NC State has owned this rivalry lately, and North Carolina still hasn't proven it's close to fixing that.
Share
Show fees
FRI NOV 27 · 11:00 PM CT
Spread
ML
Total
NC State
North Carolina
This one closes the regular season, and it means very different things on each sideline. NC State's CJ Bailey is entering his third year as the starter after throwing for 3,105 yards and 25 touchdowns a season ago, and Dave Doeren has made no secret that he's tired of being the bridesmaid in the ACC. North Carolina, meanwhile, is still trying to figure out who its quarterback even is, with transfer Billy Edwards Jr. brought in to compete for a job that was a mess for most of Bill Belichick's first year.
Belichick's debut season ended at 4-8, and it wasn't just the record — it was a stretch of drama and locker-room noise that overshadowed whatever football got played. The fix, on paper, is Bobby Petrino running the offense in year one and Stephen Belichick still calling the defense. Whether that overhaul actually moves the needle by late November is the real question hanging over Chapel Hill, and it's part of why oddsmakers and bettors alike will be squinting hard at this line the closer it gets to kickoff.
NC State's own path here isn't spotless. The Wolfpack's defense was a soft spot last season, and a schedule that's been kind to them so far doesn't guarantee anything once conference play grinds into November. But continuity matters in a rivalry game like this, and Bailey having two full years of starts under him is the kind of edge that tends to show up when everything else is muddled.
NC State Wolfpack
North Carolina Tar Heels
History is squarely in the Wolfpack's corner right now. NC State has won five straight in this series, 8 of the last 10, and rolled North Carolina 42-19 in last year's meeting. North Carolina still holds the all-time series edge, but that's ancient ground — since 1956 it's been Wolfpack country, 36-34, and the recent run has only widened the gap in swagger if not in the history books.
NC State Wolfpack
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries to report
North Carolina Tar Heels
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries to report
For UNC, this game will likely double as a referendum on whether the roster overhaul was worth the chaos. For NC State, it's a chance to make it six in a row and close the book on another season with the bragging rights firmly in Raleigh's hands. Given where each program actually stands right now, that's not a hard case to make.
