If it seems odd NC State has to go out of its way to schedule Virginia in football, welcome to the new ACC.
The now 17-team league’s new scheduling model — with the additions of Cal, Stanford and SMU — only has the Wolfpack playing the Cavaliers one time over the next six years.
So, the two schools arranged a home-and-home non-conference series for the 2025 and 2026 seasons, announced Wednesday. Virginia will come to NC State next year on Sept. 6, while the Pack will travel to Charlottesville in ’26 (date TBD)
It’s a shame the ACC can’t do more to keep charter members and regional rivals playing each other on a more regular basis. It certainly doesn’t help fan appeal to leave Virginia out of the NC State lineup in favor of more games against Cal or Syracuse or Boston College. Blah.
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Maybe it is time to challenge the notion that ACC teams should play every other team in a rotation. Maybe some type of regional scheduling model would be more preferable, for fans and TV viewers alike? Then again, NC State and Virginia may not even be conference rivals for much longer, if ACC doomsday prophecies come to fruition.
NCSU and UVA are charter members of the league (founded in 1953) and played virtually every season until the ACC expanded to 11, then 12 and then 14 schools in the early 2000s. The Wolfpack went into the Atlantic Division, while the Cavs were placed in the Coastal. They have only played seven times since 2004, per GoPack.com.
NC State edged Virginia 24-21 a year ago on a Brayden Narveson field goal as time expired.
ACC foes scheduling each other as non-conference opponents isn’t novel to NC State or Virginia. North Carolina and Wake Forest have met multiple times outside of conference play over the past decade. Again, this shouldn’t have to happen. The ACC should have the foresight to protect and promote the strongest rivalries within its borders.
NC State-App State series in jeopardy?
As of today’s announcement, NC State has 13 games scheduled for 2025 and 2026, which is one too many.
In addition to eight ACC games, the Wolfpack now has Virginia, ECU, Campbell, Appalachian State and Notre Dame listed as non-conference opponents for 2025 and Florida, Richmond, Vanderbilt, App State and Virginia for 2026.
One opponent will have to come off the board for each season to get within the 12-game limit. Since next year’s contest at App State is scheduled for Sept. 6 – the same date as the newly announced NCSU-Virginia game – it is reasonable to think the Wolfpack-Mountaineers series will be canceled or put on hold.
