NC State’s Unique Scheduling Advantage in 2025

The Wolfpack has a unique scheduling advantage for the 2025 football season. Find out what it is.

Jul 22, 2021; Charlotte, NC, USA; N.C. State Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren speaks to the media during the ACC Kickoff at The Westin Charlotte. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

As North Carolina State football tries to rebound in the 2025 season, the Wolfpack was given a distinct advantage in scheduling.

While the overall schedule is certainly not easy, the Wolfpack will benefit from a unique lack of travel through the first six weeks of the season. NC State will not leave the state of North Carolina for any games before a trip to face Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, in the seventh week of the 2025 season.

In the era of conference realignment, changes to the travel schedules and distances dominated the news cycle last season. The ACC was maybe the most talked about conference about this issue, as the primarily East Coast-based conference added two schools in California (Stanford and Cal-Berkeley) and a school in Texas (Southern Methodist University).

The 2025 Advantage

NC State opens the season with two home games, facing in-state rival East Carolina in the opener and then Virginia the following week to begin conference play.

The Wolfpack plays on the road the following two weeks, but within its home state. On September 11, the Wolfpack will travel to face Wake Forest about 90 minutes east in Winston-Salem. NC State then has a short bus ride from Raleigh to Durham to face Duke the following week. The total distance for those trips will be around 123 miles. To put that in perspective, the California Golden Bears will travel over 3000 miles for one matchup against Boston College.

Following the two "road trips," the Wolfpack returns home for another pair of home games against conference opponent Virginia Tech and FCS opponent Campbell.

Doeren's Thoughts

While some of the scheduling was strategic, NC State head coach had an honest reaction when asked about the way things shook out with the opponents at ACC media day.

"It's crazy. I think we had one other year where we only left the state twice, or maybe it was that we only had to take one plane flight," Doeren said.

The coach made the point that he and the administration take strides to schedule teams within the state, outside of the ACC, in addition to their conference responsibilities. Doeren mentioned that Charlotte is on the future schedule as another in-state opponent.

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