All-Carolina College Football Poll: Look out, Clemson, Coastal is coming for you
It felt weird, walking around the North Carolina campus on Saturday in the moments before the Tar Heels’ game against Syracuse. It was, as has been the case since most of the students left, strangely quiet. Signs near the Kenan Stadium gates reminded anyone who might wander up that there was to be no fans allowed inside, and no tailgating outside.
And then, a little after noon, a couple of recordings began playing over the stadium speakers. The UNC fight song. The national anthem. Then, silence. When UNC scored its first touchdown not long after, artificial crowd noise filtered through the pines. The public address announcer tried to convey some excitement, but spoke to an empty stadium.
Strange, the sounds of a college football season during a pandemic.
Who knows how long this season might last, or what might happen. It all feels like some grand experiment that could collapse at any moment. And yet, in fleeting moments, the return of college football in the Carolinas brought a little bit of normalcy to a year without any. UNC rolled past Syracuse, eventually. Clemson did its thing Saturday night. Duke hung tough at Notre Dame, in what was the Fighting Irish’s first (!) conference game ever. And, for a couple of hours on Saturday night, people were talking about Coastal Carolina while it dismantled Kansas.
College football is providing an important escape, yes. The whole thing also still feels bizarre, and likely will as long as they play. Both things can be true. After Week 1, the latest installment of the All-Carolina poll:
1. Clemson (1-0, 1-0 ACC)
Previous ranking: 1
Last week: W at Wake Forest, 37-13
Up next: vs. Citadel, Saturday
Believe it or not, there was a time when Clemson-Wake Forest games were actually competitive affairs. That time, while not terribly distant, was not Saturday night.
2. North Carolina (1-0, 1-0 ACC)
Previous ranking: 2
Last week: W vs. Syracuse, 31-6
Up next: vs. Charlotte, Saturday
A pretty meh opening three quarters for the Tar Heels, but then came 21 points in the fourth, and the kind of runaway season-opening victory that was expected. Is the defense really that good, or was that just Syracuse?
3. Appalachian State (1-0)
Previous ranking: 3
Last week: W vs. Charlotte, 35-20
Up next: at Marshall, Saturday
Not quite as easy as the Mountaineers could’ve hoped against Charlotte on Saturday, and here’s an emerging universal truth: App and Charlotte should play every year. A fun, budding rivalry.
4. Duke (0-1, 0-1, ACC)
Previous ranking: 7
Last week: L at Notre Dame, 27-13
Up next: vs. Boston College, Saturday
The Blue Devils are the big riser in the All-Carolinas poll this week, after a respectable, one of those better-than-the-score-suggests kind of losses at Notre Dame. Speaking of Notre Dame, it was good to see that Indiana has eradicated the virus, based on the attendance in South Bend.
5. South Carolina (0-0)
Previous ranking: 4
Last week: off
Up next: vs. Tennessee, Sept. 26
Poor Gamecocks. Lapped long ago by Clemson in their own state. Now behind Appalachian State and Duke in the venerable All-Carolinas poll, and without a chance to prove any of us wrong for another couple weeks.
6. NC State (0-0)
Previous ranking: 6
Last week: off
Up next: vs. Wake Forest, Saturday
State has lost three straight against Wake Forest, including a humbling (to put it mildly) 44-10 defeat last year. And so, already, Saturday feels like an early must-win for the Wolfpack.
7. Wake Forest (0-1, 0-1 ACC)
Previous ranking: 5
Last week: L vs. Clemson, 37-13
This week: at NC State, Saturday
Somehow, even in a pandemic, the Demon Deacon on the motorcycle on Saturday felt less sad than it normally does these days before basketball games at Lawrence Joel.
8. Coastal Carolina (1-0)
Previous ranking: 10
Last week: W at Kansas, 38-23
Up next: vs. Campbell, Friday
Just as the Lord intended, the first full college football Saturday ended with social media abuzz, and following the Chanticleers’ (successful) attempt to hold onto a huge lead at Kansas.
9. Charlotte (0-1)
Previous ranking: 9
Last week: L at Appalachian State, 35-20
Up next: at North Carolina, Saturday
Don’t be surprised, not in the least, when the 49ers on Saturday offer UNC a more difficult test than the one the Tar Heels passed against Syracuse.
10. East Carolina (0-0)
Previous ranking: 8
Last week: off
Up next: vs. UCF, Sept. 26
A realignment idea, while we wait for the Pirates to play some games: No reason why ECU, Coastal, Charlotte and App shouldn’t all be in the same conference. Especially this year. Yes, App would rule — but think about how fun that’d be.
