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Ranking the best college football programs in North Carolina

By Andrew Miller

Nov 10, 2016; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils cornerback Bryon Fields (14) breaks up a pass intended for North Carolina Tar Heels wide receiver Austin Proehl (7) in the end zone in the first half of their game at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 10, 2016; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils cornerback Bryon Fields (14) breaks up a pass intended for North Carolina Tar Heels wide receiver Austin Proehl (7) in the end zone in the first half of their game at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 10, 2016; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils cornerback Bryon Fields (14) breaks up a pass intended for North Carolina Tar Heels wide receiver Austin Proehl (7) in the end zone in the first half of their game at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 10, 2016; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils cornerback Bryon Fields (14) breaks up a pass intended for North Carolina Tar Heels wide receiver Austin Proehl (7) in the end zone in the first half of their game at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports /

North Carolina is more known for its basketball at the college level, yet there’s seven college football programs in the state that deserve respect as well.

The state of North Carolina is traditionally known for its college basketball, especially in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The North Carolina Tar Heels just walked away with the 2016-17 NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship. The Duke Blue Devils took home the title two years previous during the 2014-15 season. However, the focus of these rankings lies in the seven FBS programs in the state.

Those seven schools include the Duke Blue Devils, Appalachian State Mountaineers, UNC Tar Heels, NC State Wolfpack, East Carolina Pirates, Charlotte 49ers, and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. This ranking also looks considers mostly the success of each program throughout the last three seasons as well as the overall historical success and significance of each program.

Most of these programs compete in the ACC, yet it’s easy to forget about Group of Five conference teams like App State. Moreover, success seems to come and go for most programs in NC, especially for schools like ECU, NC State, and UNC. Even Duke experienced a down season in 2016 after head coach David Cutcliffe seemed to solidify consistency in their program.

The immediate outlook for each program’s future will also be considered on each part of the ranking. However, with so much variance in the success of the seven programs in North Carolina, that’s a hard thing to predict. Now, let’s take a look at a ranking of the seven FBS programs in the state of North Carolina.

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