With new headlines coming out daily over the past two weeks as it relates to college football being played this fall in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the only certainty is that the ACC, and therefore NC State's, football schedule is completely up in the air at this point in July.

In this time span, our very own Matt Carter published his take on what an all-conference ACC schedule could look like for the Wolfpack following the decisions last week by the Big Ten and Pac-12 to play a league-only schedule this fall.

And a second version.

As well as a third.

While the ACC is not expected to announce any final decisions until late July, we went over the top five matchups NC State originally had scheduled for this season:

Despite being only 24 miles apart as members of the same conference, NC State and Duke haven't faced off on the football field since Nov. 9, 2013, Dave Doeren's first season in Raleigh. The last time the Blue Devils played in Carter-Finley Stadium, redshirt sophomore Russell Wilson was the starting quarterback for the Wolfpack in 2009.

Because the two local rivals don't get to play on a regular basis due to the divisional structure of the ACC, this was the number one matchup we had circled on the fall schedule. Not only would it be fun for rivalry purposes, but it could also be a great game too. Last season, Duke finished with a comparable final record as the Wolfpack at 5-7 (3-5 ACC).

There is still hope this game will be played considering conferences have consistently cited a desire to reduce travel this football season.

Reports suggest the SEC is doing everything it can to keep its scheduled big-ticket non-conference games with the Big-12 and ACC, so we're holding out hope that this matchup could still take place this fall.

This game would not just be important for the league as a way to determine the conference's depth compared to the SEC, it could also be considered an essential win for NC State on its path to bowl eligibility.

Mississippi State is likely to present the biggest challenge amongst the Wolfpack's schedule non-conference foes. It will likely be viewed as a toss-up game considering the Aggies would have to make the trip to Raleigh as a middle-of-the-road SEC team that finished 6-7 overall last year with a first-year head coach in former Washington State play-caller Mike Leach.

A rematch of NC State's lone ACC victory last season, the meeting in the Carrier Dome would be a key conference game for the Wolfpack on its path to six wins and bowl eligibility.

Dave Doeren has a 5-2 record against the Orange during his time at NC State, but the Wolfpack lost in a 51-41 shoot-out the last time it made a trip to Syracuse. Because of the probability that the fall schedule will shift toward regional matchups due to coronavirus, we see this as the most likely matchup on this list to get scratched this year.

NC State leads the all-time series against Wake Forest with a 66-41-6 record, but the Demon Deacons have had the most recent laugh with three straight victories since 2017.

With 113 all-time meetings between the two schools, the rivalry continued through the Spanish Flu pandemic and both World Wars. 1909 was the last year in which these two programs didn't play a football game.

In 2020, NC State will have a chance to end the Deacons' three-game win streak against the Pack with a prime opportunity at Carter-Finley Stadium. The Wolfpack will likely be more competitive considering the returning experience and Wake Forest is expected to take a step back considering the loss of standout quarterback Jamie Newman, who transferred to Georgia in the offseason.

The list would be incomplete without mentioning the NC State-UNC rivalry. Despite playing in separate divisions in the ACC, the two schools meet annually as the predominant football rivalry in the state of North Carolina.

As of recently, the game has taken place during the last week of the regular season over Thanksgiving weekend. This year, it's scheduled to be played on the Friday night following Thanksgiving in what would likely be a primetime, nationally-televised game.

NC State will look to avenge its 41-10 defeat in Carter-Finley Stadium last season after winning nine of the previous 12 matchups between the two schools prior to last year. While North Carolina will likely be the favorite considering the Tar Heels are anticipated to contend for the ACC Coastal this fall, the record books and odds are consistently misleading in this historic rivalry.

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