Rewritten: This article was written by Chris Lea, a sports anchor and reporter for WRAL-TV.

The WRAL College Football Power Rankings for this week showed an unexpected turn of events. The teams that were ranked first and second in last week’s poll, North Carolina and Duke, both suffered losses over the weekend. Duke was leading against Florida State, ranked No. 4, but faced a setback when their Quarterback Riley Leonard sustained an ankle injury. On the other hand, UNC was defeated by Virginia, who had only won one game this season. The voters for the Power Rankings seemed to penalize UNC more for this loss, despite receiving more first place votes than Duke. However, they also received more lower votes compared to Duke.

NCCU remains in a tough position as they have only moved up one spot to the second position, despite their consistent wins. Both the Eagles and the Tar Heels are currently tied at No. 2. In my opinion, the Eagles deserve the top spot in our rankings.

For the first time in WRAL CFPR history, we experienced a tie for second place in the rankings. Both Elon and Appalachian State were ranked No. 9 in the nation.

Last week, Duke had a record of 5 wins and 2 losses (ranked No. 2).

Last week: 38-20 loss at (4) FSU

This week’s schedule: On Saturday at 3:30pm, the team will be playing at (18) Louisville.

North Carolina remains at the top spot with a record of 6-1.

The past week’s game resulted in a 31-27 defeat against Virginia.

This week, on Saturday at 8:00pm, we will be playing against Georgia Tech.

2. NCCU, 5-1 (No. 3 last week)

Last week: 16-10 win at Morgan State

This week’s game is against South Carolina State on Thursday at 7:30pm.

Davidson, with a record of 4 wins and 2 losses, was ranked No. 5 last week.

The previous week: A victory of 42-21 against Valparaiso.

This week, there will be a game between Home and Presbyterian on Saturday at 7:00pm.

Campbell has a record of 4-3 and was ranked No. 6 last week.

Last week: 34-28 win vs. Maine

This week, the game will be held at Richmond on Saturday at 3:30pm.

Wake Forest has a record of 4-3, making them No. 8 in the rankings from last week.

Last week: 21-17 win vs. Pitt

This week’s game: Home against (4) Florida State, on Saturday at twelve o’clock.

Last week, NC State was ranked No. 8 with a record of 4-3.

Last week: Bye

This week: Home vs. Clemson, Saturday at 2:00pm

Last week, Western Carolina was ranked No. 4 and had a record of 5-1.

The previous week’s game resulted in a 29-17 defeat against Furman.

This week’s game: Home team vs. ETSU on Saturday at 2:00pm.

Appalachian State had a record of 3 wins and 4 losses last week, ranking at No. 7.

The previous week, there was a defeat of 28-21 against Old Dominion.

PM

This week’s game: Home against Southern Miss on Saturday at 3:30 PM.

Elon was ranked number 10 last week and currently has a record of 4 wins and 4 losses.

The previous week’s game resulted in a 28-26 victory against Monmouth.

This week: Bye

The WRAL Sports team, consisting of members from television, radio, and digital departments, evaluates the 14 Division One college football teams in North Carolina to determine the top ten. Our rankings are based on our perception of each team’s performance at their level, rather than predicting head-to-head matchups. This explains why some FCS programs may rank higher than certain FBS programs. Our rankings will be updated every Monday during the regular season.

Source: wralsportsfan.com