North Carolina State and the University of North Carolina joined the Carolina Panthers on the awful side of football on Saturday.
The Wolfpack and and Tar Heels entered play a combined 5-1.
They left the field having been clobbered to the tune of 129-85 and 5-3. At the half, the combined scores were 98-28.
It is hard to understand how Clemson could put 59 points on NC State, given the Tigers are not the power they once were.
Don’t be fooled by the 35 the Wolfpack put up. Twenty-one came after they were down 59-14. NC State had three turnovers and allowed 523 yards of total offense. Dabo Swinney’s reserves took over for most of the final quarter.
However, North Carolina was home to James Madison of the Sun Belt Conference. The former FCS powerhouse Dukes put a whoopin’ on the Tar Heels, winning 70-50.
Alonsa Barnett III accounted for seven JMU touchdowns. He threw for five and ran for two Barnett had 388 passing yards and 99 rushing.
The teams combined for more than 1,200 yards of offense. North Carolina somehow outgained JMU. Much of UNC’s yardage came after the break when they were down by as much as 36.
ACC Network bailed out just before James Madison hit 70 on UNC. pic.twitter.com/VzbLOteQG1
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 21, 2024
James Madison led 53-21 at the half and reached 70 with four minutes left in the fourth quarter. It was the most first-half points that a Power Four team, aka Power Five, allowed against a Group of Five opponent since 2012.
James Madison was paid $500,000 to come play in Chapel Hill. They left with a big check and a lot of respect.
Toss in the Carolina Panthers, who enter Week Three of the NFL season at 0-2 and having been roasted to the tune of 73-13 and you can see why the state of football in North Carolina is in disarray.