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NC State Wolfpack

ACCRaleigh, NCCarter-Finley Stadium

2026: 3–⁠3 (1–⁠2 ACC). Last: lost to Wake Forest 38–⁠14 at home. Next: at Stanford, Friday, Oct 23, 10:30 p.m. ET.

  1. L 8–⁠34at Virginia
  2. W 73–⁠0Richmond
  3. L 31–⁠35at Vanderbilt
  4. W 41–⁠31App State
  5. W 31–⁠28Louisville
  6. L 14–⁠38Wake Forest
  7. Oct 23at Stanford
  8. Oct 31California
  9. Nov 7Duke
  10. Nov 14Syracuse
  11. Nov 21at Florida State
  12. Nov 28at North Carolina
  • Outfitted by Adidas
  • Live mascot: Tuffy

NC State has played football since 1892 and is 634–⁠598–⁠48 in the 1,280 games on record here, which start in 1902. Their best finish in the final AP poll is No. 11, in 1974. They have won seven Atlantic Coast Conference titles (the last in 1979), plus three South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles, one Southern Conference title, counting shared titles. Since 1940, the NFL Draft has taken 125 players from here in its first seven rounds, 18 of them in the first round. The AFL draft also took four players from here. The College Football Hall of Fame holds 6 players and 3 coaches from NC State. Dave Doeren (2013–⁠2026) won more games here than any other coach: 98. The most-played rival is Wake Forest: 120 meetings, NC State leads 70–⁠44–⁠6. This season, under Dave Doeren, they’re 3–⁠3.

Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh
Carter-Finley StadiumPhoto: SMaloney, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

On this date in 1996NC State lost to No. 20 Virginia 62–⁠14 on the road.

Résumé

All-time record
652–⁠612–⁠55 official; 634–⁠598–⁠48 on file; how we count
Postseason
18–⁠18 bowls, title games, playoff
AP No. 1 finishes
0
Weeks at No. 1
0 of 174 ranked
Elo now
1533 66th of 138 FBS
Computer rankings
Massey No. 61 · Composite No. 69 in FBS, Oct 17; up 2 since Oct 11. From Massey Ratings
Best season by Elo
2002 rated 1676
Conference titles
11 last in 1979
Bowl record
18–⁠18–⁠1 official, bowls only
Seasons
125 since 1902, 1,280 games

Identity

Fight song
NC State Fight Song
Mascot
Mr. Wuf
Student section
Student Wolfpack Club
Apparel
Adidas

2026 season 3–⁠3

RosterFull 2026 season
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 29atVirginiaL 8–⁠3440%
Sep 11vsRichmondW 73–⁠076%
Sep 19atVanderbiltL 31–⁠3531%
Sep 26vsApp StateW 41–⁠3164%
Oct 3vsLouisvilleW 31–⁠2850%
Oct 10vsWake ForestL 14–⁠3857%
Oct 23atStanfordPreview55%
Oct 31vsCaliforniaPreview71%
Nov 7vsDukePreview48%
Nov 14vsSyracusePreview74%
Nov 21atFlorida StatePreview48%
Nov 28atNorth CarolinaPreview44%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

This season, game by game

NC State’s Elo through 2026: 1557 going into the opener, 1533 after the latest game.152515501575Elo 1557 going in; lost to Virginia 34–8Elo 1531 going in; beat Richmond 73–0Elo 1550 going in; lost to Vanderbilt 35–31Elo 1540 going in; beat App State 41–31Elo 1557 going in; beat Louisville 31–28Elo 1571 going in; lost to Wake Forest 38–14Now: Elo 1533 after the latest game1533
VirginiaRichmondVanderbiltApp StateLouisvilleWake ForestNow
Elo going into each game, then after the latest. Filled dots: wins; open: losses.

Future schedule

2027–⁠34
202716 games: 9 home, 7 away
202813 games: 7 home, 6 away
202913 games: 8 home, 5 away
203012 games: 6 home, 6 away
20312 games: 1 home, 1 away, non-conference only
20321 game: 1 home, non-conference only
20332 games: 1 home, 1 away, non-conference only
20342 games: 1 home, 1 away, non-conference only

NC State’s announced games beyond the seasons on our schedule, the next 8 seasons (1 more listed), as its Wikipedia article lists them (announced schedules as of March 21, 2023). Schedules change; a season shows only the games named so far, and many articles list non-conference games only. Future schedules: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

Players

The 2026 rosterRecord bookAll-time letterwinnersThe money

On the 2026 team

Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.

