Another notable opponent dropped off NC State’s future football schedules this week. The Wolfpack and South Carolina have mutually agreed to cancel a home-and-home series slated for 2030 and 2031, according to reporting by The Wolfpacker.
NC State was set to travel to Columbia in 2030, with South Carolina coming to Raleigh the following season.
This is the third series against an SEC opponent to disappear from NCSU’s future calendar since October 2024.
The Pack was set to host Florida this September in the first of a two-game set, with a return game in Gainesville coming in 2032. But that series was scrubbed as the SEC announced it was moving from an eight-game to a nine-game conference slate.
This past December, NC State and Georgia also mutually agreed to cancel previously arranged games in 2033 and 2034.
South Carolina is a notable loss from the Wolfpack’s future scheduling.
The two schools were among the seven charter members of the ACC in 1953. Even when South Carolina left the league in 1971, eventually joining the SEC, the two teams remained frequent opponents for each other through the early 1990s.
The latest matchups would have rekindled an underappreciated regional rivalry, but alas it may take a bowl game for the teams to meet again in the near future.
South Carolina has a 28-26-4 edge in the all-time football series. The last meeting came in Charlotte in 2017, with the Gamecocks prevailing 35-28. USC has won the last three meetings, with NC State taking four in a row before that.
One of the most memorable games, at least from an NC State perspective, came in 1986. NCSU quarterback Erik Kramer found Danny Peebles for a 33-yard touchdown on the final play, giving the Pack a 23-22 stunning victory at Carter-Finley Stadium. South Carolina, which had rallied from 17-0 down to take a 22-17 lead, had committed a penalty on the play before, giving State another chance.
South Carolina fans, who minutes earlier had been mocking NCSU fans with chants of “ACC! ACC!” across the stadium, had those chants thrown back at them at louder decibels as Carter-Finley emptied.
The only SEC team left on NC State’s future schedules now is Vanderbilt. The Wolfpack will travel to Nashville on Sept. 18 of this year, and Vandy will play in Raleigh in 2028.
App State and Richmond are NCSU’s other non-conference games this season. The Wolfpack is scheduled to play North Carolina A&T, Texas Tech, Kansas State and Louisiana Tech in 2027, though one of those matchups looks to be in danger of canceling or postponement because the ACC, too, has moved to a nine-game conference slate going forward.
Other future non-conference opponents include Charlotte, East Carolina, Campbell, South Florida and Notre Dame.
To view NC State’s full 2026 schedule, plus future non-conference opponents, visit our NCSU Schedule hub page.
