We’re just a few games away from closing the books on the 2024 North Carolina college football season. But it’s never too early to look ahead to what 2025 holds in store.
We’ve already plugged as many FBS and FCS non-conference games as we know about into our spreadsheets. And we’ve already found a number of match-ups that we’re circling on our calendars.
As of right now, North Carolina Central is the only team playing in “Week 0” (the weekend before Labor Day). The Eagles will face off against Southern University in the Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge in Atlanta on Saturday, Aug. 23.
App State and Charlotte introduced new head coaches to their fan bases on Monday. The debut game for each will come against the other, with the Mountaineers and 49ers battling in the 2025 Duke’s Mayo Classic. The contest will be played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Thursday, Aug. 28.
East Carolina will face NC State in the Military Bowl on Dec. 28 in Annapolis, Md. The Pirates will open the ‘25 campaign against the Wolfpack on Saturday, Aug. 30.
Other intriguing Week 1 match-ups include TCU coming to Chapel Hill to face UNC (and whoever the Tar Heels decide to hire as head coach). New North Carolina A&T coach Shawn Gibbs will make his debut against Eddie George and Tennessee State in Nashville. Gardner-Webb, meanwhile, will visit Western Carolina.
Saturday, Sept. 6 will be a tough week for some of our FCS teams, taking on FBS opponents. Western Carolina travels to Wake Forest, Campbell heads to Greenville to face East Carolina. Gardner-Webb goes to Georgia Tech, while NC A&T plays at UCF.
The annual North Carolina Central vs. NC A&T game will be Sept. 20 in Greensboro. Gibbs knows plenty about both sides of that rivalry, having played at NCCU and coached at decade at A&T. BYU plays a return game against ECU on that same weekend, while Gardner-Webb faces its second FBS team, traveling to Ohio U (whose coach just took the Charlotte job).
App State will travel to Boise State on Sept. 27. The Broncos made the College Football Playoff this season.
Oregon State will travel to App State and host Wake Forest in October. Charlotte and new coach Tim Alpin gets a trip to Georgia on the next to last weekend of the regular season in November. NC State is set to play at Notre Dame, with a date TBA.
Our schedule below does not yet include any conference games, though many of those match-ups are known. We’ll continue building our Master Schedule in the weeks and months ahead.
2025 NC College Football Schedule | Under Construction
