In this week’s edition of Campbell’s Ramble, I am not even trying to be objective towards Syracuse. I am going to rip them to shreds after that embarrassment of a football game they played in Raleigh on Thursday night, and my rooting interests are about to be very clear. With that disclaimer out of the way, let’s get going.

NC State

State still doesn’t have a QB. But that didn’t matter in their 16-10 triumph over Syracuse. In all honesty, all the Pack had to do on Thursday night was to not have any fatal self inflicted wounds against an offensively inept Syracuse squad. State did exactly that, and they defended home turf.

Miami

It’s starting to seem like the switch from Jarren Williams to N’Kosi Perry at quarterback for Miami was the key for the Canes. Perry wasn’t fantastic, but he didn’t turn the ball over and let his defense take care of business in the 17-9 victory against Virginia. Deejay Dallas is still the main show in that Miami offense, but a competent Perry means that Miami can win some ball games, as they did on Friday.

Clemson

The Tigers are back into their peak form after their bye week. The scare at North Carolina seems to be the shot in the arm Clemson needed. Everything went perfectly for Clemson in the 45-14 domination of a pretty solid Florida State team, and I no longer have any doubts that Clemson will enter the College Football Playoff as an undefeated ACC champion.

Virginia Tech

The Hokies beat FCS Rhode Island 34-17 but still didn’t look good. Oddly enough, Tech is playing better away from Lane Stadium than they are while they are. A road win against Miami and a close loss at Boston College are their two best performances of the season so far. That doesn’t bode well for Justin Fuente’s hopes of having a job in Blacksburg next season.

Duke

Not much to say about Duke. They beat the worst team in the conference in Georgia Tech 41-23. If this wasn’t the result, then there would be something to discuss. As for now, there simply is not, this is exactly what we all expected would happen.

Louisville

I love this team so much. In what will probably end up being the highest scoring game in the ACC this year, the Cardinals outlasted Wake Forest 62-59 in Winston. Their defense is still leaving something to be desired, but the fact that Louisville is now on their 3rd string QB in Evan Conley and are putting up 62 points shows how many weapons they have offensively. Dez Fitzpatrick, Tutu Atwell, Javian Hawkins, and Seth Dawkins are all so dynamic when the ball is in their hands. Louisville football is becoming must watch TV.

Syracuse

Well, here we go. Tommy DeVito is currently terrible at QB for the Orange. He’s either hurt and incapable of making throws, or he’s just bad, neither of which is what you want, and his performance is the reason Syracuse fell 16-10 at NC State. The offensive line doesn’t give him enough time to throw and when they do, DeVito takes too long to make a decision. DeVito is also hesitant to pull down the ball and run with it which in Dino Babers’s offense, is going to be a problem. The defense is solid and will only get better with Andre Cisco working his way back to being healthy. If there is a bright spot for Syracuse, it’s that their next game is in the Carrier Dome. Cuse is putting up 34 points per game and if they can figure out a way to maintain that scoring rate in their home games, they should find a way to bowl eligibility. Maybe I’m being too optimistic and thinking with my heart and not my head. It needs to be said though that home Syracuse and road Syracuse just look like two different teams. Particularly on the offensive side.

Virginia

Did Notre Dame break the UVa offense? Is the Miami defense good now? Or is UVa football just snakebitten forever and nothing will ever change that. The Hoos dropped a 17-9 contest at Miami on Friday night. All this being said, Virginia has not won in Miami since 2011. Maybe this is just a mental thing in this particular building for Virginia, or maybe UVa just isn’t as good as we thought.

Wake Forest

Wake did almost everything they needed to on the offensive side, the defense was terrible but the turnovers ultimately killed the Deacs in their 62-59 loss to Louisville. Wake Forest turned it over 3 times to Louisville’s 2. That extra possession to the Cardinals was ultimately the difference. Wake Forest has no reason to be worried right now, unless they consider my power rankings to be particularly important.

Florida State

Clemson played their best game of the season in defeating the Noles 45-14. Florida State has no reason to be super concerned, sometimes the number 3 team in the country just plays their best, and you’re stuck on the other side of the field.

