Both NC State and Tennessee have been playing football since the late 1800s. It’s hard to believe the two schools have met just three times on the gridiron over that span.
Meeting number four will come this season, with the Wolfpack facing the Volunteers on Saturday, Sept. 7 in the Duke’s Mayo Classic at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium. The kickoff time has not yet been announced.
This will be NC State’s second appearance in the early season Charlotte showcase game, formerly known as the Belk College Kickoff.
—> For more information on buying tickets to the Duke’s Mayo Classic, click HERE
Both NC State and Tennessee finished 9-4 a year ago. The Wolfpack surged after a sluggish start to churn out five wins in a row and finish at No. 18 in the last College Football Playoff rankings. The Vols ended up 21st in the final CFP poll before drubbing Iowa 35-0 on New Year’s Day in the Citrus Bowl.
NC State football will make its second-ever appearance in the Duke’s Mayo Classic. The Pack lost to South Carolina 35-28 in the 2017 version, when it was known as the Belk College Kickoff.
NCSU last played Tennessee in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Classic in Atlanta on Aug. 31, 2012. The Vols won 35-21 in a Friday night clash.
The other two games in the NCSU-UT series were played in Raleigh. The first meeting came in October 1911, when “State College” beat Tennessee 16-0. Tennessee came to Raleigh again in September 1939 and beat State 13-0.
Meetings between Tennessee football and ACC schools in North Carolina have been few and far between in recent decades.
Tennessee and Wake Forest last played in 1985 and have met only nine times in all. UNC and Duke played Tennessee quite a bit between the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s, but the Heels haven’t faced the Vols since 2010 and the Blue Devils haven’t squared off against UT since 2003.
Tennessee has a winning record in football against every opponent it has faced from North Carolina. UT’s last game against an Old North State foe came in 2018 against Charlotte. The Vols played App State in 2016 and Western Carolina in 2015. The only meeting between Tennessee and East Carolina was in 1995, won by the Vols 27-7.
Future Duke’s Mayo Classic Games
- Aug. 28, 2025: Charlotte vs. Appalachian State
- Aug. 28, 2027: North Carolina A&T vs. North Carolina Central
- TBA 2028 | Tennessee vs. West Virginia
Tennessee Football vs. North Carolina opponents
- Appalachian State: 1-0 | Played in 2016
- Charlotte: 1-0 | Played in 2018
- Duke: 14-13-2 | Last played in 2003
- East Carolina: 1-0 | Played in 1995
- NC State: 2-1 | Last played in 2012
- North Carolina: 20-11-1 | Last played in 2010
- Wake Forest: 6-3 | Last played in 1985
- Western Carolina: 1-0 | Last played in 2015