Program greats See all

Heisman finalists, College Football Hall of Famers, consensus All-Americans, national award winners and first-round picks, for what they did at NC State.

Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.

Around the program

Apparel
Adidas · Official source
Mascot
Mr. Wuf · Official source
Live mascot
Tuffy (Tamaskan Dog) · Official source
Student section
Student Wolfpack Club · Single source
Athletic director
Boo Corrigan · Official source
Offensive coordinator
Kurt Roper · Single source

Found by several AI researchers searching the web, then kept only where the page loads and says so in words naming the program; every quote is checked again each time the data is rebuilt. Official source: the school’s own page. All of them.

The apparel deal

Adidas, from April 2012. The last confirmed extension ran from July 2016 to June 2022. The current term hasn't been confirmed here.

  • NC State Athletics, Nov 10, 2015: Extension from July 2016 through June 2022; partnership began April 2012

Apparel deals: Field Drip. Terms as the outlets reported them; checked Oct 3, 2026.

Program strength since 1902

Best seasons ever
NC State end-of-season Elo from 1902 to 2026, best in 2002 at 1676.13001500170019001920194019601980200020202002 peak: Elo 1676
End-of-season Elo. Dashed line: 1500, an average FBS team.

More coverage

Found through the GDELT Project, which indexes news sites worldwide. Each link opens the story on the outlet’s own site; each picture is that outlet’s own preview of its story, shown from its site and credited to it.

Head coaches

CoachYearsRecord
Dave Doeren2013–⁠202698–⁠73
Dana Bible20120–⁠1
Tom O’Brien2007–⁠201240–⁠35
Chuck Amato2000–⁠200649–⁠37
Mike O’Cain1993–⁠199941–⁠40
Dick Sheridan1986–⁠199252–⁠29–⁠3
Tom Reed1983–⁠19859–⁠24
Monte Kiffin1980–⁠198216–⁠17
Bo Rein1976–⁠197927–⁠18–⁠1
Lou Holtz1972–⁠197533–⁠12–⁠3
Al Michaels19713–⁠8
Earle Edwards1954–⁠197077–⁠88–⁠8
Horace Hendrickson1952–⁠19534–⁠16
Beattie Feathers1944–⁠195137–⁠38–⁠3
Doc Newton1937–⁠194324–⁠39–⁠6
Hunk Anderson1934–⁠193611–⁠17–⁠1
Clipper Smith1931–⁠193310–⁠12–⁠5
John Van Liew19302–⁠8
Gus Tebell1925–⁠192921–⁠25–⁠2
Buck Shaw19242–⁠6–⁠2
Harry Hartsell1917–⁠192316–⁠18–⁠4
William Fetzer1919–⁠192014–⁠5
Tal Stafford19181–⁠3
Britain Patterson19162–⁠5
Jack Hegarty1914–⁠19155–⁠6–⁠2
Edward L. Greene1909–⁠191325–⁠8–⁠2
Mickey Whitehurst1907–⁠19088–⁠1
Willie Heston19060–⁠1–⁠1
George S. Whitney19050–⁠1–⁠1
W.S. Keinholz19043–⁠1–⁠2
Art Devlin1902–⁠19034–⁠6–⁠2

Most-played series

All rivalries
OpponentGamesNCSU record
Wake Forest12070–⁠44–⁠6 ‡
North Carolina11541–⁠68–⁠6 ‡
Clemson9230–⁠61–⁠1 ‡
Duke8637–⁠44–⁠5
Maryland7032–⁠34–⁠4
Virginia6138–⁠23
South Carolina5525–⁠26–⁠4
Virginia Tech5220–⁠28–⁠4

Official records. † Without wins the NCAA vacated. ‡ The rivalry’s own count, where it differs from the games on file. Each series page gives both.

Rivals the program names: Clemson, East Carolina, Duke, North Carolina, Wake Forest.

The trophy it holds: Victory Barrel (East Carolina). Who holds each comes from the games on file; the trophies from Wikipedia.

Every opponent (134)

Every program NC State has played, A to Z, with NC State’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.

Official records. † Without wins the NCAA vacated, or with forfeits counted. ‡ The rivalry’s own count, where it differs from the games on file.