Georgia Tech

Yep, they lost 41-23 at Duke. The Yellow Jackets march towards a winless ACC season continues, with no real signs of improvement.

Power Rankings

1. Clemson, duh.
2. North Carolina
3. Wake Forest
4. Florida State
5. Pitt
6. Virginia
7. Duke
8. Louisville
9. Miami
10. NC State
11. Syracuse
12. Boston College
13. Virginia Tech
14. Georgia Tech

Predictions

Pitt at Syracuse: Syracuse, 28-25

North Carolina at Virginia Tech: North Carolina, 38-20

Clemson at Louisville: Clemson, 42-31

NC State at Boston College: Boston College, 31-24

Georgia Tech at Miami: Miami, 42-10

Duke at Virginia: Virginia, 17-14

Florida State at Wake Forest: Wake Forest, 42-38

Last week’s predictions: 3-3

Season total: 5-5

Rodney Brooks: St. Augustine’s defeated Livingstone 20-12 at George Williams Comp Stadium in Raleigh on Saturday. Rodney Brooks, who graduated from Orange in 2017, tied for the Livingstone team lead with six tackles. He also had a pass breakup. Brooks has now played six games since arriving in Salisbury last summer. The Blue Bears have dropped two in a row and are 3-2, 2-1 in the CIAA. They return to Raleigh next weekend to face Shaw, led by former Southern Durham head coach Adrian Jones.

Payton Wilson: On Thursday night, N.C. State earned its first ACC win of the season with a 16-10 victory over Syracuse. Wilson finished with three tackles. After six games, Wilson has 26 tackles, including three tackles for loss.

Trent Gill: As State found itself in a rugged defensive battle with the Orange, Gill found himself busy as a punter. He had six punts for an average of 48.8 yards per boot. His longest punt was 55 yards, and he had two over 50 yards. Gill had two punts downed inside the 20-yard line. N.C. State faces Boston College next Saturday at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, MA.

Adam Chnupa: A rousing day for the Elon football team on Saturday. The Phoenix defeated Delaware, ranked #15 in FCS, 42-7 at Rhodes Stadium in Elon. Chnupa, a redshirt freshman who graduated from Cedar Ridge in 2017, saw action in his third game of the season. Elon travels to Rhode Island next weekend. The Phoenix are 3-4, 2-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Kevin Wright: It was a memorable day for the Division III North Carolina Wesleyan football team on Saturday. The Battling Bishops played its first game on its own campus. Wesleyan defeated Greensboro College 44-7 at the Vernon T. Bradley Complex. The Bishops are 3-2, 2-0 in the USA South Athletic Conference. They face Averett in Danville, VA next weekend.

Jackson Schmid: Though Schmid hasn’t played for Division III Wheaton College since September 21st, the Thunder is now ranked #5 in Division III. The Thunder defeated North Park University 63-0 in Chicago on Saturday to improve to 5-0, 1-0 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. Schmid graduated from Orange in 2017.

Taylin Jean: The Division II Limestone women’s soccer team defeated Converse College 2-0 at Saints Field in Gaffney, SC on Saturday. Jean posted her fifth shutout of the season starting as goalkeeper for Limestone. She made one save to earn her fifth win of the year. Limestone is 5-5, 4-2 in Conference Carolinas.

Jordan Rogers: Division III Methodist defeated William Peace University 2-0 at Monarch SoccerPlex in Fayetteville on Saturday. Rogers started at wingback for the Pacers. She has started all 14 of the Pacers’ games this season. Peace falls to 6-6-1, 2-2 in the USA South Conference.

Lionel Reid-Shaw: Th Division III Dickinson men’s soccer team defeated Washington College 2-1 for its third straight win on Saturday at Miller Memorial Field in Carlisle, PA. Reid-Shaw started for the Red Devils at center back. He has started nine games this year. Dickinson is 8-5, 4-1 in the Centennial Conference.

Lili Henry: The Division III Methodist volleyball team dropped both of its tilts in a tri-match at Greensboro College on Saturday. Greensboro swept the Monarchs to open the day at Hanes Gymnasium. Henry had eleven assists and five digs against the Pride. William Peace upended Methodist in four sets. Against the Pacers, Henry had 17 assists, six digs and two aces. Methodist falls to 3-13, 2-6 in the USA South Conference. They travel to Salem College in Winston-Salem on Wednesday.

