Brennan Armstrong might be new to NC State this season, but UNC isn’t new to him at all. While Armstrong was on the Virginia football team, the Cavaliers were 3-2 against the Tar Heels.
Armstrong didn’t play in UVA’s 31-21 win over UNC in 2018. In 2019, he didn’t start in the Cavalier’s 38-31 victory over the Tar Heels, but he did complete his only pass attempt for 5 yards.
Armstrong took over the starting role the next year, and proceeded to put up some big numbers against UNC over the next three years.
In 2020, Armstrong was 12 of 22 for 208 yards with 3 touchdowns (1 interception) in a 44-41 win over the Tar Heels. He also rushed the ball 20 times for 66 yards and a touchdown.
Virginia might have been beaten handedly by UNC in 2021, losing 39-59, but Armstrong still managed to produce a record breaking performance. He completed 39 of 54 passes for an insane 554 yards and 4 touchdowns (1 interception). Armstrong didn’t get anything going on the ground in this game, rushing the ball 8 times for -16 yards.
Last year, UVA lost to UNC for the 2nd straight year, and Armstrong was 17 of 35 for 232 yards (1 interception). He did manage to rush the all 12 times for 64 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Overall, Armstrong boasts an impressive 151.8 Passing Efficiency Rating, 7 passing touchdowns (3 interceptions) and 3 rushing touchdowns against the Tar Heels.
Prior to the announcement, NC State already had their non-conference slate booked for both of those seasons.
As a result of the addition of the Virginia series, a previously scheduled non-conference game from each season would need to be dropped. While it hasn’t been officially announced by the school, Joe Giglio and David Glenn seem to think that the series with Appalachian State is going to be dropped.
State swaps out a home-and-home with App State for one with Virginia
Given the ACC’s stance on road G5 games, that was going to happen
NC STATE BACKS OUT OF FOOTBALL SERIES WITH APPALACHIAN STATE…. David Glenn Weighs in on Required #NCPOL Scheduling Bill per UNC, NC STATE, ECU, CHARLOTTE AND APP https://t.co/5sfWzmRa93 via @YouTube
— NORTH CAROLINA SPORTS NETWORK (@TheNCSportsNet) May 16, 2024
It would make the most sense, considering the Mountaineers were the only opponent the Wolfpack was scheduled to play in both 2025 and 2026. It would also make sense, considering the fact that ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips isn’t a fan of ACC teams playing Group of 5 schools on the road.
I will tell you this much. The Mountaineer faithful certainly believe NC State is dropping the series with App State, and it just takes a little scrolling on X (formerly Twitter) to get a read on their feelings on the situation.
CBS Sports released their Top-25 Power 4 Coaches in College Football, and NC State’s Dave Doeren came in at #16. Heading into last season, he went into the season ranked #25.
16) Dave Doeren: The NC State coach finally gets some overdue credit. He’s always hovered around the bottom of our top 25 or just outside it, and now he finds himself firmly entrenched in it thanks to all the changes at the top. Coaches who take mid-tier programs and overachieve never get enough credit, in my estimation, and the consistency Doeren has established at NC State — where he spent most of his time in a division with Clemson and Florida State — is one of the most impressive things any coach in the country has done. I’m glad to see Doeren getting closer to the top 15. 2023 rank: 25 (+9) (CBS Sports)
Numerous CBS Sports’ analysts voted in the poll, and Tom Fornelli actually ranked Doeren #8.
DraftKings released their way-too-early odds for the game, and Tennessee is currently a 5.5-point favorite.
Here’s the deal, as NC State fans, if we want to be a big time Football program, NC State fans need to gobble up tickets to this game. Let’s do our part and make sure that Bank of America Stadium is painted RED. Buy Tickets HERE.
NC State announced this morning that the Wolfpack and UVA will play in a home-and-home non-conference series, with the game in 2025 being in Raleigh, and the game in 2026 being in Charlottesville.
To reiterate, despite the fact that both teams are in the ACC, these games are considered non-conference games, and won’t count toward conference records. This is similar to what UNC and Wake Forest did a few years back.
Here’s what’s interesting about the addition of these games in 2025 and 2026. Prior to the announcement, NC State already had 4 non-conference games scheduled for both years.
It would be my assumption that one of the previously scheduled non-conference games for each season will not take place now.