ACC Football | Two Thursday prime-time games on the schedule

ACC Football begins a five-night run on the TV tonight with two games on Tobacco Road – with NC State hosting East Carolina and Duke hosting Elon.

East Carolina at NC State

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Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
Series: NC State leads, 19-14
Last meeting: East Carolina, 26-21 (2024)
TV: ACC Network
SiriusXM Radio/App: SiriusXM 85
Line: NC State -13.5
Over/under: 61.5
Projected final score: NC State 38, ECU 24

Game Notes: NC State and East Carolina renew their in-state rivalry on Thursday night in Raleigh, meeting for the 12th time in a season opener. The Wolfpack hold a 19-14 edge in the all-time series, but the Pirates claimed the most recent matchup with a 26-21 win in last year’s Go Bowling Military Bowl in Annapolis.

NC State head coach Dave Doeren, the winningest coach in Wolfpack history with 87 victories, begins his 13th season leading the Wolfpack. Doeren’s tenure is the sixth-longest among active FBS head coaches.

The Wolfpack enter Thursday riding a seven-game winning streak in season openers, the longest active streak in the ACC. A win would tie the program’s longest such streak since World War II, matching runs from 1997-2004 and 1988-1998.

Blake Harrell officially takes the reins at ECU after serving as interim head coach for the final six games of 2024, guiding the Pirates to a 5-1 record in that span.

Elon at Duke

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Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
Series: Duke leads, 8-0-1
Last meeting: Duke, 26-3 (2024)
TV: ACC Network Extra
SiriusXM Radio: SiriusXM 160 / SiriusXM 193
SiriusXM App: SiriusXM 955
Line: Duke -37
Over/under: 49.5
Projected final score: Duke 44, Elon 7

Game Notes: Duke opens the 2025 season at home against Elon for the second straight year, after defeating the Phoenix 26-3 in head coach Manny Diaz’s debut last fall. The Blue Devils are aiming for their fourth consecutive season-opening victory and enter the year having won eight of their last 11 openers.

The Blue Devils return 14 starters from last season (six on offense, five on defense, three on special teams), a figure that ranks tied for sixth nationally. Among the new faces is quarterback transfer Darian Mensah, who turned heads as a freshman at Tulane in 2024.

Mensah’s 166.7 passer rating ranked sixth-best in the FBS (minimum 150 attempts).

Elon enters its seventh season under head coach Tony Trisciani after finishing 6-6 in 2024 and was picked eighth in the CAA preseason poll.