As has often been the case in recent years, the UNC football team will close out its regular season against rival NC State. The No. 20 Wolfpack will host the 6-5 Tar Heels, with an eye toward notching their first win over Carolina since 2018. UNC won decisively both in Kenan Stadium last season and in Raleigh’s Carter-Finley Stadium in 2019.
All bets are off when the two sides meet on the gridiron. In a series filled with chippy play and year-long bragging rights at stake, there’s no love lost between the Tar Heels and Wolfpack. And Friday’s game carries more importance than most meetings between the two schools: with a win and a loss by Wake Forest on Saturday, NC State can clinch the Atlantic Division and appear in their first-ever ACC Championship Game.
UNC head coach Mack Brown, who has won his last seven games against the Wolfpack, downplayed the motivation of trying to spoil his rival’s season, but also acknowledged rivalry games stick with the players long after graduation.
“They’ve understood this rivalry since they were really little,” he told reporters Monday. “And they want those bragging rights for the rest of their life, if they’re gonna live in this state or live near this state. And I said, people are gonna come up to you 25 years from now and say, ‘Did you beat State? What was your record against State?'”
The Wolfpack will enter Friday’s contest with an 8-3 overall record and 5-2 mark in ACC play. Among their more notable results are a home win over Clemson and a road win at Florida State, who defeated Carolina earlier this season. NC State’s defense ranks in the nation’s top 20 in yardage allowed, and quarterback Devin Leary is playing the most efficient football of his career.
“They’re a well-coached, well-rounded, confident football team,” Brown said. “Leary’s playing so well. He’s hard to get on the ground. He’s very accurate. So, they don’t have any areas that seem to be weaknesses, from what I can tell.”
One of the stars on NC State’s defense is linebacker Drake Thomas. Thomas is a hometown hero from Wake Forest, N.C. His, speed will challenge a Carolina offense which will likely see the return of quarterback Sam Howell after a week of rest. With Thomas posing a threat to Howell’s running prowess, offensive coordinator Phil Longo knows his unit will have to play to the best of its ability against the Wolfpack.
“You can tell that they’re in a rhythm and they’re playing good ball, and they have a lot of confidence,” Longo said Monday. “So, what do we gotta do? We’ve gotta match the physicality. I think we have to scheme it up so we can create some advantages for our guys. And we’ve gotta attack them the same way they’re gonna attack us. I think it’s gonna be a physical ballgame on Friday night.”
UNC senior linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel, playing in his last regular season game for the Tar Heels, echoed an early Mack Brown talking point by emphasizing the importance of winning in-state games.
“You can’t really compete on a national level if you can’t win your in-state games,” Gemmel said. “And I think that goes for all the schools around the country who play their in-state games. You really can’t get put on the map unless you’re beating your in-state matchups. It’s usually the winner of those states who end up going on to have the more successful season. So definitely, being undefeated in-state is really important.”
A win over NC State Friday would make Gemmel 3-1 in his career against the Wolfpack, and move Carolina to 9-2 against in-state opponents since Brown returned to UNC for the 2019 season. It would also be the second straight season the Tar Heels are undefeated in-state, once again making them de facto “state champions.”