August 18, 2017 was never supposed to be a famous date. Sure, it marked the beginning of a new football season and all the promise and excitement that contains, but there wasn’t much more to it than that. On that day, the Cedar Ridge football team opened its season at home against Carrboro, but the game was never completed – with 2:39 left in the second quarter and Cedar Ridge on top 21-6, awful weather in the area forced the game to be delayed, postponed, and ultimately called. It wasn’t pretty, and it sure wasn’t perfect, but Cedar Ridge still got the win. 

Little did anyone involved with the Red Wolves program know that it would take more than two years for them to get another one. 

August 18, 2017 was the date of the last Cedar Ridge varsity football win. That win was followed by 10 straight losses to close 2017 and six straight to open 2019, with a full year without varsity sandwiched in between. Thus far in 2019, the Red Wolves had been outscored by an average of 30 points per game and had only held one lead all season – the wait for that next varsity win seemed interminable. 

The Chapel Hill Tigers entered Friday night’s match with a story remarkably similar to that of Cedar Ridge. They too were unable to field a varsity team in 2018 after a one-win season in 2017, and their only win in 2019 was a thrilling 35-34 overtime victory over Carrboro in which the Tigers scored 16 points in the final 100 seconds of the game to force overtime. Since August 18, 2017, Chapel Hill only had one other varsity win: a victory at Cedar Ridge on October 6. 

In 2019, almost exactly two years later, Cedar Ridge got its revenge. Led by a trio of rushing touchdowns from Isaiah McCambry and a shorthanded defense that improved as the game progressed for the first time this season, the Red Wolves (1-6, 1-2 Big 8) nipped the Tigers (1-6, 0-3) 20-19 on Homecoming night in Hillsborough. It had been 785 days since August 18, 2017, the now-infamous date of the last Red Wolves win. Reset that counter to zero. 

It was clear early on Friday that the Red Wolves and the Tigers were quite evenly matched. There are differences, to be sure – the Tigers are much more capable of passing the ball and Cedar Ridge has a dominant feature back, for example – but both teams seemed to recognize the opportunity for victory that had presented itself. After Cedar Ridge punted fairly early into its first possession, Chapel Hill marched 82 yards and opened the scoring on a 5-yard touchdown run by senior Caleb Clegg. The Tigers acted like they were going to go for two but flexed out of the formation with about 12 seconds left of the play clock, barely allowing kicker Luke Roeber to get set up, but he still made his kick to put the visitors up 7-0.

Those two drives used up all but 23 seconds of the first quarter clock, and the second quarter went by about as quickly. Both teams traded punts to open the period, but Tyler Roberts got a solid return of Roeber’s kick to set up Cedar Ridge at their own 47 – and then McCambry arrived. The sophomore tailback had already put together a solid showing in the game, but he made his mark with a 53-yard score down the left sideline to get the home team on the board. The Tigers snuffed out a 2-point conversion rush from Jake Mergenthal to keep the score 7-6. 

From there, Chapel Hill had only one more drive before they punted it away with less than two minutes to go – each team had only three full possessions in a half that lasted less than an hour. The players parted to make way for the Homecoming festivities, but then the fans in attendance were treated to even further drama.  

Chapel Hill opened the second half with a 75-yard touchdown drive capped off by a two-yard score from Jaylen Mitchell but that fake conversion formation robbed Roeber of the time to set up properly and he missed the PAT. Down 13-6, K.J. Barnes, fresh off his honor as a member of the Homecoming Court, returned the kickoff out to the Tiger 40-yard line, and McCambry soon punched it in from four yards out. The Red Wolves again went for two on a quick hitter from Will Berger to Barnes, but the Tigers again were up to the task, keeping the score 13-12.

