For different reasons and in different ways, college football’s national spotlight will shine on North Carolina, NC State and Wake Forest this week, beginning tomorrow night, when ESPN’s weekly Thursday night matchup will feature Virginia Tech taking on the Wolfpack in Raleigh.
The 5-2 Wolfpack, which is ranked #24 nationally in the Associated Press poll, began the season with hopes of challenging for its first ACC title since 1979. That won’t happen, but the Pack hasn’t given up hope for a 10-win campaign, despite the season-ending loss of veteran quarterback Devin Leary to a shoulder injury.
The 10-win threshold appears to be a more realistic goal for 6-1 Wake Forest, which is ranked #10 nationally, took 8-0 Clemson to double overtime, has a superstar in fifth-year QB Sam Hartman and could be the favorite in each of its five remaining regular-season games, including Saturday at Louisville.
The 6-1 Tar Heels, meanwhile, have the nation’s leader in total offense, redshirt freshman QB Drake Maye (380.1 yards per game), and a #21 national ranking as they host Pittsburgh on Saturday (8 pm, ACC Network).
It is truly unprecedented that, in late October, three Big Four schools have at least a shot at 10 or more victories. Whereas national superpowers such as Alabama and Clemson appear poised for their 15th and 11th consecutive seasons of 10 or more wins, respectively, even a single-season accomplishment of that sort is truly rare for the Power Five programs in North Carolina.
Duke (10-4 under David Cutcliffe in 2013) and NC State (11-3 under Chuck Amato in 2002) have only one example each, in their entire program histories, of a season with 10 or more wins. Wake Forest has only two such seasons all-time: 11-3 under Jim Grobe in 2006 and 11-3 under Dave Clawson last year.
UNC has accomplished the feat eight times. The Tar Heels finished 10-1 under Thomas Trenchard in 1914; 11-1 under Bill Dooley in 1972; 11-1 and 10-2 under Dick Crum in 1980 and 1981, respectively; 10-3, 10-2 and 11-1 under Mack Brown in 1993, 1996 and 1997, respectively; and 11-3 under Larry Fedora in 2015.
Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Andrew Dye
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