Vanderbilt Football Adds a Home and Home Series Against North Carolina State for 2026, ’28

David Williams’s favorite kind of fuel must be charcoal, because the Commodore Director of Athletics certainly enjoys a slow burn. More than three years after Vanderbilt and North Carolina State squared off in the 2012 Music City Bowl, Williams finally booked a rematch. The university announced on Tuesday Vandy and NC State would square off on the gridiron in 2026 and 2028.

Vandy is 2-0 all time against NC State. The ‘Dores beat the Wolfpack 7-0 back in 1946 and 38-24 in the aforementioned Music City Bowl. The two teams have never met outside of Nashville.

The Wolfpack are the latest addition to Vanderbilt’s list of non-conference Power 5 opponents. NC State joins other ACC foes Georgia Tech (2016) and Wake Forest (2022, 2023) on the Commodores’ future schedules. AfterTuesday’s announcement, the ‘Dores have Power 5 teams lined up in each of the next 14 seasons except for 2018.

Williams also announced two more FCS opponents to make the trip to Nashville in the coming years. Vanderbilt will face Alabama A&M in 2017 before hosting a pair of games against East Tennessee State in 2019 and 2021. It will be the first time the Commodores play either team.

Here’s how Vanderbilt’s non-conference schedule looks from 2016 to 2029.