The 2021 NC State Wolfpack football team represented

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

during the

2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 152nd season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision. The r ...

. The Wolfpack played their home games at

Carter–Finley Stadium Wayne Day Family Field at Carter–Finley Stadium is home to the NC State Wolfpack football team. It was opened in 1966 and has grown to a seating capacity of 56,919 seats. History As early as the 1950s, State was looking to replace its on-camp ...

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

and competed in the Atlantic Division of the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

. They were led by ninth-year head coach

Dave Doeren David William Doeren (born December 3, 1971) is an American football coach who is currently the head football coach at North Carolina State University, a position he has held since the 2013 season. Doeren previously served as the head football ...

. The Wolfpack finished their regular season with a 9–3 overall record, and accepted a bid to the

Holiday Bowl The Holiday Bowl is a post-season NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game that has been played in San Diego since 1978. San Diego County Credit Union has been the game's title sponsor since 2017, and the bowl has b ...

, where they were due to face

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. Hours before game time on December 28, UCLA withdrew from the bowl due to COVID-19 issues, and the bowl was canceled. NC State was awarded the Holiday Bowl trophy after the cancelation and considers the game forfeited, giving the program its second (after

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

) 10-win season—the 10th win (for the Holiday Bowl) is claimed by NC State and not officially recognized by the NCAA and ACC.

Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the Wolfpack finished the 2020 season 8–4, 7–3 in ACC play to finish in a tie for third place in the conference. They received an invite to the

Gator Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, operated by Gator Bowl Sports. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised natio ...

where they were defeated by

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

21–23.

Schedule

NC State announced its 2021 football schedule on January 28, 2021. Source

Coaching staff

Source

Roster

Source

Game summaries

South Florida

at Mississippi State

Furman

No. 9 Clemson

Louisiana Tech

at Boston College

at Miami

vs Louisville

at Florida State

at No. 12 Wake Forest

Syracuse

North Carolina

Rankings

Players drafted into the NFL

References

{{NC State Wolfpack football navbox

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

NC State Wolfpack football seasons

NC State Wolfpack football The NC State Wolfpack football team represents North Carolina State University in the sport of American football. The Wolfpack competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) ...