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So far, only the college football cream is rising to the top.
We expected havoc with the transfer portal in full swing across the country. So some results are surprising, but the Alabama-Georgia game is a symbol that the best programs will just keep getting better.
The new 12-team College Football Playoff, where the top four seeds get byes, may look like the second round of the NCAA basketball tournament, with good-but-not-great teams having to pull upsets to move on.
Conference realignment has shown some surprises, SMU among the best of the ACC’s newest members. The Mustangs dropped the death knell on Florida State, sending the Seminoles to their worst loss of a 1-4 season that will likely cost Coach Mike Norvell his job.
The ACC does have very good teams at the top and a few that have not reached the meat of their schedules. Carolina is an example at a suddenly surprising 3-2 against an assemblage of unranked and mid-major opponents with its win at Minnesota worth anything after the Gophers barely lost at Michigan.
N.C. State is in even worse at 3-2 after losing big to its two Power 4 opponents – 51-10 by Tennessee and 59-35 by Clemson with the Wolfpack scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter against the Tigers mop-up reserves.
The Pack of Coach Dave Doeren resume ACC play and could go on a little run with home games against struggling Wake Forest, then Syracuse, Stanford and Duke and a trip to Cal mixed in. The Pack needs to win three for bowl eligibility.
The Tar Heels have a slightly stiffer stretch with visits from unbeaten Pitt and FSU-beater Georgia Tech, followed by trips to Charlottesville, Tallahassee and Chestnut Hill with Wake Forest at home looking like UNC’s only sure win. Can the Heels find two more victories to qualify for a sixth straight bowl bid?
What if State and Carolina keep stumbling and wind up in the regular-season finale at Kenan Stadium with 5-6 records and playing in what could be coined the Subpar Bowl after the success the rivals have had in recent years?
Their quarterback situations are not up to par. State’s Grayson McCall, a transfer from Coastal Carolina, has not played since leaving the third game against Louisiana Tech with an undisclosed injury. The Pack has been going with a true freshman ever since.
The Tar Heels are in better, but not great, shape with Jacolby Criswell taking over for Conner Harrell and making some good plays in their two losses. Similar to McCall, Criswell is nowhere near the caliber of what the programs have had in recent years. For both, it certainly is not the year of the quarterback.
Featured image via Eli Melet
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
