All-Carolina College Football Poll: NC State can challenge Clemson? Overreactions galore
It might’ve been the best opening weekend of college football ever, what with an instant classic between Notre Dame and Florida State and an old-school Georgia-Clemson affair that would have pleased the most grizzled of football purists. An overreaction, to offer such praise? For sure — but that’s what Week Ones are all about: overreactions. Forming opinions off of extremely small sample sizes. Flying way too high if your team happened to emerge victoriously, and sinking way too low if your team happened to lose.
Such is the beginning of college football season.
Not an overreaction, though: It was indeed quite the few days in Charlotte, what with Appalachian State’s victory against ECU, Charlotte’s historic triumph against Duke and the aforementioned Georgia-Clemson game that eschewed all these newfangled trends of scoring a lot of points and took us straight back the defensive slugfests of days of yore. In a good way.
Oh, and did you see all those people chugging mayonnaise around Bank of America Stadium? A viral marketing ploy by Big Mayo, a title sponsor of the festivities there, or was the excessive mayonnaise consumption organic? Folks, we may not have answers any time soon.
Elsewhere: Good vibes in Raleigh, where N.C. State has perhaps given its fans more of a reason to be optimistic (uh-oh), and not-so-good vibes in Chapel Hill, where it turns out all those receivers and running backs North Carolina lost from last season were pretty good, and are missed. And Durham, well — perhaps it’s best we just not talk about it.
Or is that an overreaction?
With overreactions in mind, we present Week 1 of the All-Carolinas poll, where we consider the overreactions throughout the Carolinas — and how they might square with reality:
1. Clemson (0-1)
- Previous ranking: 1
- Last week: L 10-3 vs. Georgia in Charlotte
- Up next: vs. South Carolina State, Saturday
- Overreaction: Clemson is vulnerable, and has fallen back to the pack! Reality: Did you see the Tigers’ defense? Yes, adapting to life after Trevor Lawrence (and Travis Etienne, for that matter) might be more of an adjustment than anticipated, but it also might not matter all that much if Clemson allows no points — and its defense only allowed a field goal against Georgia.
2. N.C. State (1-0)
- Previous ranking: T-3
- Last week: W 45-0 vs. USF
- Up next: at Mississippi State, Saturday
- Overreaction: This is the year N.C. State breaks through! Reality: Sure — could be; the Wolfpack, after all, did what a good team should do against an overmatched opponent. But let’s hold off on the accolades for now. That was a bad USF team and much more difficult tests await, including an SEC road game — even if Mississippi State barely escaped Louisiana Tech on Saturday.
3. Coastal Carolina (1-0)
- Previous ranking: T-3
- Last week: W 52-14 vs. The Citadel
- Up next: vs. Kansas, Friday
- Overreaction: Coastal is better than Carolina! Reality: Are the Chanticleers really ahead of UNC, which until very recently was considered a dark horse College Football Playoff contender? It’s hard to know after one week, but that’s what the All-Carolinas poll voters will have you believe! (Three voters even had them No. 2 — we won’t name names, but sources say sports editor Matt Stephens was among them).
4. North Carolina (0-1, 0-1 ACC)
- Previous ranking: 2
- Last week: L 17-10 at Virginia Tech
- Up next: vs. Georgia State, Saturday
- Overreaction: The Tar Heels are the most disappointing team in the country! Reality: The most disillusioned of UNC supporters may need some therapy. No shame in losing in Blacksburg in front of an insane crowd in an opening game. The Tar Heels do, though, have some problems that we overlooked — the biggest one being that Sam Howell doesn’t have a lot of proven help.
5. Appalachian State (1-0)
- Previous ranking: 5
- Last week: W 33-19 vs. ECU in Charlotte
- Up next: at Miami, Saturday
- Overreaction: Chase Brice has found his mojo, baby! Reality: Maybe he has! Brice was ... not good during his lone season at Duke last year but, in fairness, nobody else around him was all that good, either. But maybe that crisp mountain air (and a better program) has helped the former Clemson quarterback find himself. Wouldn’t be the first time a trip to the mountains led to self-discovery.
6. South Carolina (1-0)
- Previous ranking: 7
- Last week: W 46-0 vs. Eastern Illinois
- Up next: at ECU, Saturday
- Overreaction: Shane Beamer is the answer! Reality: Who knows — and who knows how many people are actually believing or even saying that Beamer is after one game. Yet it is indeed a tried and true cycle of college football fandom, to become intoxicated on optimism when a new coach arrives. Next stop on the Beamer honeymoon tour: Greenville. Exotic. Tropical.
7. Wake Forest (1-0)
- Previous ranking: 6
- Last week: W 42-10 vs. Old Dominion
- Up next: vs. Norfolk State, Saturday
- Overreaction: Bring on Clemson! Reality: Given the experience here, Wake probably is undervalued and overlooked, but a perfect Week 1 convergence occurred to lead to more optimism: For one, it wasn’t a great opening weekend for the ACC. And, two: An experienced, gritty team (Wake) coasted to an easy win. Might the Demon Deacons make a run? Maybe!
8. Charlotte (1-0)
- Previous ranking: 10
- Last week: W 31-28 vs. Duke
- Up next: vs. Gardner-Webb, Saturday
- Overreaction: Greatest football moment in school history! Reality: Perhaps? Duke isn’t Clemson, or even N.C. State, for that matter — but the significance of Charlotte defeating an ACC school can’t be overstated. The postgame scene at Charlotte on Friday night made for one of the most memorable of college football’s opening weekend.
9. ECU (0-1)
- Previous ranking: 8
- Last week: L 33-19 vs. Appalachian State in Charlotte
- Up next: vs. South Carolina, Saturday
- Overreaction: Oh, no — here we go again! Reality: Oh, no — here the Pirates go again! No shame, really, in losing a neutral-site game against Appalachian State, but the problem for ECU is it wasn’t all that competitive in defeat, allowing almost 500 yards (woof). Holton Ahlers and ECU’s offense will give it a chance, but if the Pirates can’t defend it’s going to be another rough year in Greenville.
10. Duke (0-1)
- Previous ranking: 9
- Last week: L 31-28 at Charlotte
- Up next: vs. North Carolina A&T, Friday
- Overreaction: Cut must go! Reality: The reality is that, in a way, the frustration surrounding the program is reflective of David Cutcliffe’s overall success in his 13 years at Duke. He elevated the Blue Devils to a place where a defeat like the one at Charlotte is unacceptable — and that wasn’t always the case at Duke. Clearly, things have gone off the rails but Cutcliffe has a long leash. How long, is the question.
