3 college football rivalries that will be reignited this season
By Austin Lloyd
1. NC State at Duke (Oct. 14)
The first pick on our list is Week 7’s NC State-Duke, where the Wolfpack is supposed to trek into Durham to take on one of its least-favorite schools in league play. But while that introduction may sound promising, Duke is always a problematic name to hear in instances such as these.
Typically, the minute the Blue Devils come up in a sports discussion that isn’t basketball-related, nausea sets in for many—particularly when the sport in question is football, a game they’re known for sucking at. However, for those who know the circumstances of their rivalry with the Wolfpack (both historical and present), there is actually much more to it than meets the eye.
For starters, let’s take a look at the history shared between the in-state foes. Of the six rivalries split amongst the four “Tobacco Road” universities (Duke, North Carolina, NC State and Wake Forest), the one between the Devils and Pack is easily the closest, with the former holding a narrow four-game edge (41-37-5, with the second-closest being between them and the Demon Deacons at 59-41-2).
As for how the two ACC powers sit right now, NC State is coming off of an 8-5 run while Duke is coming off of a slightly superior 9-4 one. This only makes the pair’s encounters all the more captivating, as it means they come in with decently high expectations, possibly making things more interesting for what would normally be any uninvolved college football fans out there.
Yet through it all, in spite of the closeness visible through their geographical and competitive ties, this season will be only the second to include their rivalry since 2013. That is simply unacceptable; especially if both squads can remain as successful as they’ve been lately, the clash between the Blue Devils and Wolfpack is one that we should have the privilege of witnessing far more frequently than twice per decade.
Luckily for us, the ACC’s new, non-divisional scheduling format has made that change for the coming years, starting with this one—better late than never, I suppose.