Conference titles

11, counting shared titles
Atlantic Coast Conference 7
1957, 1963 (shared), 1964, 1965 (shared), 1968, 1973, 1979
Southern Conference 1
1927 (shared)
South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 3
1907, 1910, 1913

As the program counts them in its Wikipedia article, shared titles included, and listed under each conference’s current name (a Western Conference title of the 1900s counts as a Big Ten title); season pages use the name the conference had that year. A title the article files under a conference the team wasn’t in that season is listed under the one it was. Division titles include years the team tied for its division.

Conferences

  1. Independent 1892–⁠1897
  2. SIAA 1898–⁠1906
  3. South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 1907–⁠1921
  4. ACC since 1953
  • 1953Joined the ACC from the SoCon. Source

NC State’s football conferences by season, from CollegeFootballData.com’s memberships (renamed conferences keep the name of the time). The moves and their announcement dates from Wikipedia’s lists of NCAA Division I conference changes; the year is the first season in the new conference. Conference realignment: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

National award winners

All awards
2023Payton Wilson LBBednarik, Butkus
2022Christopher Dunn KGroza
2018Garrett Bradbury CRimington
2017Bradley Chubb DENagurski, Hendricks
1996Marc Primanti KGroza
1986Dick Sheridan coachBobby Dodd Award
1979Jim Ritcher COutland

Consensus All-Americans 12

2023Payton Wilson LB
2022Christopher Dunn K
2021Ikem Ekwonu OL
2018Garrett Bradbury OL
2017Bradley Chubb DL
1998Torry Holt WR
1996Marc Primanti K
1979Jim Ritcher C
1978Jim Ritcher C
1978Ted Brown RB
1973Bill Yoest OG
1967Dennis Byrd DT

Led the nation 4

2021Zonovan Knight kickoff return average (34.4)
2009Owen Spencer yards per catch (25.5)
2003Philip Rivers passer rating (170.5)
1954George Marinkov kickoff return average (35.8)

The NCAA’s official national leaders since 1937, from Wikipedia’s yearly leader lists.

In the Hall of Fame

Every inductee
Players
6
Coaches
3
2020Dick Sheridan coach here, 1986–⁠1992
2019Torry Holt WR
2013Ted Brown RB
2010Dennis Byrd DT
2008Lou Holtz coach here, 1972–⁠1975
1998Jim Ritcher C
1989Roman Gabriel QB
1975Jack McDowall RB/QB
1972Buck Shaw coach here, 1924

In the draft

By college
NFL picks, rounds 1–⁠7
125 since 1940
First-round picks
18
AFL picks
4 1961–⁠62
2022Ikem Ekwonu OTNo. 6, Carolina Panthers
2019Garrett Bradbury CNo. 18, Minnesota Vikings
2018Bradley Chubb DENo. 5, Denver Broncos
2006Mario Williams DENo. 1, Houston Texans
2006Manny Lawson DENo. 22, San Francisco 49ers
2006John McCargo DTNo. 26, Buffalo Bills
2004Philip Rivers QBNo. 4, New York Giants
2001Koren Robinson WRNo. 9, Seattle Seahawks

Who came and went in the 2026 transfer portal, and every portal year.

The school

North Carolina State University at Raleigh
Enrollment
38,464 28,422 undergraduates, fall 2024
Where
Raleigh, North Carolina
Public or private
Public Research 1
Founded
1887
Graduates’ median earnings
$68,758 10 years after starting

Enrollment, place and Carnegie research tier from the National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS, public domain). Earnings from the US Department of Education’s College Scorecard (CC BY 4.0): the median for students who received federal aid and were working, not in school. Founding year from Wikidata. Every school’s in the data.

Official accounts

Football
X @PackFootballInstagram @PackFootballFacebook StatePackFootball
Athletics department
X @PackAthleticsInstagram @PackAthleticsFacebook ncstateathletics

Official accounts: the schools’ athletics websites: the ones gopack.com lists for its football program and athletics department, as of Oct 12, 2026.

On the newsreel

Universal Newsreel, National Archives (catalog record). Story titles and words as Universal’s release sheet gives them; the films themselves may still be under copyright, so we link to the record rather than show them.

Books

Books: Open Library (CC0), filed under the program’s Library of Congress subject heading; most-reissued first, each linked to its page there.