The Tigers were often able to move the ball despite poor field position, and on the one drive where they did have a good start they capitalized quickly. Getting going from their own 40 on the first drive of the fourth quarter, Clegg soon capped it off with his second rushing score to put the visitors up seven. The Tigers initially lined up in a traditional two-point conversion formation – with about five minutes left a nine-point lead might have been insurmountable – but a Chapel Hill penalty changed coach Isaac Marsh’s mind. He instead elected to kick the PAT, but even with the traditional setup Roeber missed, keeping the Red Wolves within striking distance. 

And strike they did. Cedar Ridge began a drive on its own 40-yard line or better four times Friday, and the Red Wolves scored on three of those situations. Another good kickoff return brought the Red Wolves out to their own 41, and just a few plays later McCambry completed his hat trick with a 36-yard burst up the middle of the defense and into the end zone. That made it 19-18, and Torrean Hinton didn’t waste any time in going for two and the lead. Cedar Ridge lined up with two fullbacks stacked right and everyone thought the ball went to McCambry – but instead, Berger flipped it to Barnes running an end-around from right to left, and no one was there to stop him from skipping into the end zone. With 4 minutes to go, Cedar Ridge had its latest lead all season at 20-19. 

But Chapel Hill wasn’t done. The Tigers got a great kickoff return and started off at the Cedar Ridge 46, but the drive didn’t go well. Facing a 3^rd-and-15 from the 29 with about two minutes left, Caleb Kelley went for it all with a heave down the right sideline for K.J. Jones, but Desi Raspberry Jr. was there to break it up. Marsh elected to kick the field goal rather than have his offense try again, and his second-string kicker sent his possible game-winning bid fluttering to the goal line, nearly 15 yards short of its target. 

Cedar Ridge got the ball back. All it had to do was kneel a few times, and the wait would be over. For the first time in a long time, the Red Wolves had tasted varsity victory. After the handshakes and as the well-dressed Homecoming crowd filed out, the team circled around an energized Hinton for an address. Meanwhile, a few of the younger members of the team carted three Gatorade coolers over and doused the meeting’s inner circle – the seniors – with the drink. Cold, but good, they called it. The same could be said for the 2019 season so far – tough for a while, but, now, good.  

It was the perfect Homecoming for Cedar Ridge’s Isaiah McCambry, K.J. Barnes, Braedon Thompson and Braxton Mergenthal on Friday night. McCambry scores the game-winning touchdown with 4:06 remaining in the fourth quarter as the Red Wolves defeated Chapel Hill 20-19 at Red Wolves Stadium. Barnes scored the game-winning two-point conversion on a pass from William Berger. Cedar Ridge ended a 16-game losing streak. McCambry finished with over 100 yards as the Red Wolves won for the first time in varsity football in 765 days. Cedar Ridge will go for its second straight win at East Chapel Hill next Friday.

For the first time in 765 days, the Cedar Ridge football team won a varsity football game on Friday night. Trailing 19-12 midway through the fourth quarter, Cedar Ridge running back Isaiah McCambry scores a touchdown a 36-yard touchdown run with 4:06 remaining. The Red Wolves got a 2-point conversion on a pass from William Berger to K.J. Barnes for the game-winning score as the Red Wolves defeated the Tigers 20-19. McCambry scores three touchdowns as the Red Wolves won on Homecoming to end a 16-game losing streak. It was also Torrean Hinton’s first win as Cedar Ridge head coach to send the Red Wolves fans happy for a team that deserves it. Hinton took over as the coach of the Red Wolves in late July in pace of Antonio King, who left after one season.The Red Wolves travel to East Chapel Hill next Friday at Dave Thaden Stadium. 

Sometimes to take a step forward, you have to take a step back.

Just a month ago, Northern Durham’s offense was lagging after a 27-7 loss to Riverside. Despite a 3-1 record, the Knights had been held under 200 yards three times.

After getting shut out 13-0 by Southern Durham, third year head coach John Hammett made drastic changes. He installed Caleb Steele, the team’s leading wide receiver, as its new quarterback and basically turned his offense from a double wing into a wishbone.

The results have been immediate.

After piling up 510 yards in a 47-12 win over Cedar Ridge last week, the Knights rolled past Orange 31-14 on Friday night inside Auman Stadium. The Knights (5-2, 2-1 in the Big 8 Conference) received a strong effort from junior running back Anthony Freeman, who finished with 122 yards and two touchdowns.

