The Geographic Uniqueness of NC State-North Carolina

RALEIGH — Kenan Memorial Stadium and Carter-Finley Stadium, the homes of UNC and NC State football, stand just 22.2 miles apart in Chapel Hill and Raleigh. The rivalry between the two schools runs longer than most others in the ACC, but is made unique by its geographic proximity.

Couple that with decades of hurt feelings, close games and off-the-field drama and you get a perfect cocktail for what makes college football a magical sport: chaos.

The chaos that exists between the Tar Heels and the Wolfpack will continue in Saturday's 115th meeting between the two schools, causing NC State head coach Dave Doeren to reflect on his time as a part of the matchup for 13 seasons.

Everybody's here

Nov 1, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; NC State Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren during the first quarter at Carter-Finley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

As with every rivalry week across the country, coaches everywhere are asked to share stories, anecdotes and memories from their experiences playing what is expected to be their nemesis, whether they actually care or not. Doeren really does love beating the Tar Heels to the point where something as simple as the selection in a hotel gift shop bugged him years ago.

"We used to stay in the Marriott downtown when I first got here. Great hotel," Doeren recalled. "But when you go down to the lobby, the gift store has NC State stuff, Duke stuff and Carolina stuff, and I'm like, 'Man, this is our team hotel. That shouldn't be there,' and that's just how it is."

NC State UNC fight — Nov 30, 2024; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels players and North Carolina State Wolfpack players fight as State tries to put a Wolfpack flag at midfield after the game at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Raleigh, and by extension the Research Triangle as a whole, is a melting pot of people from the three schools in the area. Expanding even beyond that, there's Wake Forest, East Carolina and Appalachian State.

"Everybody's here, right?" Doeren asked. "It's just different that way from where I've been for most places... When you're at Kansas, you don't see Missouri stuff in Lawrence. When you're at Wisconsin, you don't see Minnesota stuff in Madison. You don't see it and if somebody was from there, they wouldn't wear it. Here, you see everything."

While the rivalries with Duke and Wake Forest still exist for NC State, the Tar Heels are the team on the football field that matters most for the Wolfpack. Doeren knows that. It took first-year UNC head coach Bill Belichick a little longer to figure that out, as he declared Duke the primary football rival of the Tar Heels when he was hired earlier in the year.

The future NFL Hall of Fame coach even went as far as saying that his first words were "Beat Duke," as a child. Doeren made no such mistakes when he was hired, avoiding Carolina colors like the plague when purchasing clothing.

NC State coach Dave Doeren was reflective and fired up after his injury-laden team beat Florida State.

"I expect a crazy ass crowd next week. I mean crazy ... against the baby blue. Make sure you show up."

This clip is worth the watch: pic.twitter.com/1BPFpDV3hR
— Noah Fleischman (@fleischman_noah) November 22, 2025

After beating Florida State to secure bowl eligibility, Doeren finished his postgame press conference by demanding a raucous crowd to face the "Baby Blue" as he called it. Words travel up and down Interstate 40 quickly and fans of both schools will no doubt be exchanging hard feelings all week. As Doeren put it, State fans aren't even safe from Carolina in their own homes.

"You meet a booster and he's not like, 'Hey man, good to talk to you,'" Doeren began. "(He says) 'Hey man, this is my wife. Sorry, she went to Carolina...' They'll throw that at me and I'm like OK. There's a lot of mixed households... And that's what makes this unique."

The two programs will get a shot at one another Saturday night in Raleigh, with NC State looking to extend its winning streak to five games over the Tar Heels.

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