Season by season

National champions
SeasonRecordConf.AP preAP finalCoachEloSP+
20263–⁠31–⁠2Dave Doeren1533-1.3
20258–⁠55–⁠4Dave Doeren15854.8
20246–⁠73–⁠524Dave Doeren15073.9
20239–⁠46–⁠221Dave Doeren16347.4
20228–⁠54–⁠413Dave Doeren15786.8
20219–⁠36–⁠220Dave Doeren164616.1
20208–⁠47–⁠3Dave Doeren15290.0
20194–⁠81–⁠7Dave Doeren1412-6.3
20189–⁠45–⁠3Dave Doeren16149.4
20179–⁠46–⁠223Dave Doeren163912.9
20167–⁠63–⁠5Dave Doeren15789.4
20157–⁠63–⁠5Dave Doeren15359.6
20148–⁠53–⁠5Dave Doeren15378.1
20133–⁠90–⁠8Dave Doeren1362-0.5
20127–⁠64–⁠4Tom O’Brien, Dana Bible15065.4
20118–⁠54–⁠4Tom O’Brien1612-1.1
20109–⁠45–⁠325Tom O’Brien16219.3
20095–⁠72–⁠6Tom O’Brien14520.6
20086–⁠74–⁠4Tom O’Brien15241.8
20075–⁠73–⁠5Tom O’Brien1445-1.1
20063–⁠92–⁠6Chuck Amato14180.2
20057–⁠53–⁠5Chuck Amato15569.4
20045–⁠63–⁠5Chuck Amato15338.1
20038–⁠54–⁠416Chuck Amato163317.3
200211–⁠35–⁠312Chuck Amato167619.2
Every season back to 1902 (100 more)
SeasonRecordConf.AP preAP finalCoachEloSP+
20017–⁠54–⁠4Chuck Amato15436.4
20008–⁠44–⁠4Chuck Amato15551.2
19996–⁠63–⁠5Mike O’Cain1474-3.2
19987–⁠55–⁠3Mike O’Cain15417.5
19976–⁠53–⁠5Mike O’Cain151210.8
19963–⁠83–⁠5Mike O’Cain1416-9.0
19953–⁠82–⁠6Mike O’Cain1442-6.2
19949–⁠36–⁠217Mike O’Cain16086.9
19937–⁠54–⁠425Mike O’Cain15801.0
19929–⁠3–⁠16–⁠217Dick Sheridan166515.7
19919–⁠35–⁠224Dick Sheridan15939.2
19907–⁠53–⁠4Dick Sheridan156111.3
19897–⁠54–⁠324Dick Sheridan15404.6
19888–⁠3–⁠14–⁠2–⁠1Dick Sheridan15719.2
19874–⁠74–⁠3Dick Sheridan1426-5.1
19868–⁠3–⁠15–⁠2Dick Sheridan15216.6
19853–⁠82–⁠5Tom Reed1337-14.8
19843–⁠81–⁠6Tom Reed1392-7.7
19833–⁠81–⁠6Tom Reed1428-8.5
19826–⁠53–⁠3Monte Kiffin15113.9
19814–⁠72–⁠4Monte Kiffin14593.7
19806–⁠53–⁠3Monte Kiffin15487.1
19797–⁠45–⁠1Bo Rein160719.7
19789–⁠34–⁠218Bo Rein164313.3
19778–⁠44–⁠2Bo Rein156816.6
19763–⁠7–⁠12–⁠3Bo Rein1459-0.7
19757–⁠4–⁠12–⁠2–⁠113Lou Holtz159810.3
19749–⁠2–⁠14–⁠21811Lou Holtz167315.2
19739–⁠36–⁠01716Lou Holtz166321.6
19728–⁠3–⁠14–⁠1–⁠117Lou Holtz160718.9
19713–⁠82–⁠4Al Michaels1370-15.6
19703–⁠7–⁠12–⁠3–⁠1Earle Edwards1390-12.1
19693–⁠6–⁠13–⁠2–⁠1Earle Edwards1499
19686–⁠46–⁠1Earle Edwards1552
19679–⁠25–⁠1Earle Edwards1661
19665–⁠55–⁠2Earle Edwards1557
19656–⁠44–⁠3Earle Edwards1561
19645–⁠55–⁠2Earle Edwards1477
19638–⁠36–⁠1Earle Edwards1554
19623–⁠6–⁠13–⁠4Earle Edwards1438
19614–⁠63–⁠4Earle Edwards1466
19606–⁠3–⁠14–⁠1–⁠1Earle Edwards1487
19591–⁠90–⁠6Earle Edwards1351
