What it was, was football, Week 3

A weekly look at North Carolina college football

September 20, 2024 Shawn Krest Article, College Football, Sports
NC State medical staff helps cornerback Brandon Cisse (2) off the field during the Wolfpack’s win over Louisiana Tech (Gene Galin for North State Journal)

North Carolina colleges posted their first winning week of the year. Here’s a look at the best and worst of the state’s college football this week in our weekly roundup.

North Carolina’s record: 16-15 (41-43 overall)

Last week’s winners (ranked in order of impressiveness of the victory—a combination of opponent and performance):

  1. Elizabeth City State: 20-0 at Erskine
  2. Catawba: 37-28 at Shaw
  3. App State: 21-19 at ECU
  4. Barton: 24-20 at Chowan
  5. Western Carolina: 24-17 at Elon
  6. Johnson C. Smith: 52-6 over Lincoln (Pa.)
  7. Lenoir-Rhyne: 38-17 over Tiffin
  8. Wingate: 21-7 over Delta State
  9. NC State: 30-20 over Louisiana Tech
  1. Duke: 26-21 over UConn
  2. North Carolina: 45-10 over NC Central
  3. Guilford: 14-12 over Methodist
  4. Winston-Salem State: 19-13 over Ohio Dominican
  5. Livingstone: 23-21 over Allen, SC
  6. Charlotte: 27-26 over Gardner-Webb
  7. Davidson: 42-12 over Point
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The Triangle ACC teams struggled against inferior foes at home. Charlotte had a miracle comeback to beat a lower-division foe. Davidson played an NAIA school.

Last week’s losers (ranked in order of impressiveness, despite the result):

  1. Gardner-Webb: 27-26 at Charlotte
  2. Methodist: 14-12 at Guilford
  3. NC Central: 45-10 at UNC
  4. Shaw: 37-28 to Catawba
  5. Chowan: 24-20 to Barton
  6. ECU: 21-19 to App State
  7. Elon: 24-17 to Western Carolina
  8. Campbell: 21-9 at Rhode Island
  9. St. Andrews: 41-6 at Cumberland
  1. Greensboro: 27-20 to Averett
  2. NC Wesleyan: 28-24 to Ferrum
  3. Fayetteville State: 34-0 at Valdosta State
  4. Brevard: 51-30 to Hampden-Sydney
  5. Wake Forest: 40-6 to Ole Miss
  6. NC A&T: 42-13 to Delaware

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Off: Mars Hill, UNC Pembroke

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Remaining unbeatens (6):

Duke: 3-0

UNC: 3-0

Johnson C. Smith: 3-0

Lenoir-Rhyne: 2-0

Wingate: 2-0

Guilford: 2-0

Winning records (8):

ECU, NC State, App State, Davidson, Shaw, Winston-Salem State, Livingstone, Elizabeth City State: all 2-1

At .500 (3)

Fayetteville State, Barton, Catawba: all 1-1

Losing records (7):

Charlotte, Wake Forest, Elon, Campbell, NC A&T, NC Central, Western Carolina: all 1-2

Still winless (9):

Gardner-Webb, St. Andrews: 0-3

UNC Pembroke, Chowan, NC Wesleyan, Greensboro, Methodist: 0-2

Mars Hill, Brevard: 0-1

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Name Game:

Johnson C. Smith won the Eddie McGirt Classic, which is the name given to its home opener, in honor of the legendary coach. This week, Fayetteville State is at Elizabeth City State in the 27th annual Down East Viking Classic. NC A&T and NC Central meet in the Aggie/Eagle (or Eagle/Aggie, depending on your allegiances) Classic.

State title standings:

Of the 33 teams in the state, 26 have played another N.C. school. Two more—Mars Hill and Lenoir-Rhyne—meet this weekend, leaving JC Smith, Livingstone, Brevard, NC Wesleyan and St. Andrews yet to play a state-title game. St. Andrews is the only team without one on its regular-season schedule.

2-0 UNC, Guilford

1-0 Duke, App State, NC State, Wake Forest, Campbell, Wingate, Davidson, Fayetteville State, Barton

1-1 NC A&T, Charlotte, Shaw, Elizabeth City State, Catawba

1-2 Elon, Western Carolina

0-1 ECU, Methodist, Greensboro, Gardner-Webb, Winston-Salem State

0-2 Chowan, NC Central, UNC Pembroke

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State title games this week:

NC A&T at NC Central

Fayetteville State at Elizabeth City State

Lenoir-Rhyne at Mars Hill

Greensboro at Methodist

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‌Out of state battles for Week Three:

South Alabama at App State on Thursday. Charlotte at Indiana. Gardner-Webb at Presbyterian. James Madison at UNC, Duke at Middle Tennessee. Western Carolina at Montana. ETSU at Elon. Stony Brook at Campbell. ECU at Liberty. NC State at Clemson. Barton at Emory & Henry. Catawba at Virginia-Wise. Lincoln University (PA) at Shaw. Livingstone at Bowie State. UNC Pembroke at Charleston, WV. Wingate at Carson Newman. Winston-Salem State at Virginia State. Belhaven at Brevard. Sewanee at Guilford. Huntingdon at NC Wesleyan

Off: Wake Forest, Davidson, Chowan, St. Andrews

Bad neighbors: Averett joined James Madison as “foreign” schools with two wins against North Carolina teams, helping Virginia to a 8-3 record against in-state schools.

All-state performances for Week Three:

Quarterback: Joey Aguilar, App State, 424 yards, 32-of-47 passing, 2 touchdowns, 28 yards rushing

Running backs; Mari Adams, Davidson 207 yards, 2 touchdowns; Omarion Hampton, UNC, 210 yards, 3 touchdowns

Receiver: Que-Sean Brown, Duke, 11 catchers, 87 yards (including 71 yards after catch), touchdown; Brevi Caldwell, JC Smith, 11 catches 152 yards, touchdown

Defensive line: Desmond Evans, UNC 4 tackles, 4 solo, 3 TFL, 1 sack, 1 PBU; Kahmari Brown, Elon, 5 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 2 sacks, forced fumble; JT Black, Lenoir-Rhyne, 5 tackles, TFL, half a sack, 75-yard fumble return, PBU

Linebacker: Trevor Moffitt, G-W, 6 tackles, 5 solo, TFL, sack, 45-yard pick six, forced fumble, recovered fumble, QB hit; Zakye Barker, ECU, team-high 13 tackles, 5 solo, 1.5 TFL, forced fumble

Defensive back: TJ Magee, Davidson, team high 8 tackles, 5 solo, 1.5 TFL, PBU

Special teams: Ken Moore Jr., Western Carolina, blocked a field goal that Jordy Lowry returned for the game-winning touchdown over Elon. Moore also had a TFL and forced fumble on defense,

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