The road to an ACC team title has gone through either Raleigh or Blacksburg for more than a decade now. This year appears no different, as #8 NC State hosts #7 Virginia Tech Friday night in one of the marquee NCAA duals of the year.

You’ll need to go back to 2014 to find the last time neither NC State nor Virginia Tech had the best regular season record and were handed the ACC dual championship. In the postseason, either NC State (with seven titles) or Virginia Tech (with three) have won the last 10 ACC Championships dating back to 2015.

“This rivalry is good for our sport,” NC State head coach Pat Popolizio said. “It elevated everyone’s game, and it makes you better in the long run. When you have two really good teams matching up, that is what’s fun about dual meets. It’s 10 versus 10.

“Their fan base travels extremely well, so our fans are going to have to show up early and then make sure to make it’s a great atmosphere for Friday night wrestling.”

This will be the second meeting of the year for the two programs, as they faced off in a non-conference dual back in November at the National Duals Invitational. The Hokies easily won that day, 25-9, winning seven of the 10 bouts. As it appears, there will be six rematches from that dual (125, 141, 149, 165, 174, 184).

“It’s pretty simple how we can turn that result around — score takedowns,” Popolizio said. “That is something we didn’t do in that first meeting. Both teams obviously didn’t have some guys, and there were some weight changes, so it’s going to be a different dual.”

NC State has not dropped a home conference dual since 2019 vs. Pitt (18-16). With the win over UNC last week, the Pack has won 18 home ACC duals in a row.

“Our guys have got to be ready, and they have got to be aggressive,” Popolizio said. “I think that is something we did well last week (in the 24-10 win over #11 North Carolina). We opened up, attacked and scored points.

“If you can’t score a takedown, it’s hard to win matches.”

One of the featured bouts will come at 165 pounds, as a pair of true freshmen are introduced into this rivalry and face off in a pivotal match as #10 Will Denny toes the line against #17 Ryan Burton.

Burton was the #14 overall recruit in the 2025 class, while Denny was #16. They did not have a history as high school opponents, as Burton was always a weight class above.

The two did meet earlier this season at the National Duals Invitational, with Burton scoring a 15-7 major decision. That just happened to be Denny’s last loss in his rookie campaign, as he has won 10 straight entering this weekend, including a 10-2 major decision over #10 Bryce Hepner of UNC last weekend.

“I feel like I need to wrestle my match this time,” Denny said. “That was my big first big tournament, and I wrestled three great wrestlers. He got the best of me last time.

“I also know it's January, not November, and I feel fresh. I'm ready to wrestle seven minutes hard and I'm a 100-percent different wrestler than I was in that first meeting. I'm confident my coaches will have me ready.”

There are also a trio of bouts that have been wrestled multiple times over the last few seasons.

At 125 pounds, NC State’s #5 Vince Robinson faces #2 Eddie Ventresca. These two have quite the rivalry over the last two years. Robinson is the defending NCAA champion, but he is 0-3 all-time in the series. Each match has ended 4-1 in Ventresca’s favor, as Robinson has never scored a takedown on the Hokie.

“These are two high-level wrestlers,” Popolizio said. “The guy that has scored the takedown in this series has won the match. (Ventresca) is a guy that is really good and stays in great position. We must find a way to get to the leg and score.

“Neither guy wants to make a mistake, so we have seen very low scoring bouts. But the more action we create, hopefully the better the result.”

Have any current two wrestlers faced off more than #13 Ryan Jack and #22 Tom Crook at 141 pounds? This will be seventh all-time meeting between the pair, as Jack holds a perfect 6-0 record against Crook.

“We have to wrestle the entire seven minutes, and we have to finishes matches,” Popolizio said. “I think Ryan can come in with good confidence knowing that you’re familiar with that foe and just open it up and try to score points.

“We can’t take anything for granted at a lot of weights this year. And here we have to show up and compete.”

Finally, if the dual starts at 125 pounds and ends at heavyweight, these two will be prepared to determine the team score. Both #2 Isaac Trumble and #16 Jimmy Mullen have won an ACC dual for their team this year in the final match, both with falls —  Trumble against Virginia and Mullen against Stanford. Trumble is 2-0 all-time against Mullen, including a 5-3 decision in the dual last year.

“Here you have two of the better heavyweights in the nation,” Popolizio said. “They have a different style of wrestling, but these two are having a lot of success this year. This will be a good one.

“I’m excited to see Isaac out there. He wasn’t in the dual the first time these teams wrestled back in November. So him being back obviously is a good thing for our dual lineup.”