NC State’s Dominance Over UNC on the Football Field has Become an Expectation

NC State won their 4th straight over rival UNC yesterday, defeating the Tar Heels 35-30 in Chapel Hill. The current streak is the 2nd longest in school history (NC State has beat UNC in 5 straight games twice in the series history).

This game isn’t just another football game.

It’s a rivalry game.

It’s absurd when coaches stand up and act like a game against their rival is just another game on the schedule. That type of talk diminishes one of the most enjoyable and sacred aspects of sports…playing and beating your rival.

Wolfpack Head Coach Dave Doeren said it well after the game.

I know that seems weird to people, and I’m thankful that we won six and that we’re bowl eligible, because of the reps now that we get put into these guys, but beating Carolina mattered more than winning a game to be bowl eligible to me. That may sound weird, but when I got hired, they didn’t say win six and go to a bowl. They said, whatever you do, beat Carolina.

We did that for the fourth year in a row, and that means a lot to me. It means a lot to our program.

There’s a reason I haven’t been able to wear blue for 12 years. For real, I’m not allowed to wear the color blue, and so this game is deep. When I said it’s the biggest game of the year, it is the biggest game of the year.

Our players know that, our fans know that, our administration knows that, and it’s meaningful. I don’t say that to brag, I’m just saying that because it’s a rivalry. It’s the oldest rivalry in the ACC, so don’t tell me it doesn’t mean more.

It does. It means a lot to our fan base, and definitely to me as the head football coach. To say that I’m 8-4 now in this rivalry means a lot to me.

Playing your rival is an integral aspect of this game, but it’s a demoralizing aspect of the game when you lose to them most of the time.

There was a time when that was the case in this series that dates back to 1894.

That’s not the case anymore.

The Wolfpack has beaten the Tar Heels in:

4 of the last 5 games

7 of the last 9 games

13 of the last 18 games

5 of the last 6 games in Chapel Hill

7 of the last 9 games in Chapel Hill

Since the turn of the century, NC State is 16-9 against UNC.

Chapel Hill has become Carter-Finley West.

The Tar Heels were favored in the past 3 contests, and the Wolfpack have loved defying the oddsmakers each time.

Would NC State fans prefer a 10-win season…an ACC title…a College Football Playoff Birth?

Of course.

But there’s nothing quite like beating UNC, and NC State has grown quite accustomed to it.