Dave Doeren wants to see a trophy for most in-state wins within North Carolina ACC schools

NC State and Wake Forest will square off this weekend in the 117th edition of the in-state rivalry that first took place as early as 1895.

The ACC released a new scheduling model that initially did not protect the rivalry game between the two programs, but with new additions joining the conference next season, the model has been changed and ensures that that the Wolfpack and Demon Deacons will square off every season moving forward.

NC State head coach Dave Doeren was asked about this scheduling change ahead of the matchup this weekend, expressing excitement for maintaining the legacy of the in-state rivalry.

“Yeah it’s kind of funny you know, the beginning of the season the rivalry was gonna end every year and now it’s back. So we never had that miss which is good,” Doeren said. “I love that we’re playing all three other schools in-state every year for at least the next seven it says, so I think that’s awesome.”

The new scheduling model ensures that all four North Carolina base schools in the conference, NC State, Wake Forest, Duke, and North Carolina, will face off every season through 2027. And with that in mind, Doeren brought up an intriguing proposition that would definitely generate excitement among the league’s North Carolina programs.

“I would be in favor of a trophy for whoever wins the most in-state games between the four of them,” Doeren said. “Paint each side of it the school color and let that team keep it, I think it’d be awesome to have some kind of trophy for the four teams moving forward after this season. Because we are actually gonna have bragging rights for a whole year based on that. But we’ll see if anyone bites on that one, but we’ll put it out there.”

“But it’s gonna be fun to have the opportunity to play Duke, play Wake, play UNC every season and occasionally we’ll get one of the mid, non-Power Five, ECU, App [State], or Charlotte on our rotation. I know the other schools are as well, so we’ll see how that all plays out.”

Everyone loves a good trophy among rivals, but one between four different schools what be unprecedented. But something that Doeren especially promotes given the direction that college football is headed towards.

“But it’s awesome, if you look at the geography of it because these leagues across the country are becoming less geography, are covering the entire country. We’re gonna have two California schools and a Texas school. I love that our pod is local, I think that’s great for us,” Doeren said.

Only time will tell if Doeren’s trophy idea eventually comes to life, but until then his focus will be on the Wake Forrest, as the two squads kick off at 2:00 p.m. ET this Saturday.