NC State (then known as The North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts) played its first football game against a team from the Raleigh Male Academy on March 12, 1892, in what is now Pullen Park.

A week after practice resumed, State College, as the school was then called, led by coach Tal Stafford, was defeated 128–0 by Georgia Tech in Atlanta.

[22] The 1930 season saw the installation of field lighting at Riddick Stadium, as the Wolfpack defeated High Point University, 37–0, in the team's first ever night game.

[23][24] Under Newton, State employed a ground-oriented, hard nose attack that put pressure on the opposing interior linemen.

[25] Recruitment became difficult during at least part of his tenure as head coach due to the fact that World War II necessitated that eligible males over 18 be inducted into the U.S.

[26] Newton left NC State after seven seasons to accept the head football coach position at South Carolina.

[70] When Holtz moved on, Bo Rein, the offensive coordinator at Arkansas, became the youngest college football head coach upon his hiring by North Carolina State.

[72] In Rein's final year at NC State, his team won the Wolfpack's last ACC title to date.

Among Rein's top players at NC State were Outland Trophy winner Jim Ritcher, a center for the Wolfpack who later started at guard on four Super Bowl teams with the Buffalo Bills,[73] and linebacker Bill Cowher, who later served as head coach of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers for 15 seasons and won Super Bowl XL.

[84] State struggled under Reed's leadership, posting three consecutive 3–8 yearly records en route to a 9–24 overall mark.

[88] State made six bowl appearances (two wins) and finished ranked in either the AP or Coaches poll three times.

[100] Amato's most successful season was in 2002 when the Wolfpack won a school-record 11 games and defeated Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl.

[104][100] On November 26, 2006, Amato was fired by NC State athletics director Lee Fowler after a seven–game losing streak capped off the 2006 season.

With the Champs Sports Bowl victory over West Virginia,[127] the 2010 squad tied the second highest win total in school history while finishing 9–4.

[129][130] On November 25, 2012, O'Brien received notice from NC State that he had been dismissed effective immediately despite navigating the team to a 7–5 regular-season record.

[132] O'Brien's recruiting classes were frequently in the bottom half of the nation, and Yow wanted a coach who could bring top 25-type talent to Raleigh.

[145] After losing the following week to East Carolina,[146] State won three straight, defeating Old Dominion,[147] Wake Forest[148] and Notre Dame (in a game infamously played during Hurricane Matthew).

[158] On February 24, 2022, Doeren and NC State agreed to terms on a raise and contract extension that would keep the coach in Raleigh through 2026.

[159] As of November 25, 2023, Dave Doeren's teams have defeated archrival UNC 3 consecutive years and he has amassed an overall 7-4 record against the in state rival.

[162]: 150–156 [163] † Co-champion ‡ On-field record was 4–3, but adjusted to 5–2 due to South Carolina's use of an ineligible player, resulting in an ACC co-championship There have been 33 head coaches at NC State.

[164][better source needed] NC State has participated in 36 bowl games as of the conclusion of the 2024 season, amassing a record of 17–18–1.

[166] From 1891 until 1907, the school's first teams played on the open fields that surrounded campus, either at Pullen Park, at the old North Carolina State Fairgrounds or on the farm tracts on the "other" side of the railroad tracks.

In 1907, faculty members, alumni and students began collecting money to enclose a large tract of land behind the Main Building that would become the home of the football and baseball teams.

Carter-Finley has been the home to some of the school's most decorated athletes: Gerald Warren, Dennis Byrd, the Buckey twins (Don and Dave), ACC-career rushing leader Ted Brown, Joe McIntosh, Erik Kramer, Jamie Barnette, Torry Holt, ACC-passing leader Philip Rivers, NFL No.

[167] On October 8, 2016, NC State celebrated its 50th season at Carter–Finley Stadium with a dramatic 10–3 win over Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the driving rain in the middle of Hurricane Matthew.

NC State boasted a 2–0 record against the Fighting Irish, winning both of their meetings up to that time by a combined score of 38–9.

[187] The NC State and East Carolina rivalry dates back to the first meeting between the two schools in 1970, when they began playing on an annual basis which lasted until 1987.

[192] Previously, the two schools were members of separate divisions in the Atlantic Coast Conference, but were designated as cross-over rivals, and thus played each other every year.

As the ACC has expanded, the State-Carolina game has been designated as a protected rivalry, and the two schools will continue to play against each other on a yearly basis.

[217][218] † co-winner Six former NC State players and four former head coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as of 2022.