennessee State
- Wake Forest: 45-13 over NC A&T
- Duke: 26-3 over Elon
- NC State: 38-21 over Western Carolina
The top six teams all opened with teams from their own division, which automatically earned a ranking higher than a win, no matter how lopsided, over a lower-division foe. Wake, Duke and State all had sluggish starts and took while to find their rhythm.
Losers (ranked in order of impressiveness, despite the result):
- Western Carolina: 38-21 at NC State
- Gardner Webb: 21-20 to Wofford
- NC A&T: 45-13 at Wake Forest
- Elon: 26-3 at Duke
- Campbell: 41-24 at Liberty
- UNC Pembroke: 17-12 to Wingate
- Elizabeth City State: 17-13 to Shaw
- Davidson: 46-24 to Georgetown
- Charlotte: 30-7 to James Madison
- Mars Hill: 47-16 to Delta State
- Livingstone: 38-7 to Charleston
- St. Andrews: 52-0 to Erskine
Name Game:
NC Central’s win over Alabama State gave the Eagles the Orange Blossom Classic title. JC Smith won the Red Tail Classic at the history Cramton Bowl. There are more Name Games this week as Guilford and Greensboro College play for the Soup Bowl title, while UNC Pembroke and Fayetteville State clash in the Two Rivers Classic. NC State will play in the Duke’s Mayo Kickoff at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
State title:
Also known as the Mack Brown trophy—we had five in-state skirmishes this week.
Duke 1-0
NC State 1-0
Wake Forest 1-0
Shaw 1-0
Wingate 1-0
Elon 0-1
Western Carolina 0-1
NC A&T 0-1
Elizabeth City State 0-1
UNC Pembroke 0-1
State title games this week:
Campbell at Western Carolina
Charlotte at UNC
Catawba at Davidson
Elon at NC Central
Winston-Salem State at NC A&T
Chowan at Elizabeth City State
UNC Pembroke at Fayetteville State
Guilford at Greensboro
Out of state battles for Week Two:
Appalachian State heads to Death Valley to face Clemson. NC State faces Tennessee in Charlotte. Wake Forest hosts Virginia in its ACC conference opener. Duke travels to Northwestern for a Friday night game. Gardner-Webb travels to James Madison, who will be trying to knock off its second-straight N.C. opponent. Barton has a Friday game against West Virginia State, JC Smith travels to Morehouse. Lenoir Rhyne faces Bowie State. Livingstone gets Virginia University of Lynchburg. Shaw faces Albany State. Brevard gets Hampden Sydney. Methodist takes on Shenandoah. NC Wesleyan takes on Averett. St. Andrews heads to Anderson.
All-state performances for Week One:
Top quarterback: App State’s Joey Aguilar threw for two touchdowns, ran for two and racked up 326 passing yards.
Top running backs: JC Smith’s Quavaris Crouch had 161 yards and a 75-yard touchdown. Central’s J’Mari Taylor had 128 yards, two rushing touchdowns and a touchdown catch.
Top receivers: Campbell’s Sincere Brown had 5 catches for 126 yards. NC State’s Kevin Concepcion had 121 yards and three touchdowns on nine catches.
Top special teamers Wake Forest’s Taylor Morin had a 73-yard punt return touchdown to go with his 100 receiving yards. UNC’s Noah Burnette had four field goals, including a 52-yarder and two other 40-plus kicks.
Top defensive lineman: Duke’s Vincent Anthony Jr. had two sacks, two TFL and six stops. Wingate’s Kai Russell had 5 tackles, a TFL and half a sack.
Top linebacker: Duke’s Cameron Bergeron had a team-high 8 tackles, 2.5 TFL and half a sack. Winston-Salem State’s Jamieson “Jupe” Alston had 4 tackles, 1.5 TFL, a sack and a pass breakup.
Top defensive backs: Winston-Salem State’s Justin Fleming had a 63-yard pick six. Elon’s Caleb Curtain had three pass breakups and an interception.