19582–⁠7–⁠12–⁠5Earle Edwards1431
19577–⁠1–⁠25–⁠0–⁠115Earle Edwards1583
19563–⁠72–⁠4Earle Edwards1388
19554–⁠5–⁠10–⁠2–⁠1Earle Edwards1441
19542–⁠80–⁠4Earle Edwards1354
19531–⁠90–⁠3Horace Hendrickson1290
19523–⁠72–⁠4Horace Hendrickson1341
19513–⁠72–⁠6Beattie Feathers1381
19505–⁠4–⁠14–⁠4–⁠1Beattie Feathers1455
19493–⁠73–⁠6Beattie Feathers1457
19483–⁠6–⁠11–⁠4–⁠1Beattie Feathers1486
19475–⁠3–⁠13–⁠2–⁠117Beattie Feathers1572
19468–⁠36–⁠11918Beattie Feathers1538
19453–⁠62–⁠4Beattie Feathers1411
19447–⁠23–⁠2Beattie Feathers1482
19433–⁠61–⁠4Doc Newton1330
19424–⁠4–⁠23–⁠1–⁠2Doc Newton1419
19414–⁠5–⁠23–⁠4–⁠2Doc Newton1454
19403–⁠63–⁠5Doc Newton1368
19392–⁠82–⁠4Doc Newton1348
19383–⁠7–⁠13–⁠3–⁠1Doc Newton1426
19375–⁠3–⁠14–⁠2–⁠1Doc Newton1478
19363–⁠72–⁠4Hunk Anderson1416
19356–⁠42–⁠2Hunk Anderson1461
19342–⁠6–⁠11–⁠3–⁠1Hunk Anderson1404
19331–⁠5–⁠30–⁠4Clipper Smith1414
19326–⁠1–⁠23–⁠1–⁠1Clipper Smith1510
19313–⁠62–⁠4Clipper Smith1370
19302–⁠81–⁠5John Van Liew1298
19291–⁠80–⁠5Gus Tebell1318
19284–⁠5–⁠11–⁠3–⁠1Gus Tebell1494
19279–⁠14–⁠0Gus Tebell1585
19264–⁠60–⁠4Gus Tebell1396
19253–⁠5–⁠10–⁠4–⁠1Gus Tebell1417
19242–⁠6–⁠21–⁠4–⁠1Buck Shaw1367
19233–⁠71–⁠5Harry Hartsell1384
19224–⁠60–⁠5Harry Hartsell1465
19213–⁠3–⁠30–⁠1–⁠3Harry Hartsell1514
19207–⁠33–⁠2William Fetzer1583
19197–⁠23–⁠0William Fetzer1544
1918few games on file1–⁠30–⁠1Tal Stafford1420
19176–⁠2–⁠12–⁠0–⁠1Harry Hartsell1491
19162–⁠50–⁠3Britain Patterson1381
19153–⁠3–⁠10–⁠1Jack Hegarty1470
19142–⁠3–⁠10–⁠1–⁠1Jack Hegarty1542
19136–⁠11–⁠0Edward L. Greene1589
19124–⁠30–⁠1Edward L. Greene1501
19115–⁠3Edward L. Greene1575
19104–⁠0–⁠20–⁠0–⁠1Edward L. Greene1592
19096–⁠1Edward L. Greene1591
19086–⁠11–⁠0Mickey Whitehurst1608
1907few games on file2–⁠0Mickey Whitehurst1528
1906few games on file0–⁠1–⁠10–⁠0–⁠1Willie Heston1487
1905few games on file0–⁠1–⁠1George S. Whitney1498
19043–⁠1–⁠21–⁠0W.S. Keinholz1527
1903few games on file1–⁠20–⁠1Art Devlin1462
19023–⁠4–⁠20–⁠2–⁠2Art Devlin1482

Officially 652–⁠612–⁠55 since 1892 (per Wikipedia, as of 12/19/25); game by game here, 634–⁠598–⁠48 (−18 wins, −14 losses, −7 ties). Our file starts in 1902; the program began in 1892. Some games are missing from our source.

Records are computed from every game on file at CollegeFootballData.com, whose coverage of the earliest seasons can be incomplete. Elo is this site’s own rating; see how it works on the records page.