Orange (2-5, 1-2) never recovered after a dismal first quarter, where they failed to pick up a first down in four series. Northern scored on its first play from scrimmage when Freeman carried around right end for a 55-yard scamper. Following a 14-yard punt on Orange’s 2nd 3-and-out, Northern only had to drive 34 yards for its second touchdown, a two-yard run by Steele.

After totaling a season-low 146 yards last week in a 28-14 loss to Southern Durham, Orange was held to 144 against Northern.

Senior Machai Holt finished with 111 yards from scrimmage and scored both of Orange’s touchdowns.

Now, Orange ventures into the final four games needing to run the table in order to secure a winning regular season and likely to make the playoffs. After its most lopsided loss since dropping a 47-24 decision to R.J. Reynolds, Coach Van Smith sounded concerned about his team’s confidence.

“I just told them that I don’t think they understand how good you are,” Smith said after a postgame meeting with his team. “And it baffles me and it confuses me and it hurts me. I think last season (where Orange finished 3-8) was a kick in the pants. And we’ve had some bumps this season. I think our mental state is a little bit down now.”

After Orange bolted out to a 14-0 lead against Southern Durham last week, they were shut out in its final ten series. Eight of those possessions ended without a first down.

In the first half against Northern, Orange remained in neutral. They ended the first quarter with minus-5 yards. The only Orange drove in the first half that crossed midfield came late in the first half, where Orange drove 45 yards on nine plays. The largest gain came when quarterback Wyatt Jones hit sophomore Omarion Lewis on a 14-yard screen pass. The drive stalled once Orange reached the red zone, and ended when Northern’s Darius Channer picked off a pass in the back of the end zone.

Trailing 17-0 at the half, Orange won a battle of field position to get on the scoreboard. Jones found Holt for a 32-yard touchdown pass. Nigel Slanker’s extra point cut the Northern lead to 17-7.

And as quickly as momentum arrived for Orange, it vanished. Javion Hart returned the subsequent kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown to end any drama for the rest of the night.

“I can’t remember the last time when gave up a kickoff return for a touchdown,” Smith said. “It was demoralizing.”

Trey Grizzle recovered a fumble late in the third quarter. The Panthers, who came into the game scoring 30% of its points off turnovers, added seven more when Holt scored off a fullback dive when Orange went with four backs in the backfield out of a T-formation.

Freeman added another touchdown late for Northern long after the game decided that didn’t exactly go over well along the Orange sideline.

Next week, Orange will make its first-ever trip to Vance County for a game that could determine its playoff hopes.

“We’ve got some good senior leadership, we’ve got some good junior leadership,” Smith said. “We’ll buck up a little bit and we’ll come back next week. We have a chance to win four straight. We’ll see what happens.”

NORTHERN DURHAM 31, ORANGE 14

ND-14 3 7 7-31

OR-0 0 7 7-14

ND-Anthony Freeman 55 run (David Brock kick)

ND-Caleb Steele 2 run (Brock kick)

ND-Borck 41 FG

OR-Machai Holt 32 pass from Wyatt Jones (Nigel Slanker kick)

ND-Javion Hart 99 kickoff return (Brock kick)

OR-Holt 1 run (Slanker kick)

ND-Freeman 6 run (Brock kick)

RUSHING-NORTHERN DURHAM 48-283 3 TD (Freeman 21-122 2 TD, Jaylon Chestnut 3-74, Bryant Jones 6-46, Steele 10-28 TD, Nassir Spencer 4-10, Kendrick Brown 2-4, team 1-(minus-1)

ORANGE: 32-71 (Holt 13-69 TD, Elliott Woods 4-18, Jake DeFranco 1-(minus 2), Omarion Lewis 8-(minus 3), Wyatt Jones 6-(minus 11).

PASSING: NORTHERN DURHAM (Steele 1-3 4 yards); ORANGE (Jones 7-20 73 yards, INT)

RECEIVING: NORTHERN DURHAM (Freeman 1-4)

ORANGE (Lewis 4-21, Holt 2-42 TD, Zyon Pettiford 1-10)