Kansas State to face NC State in Pop-Tarts Bowl
After finishing their season at 8-4, and a fourth-place finish in the Big 12, Kansas State will compete in their fourth bowl game under Chris Klieman. This year’s destination will be Orlando for the Pop-Tarts Bowl. This will be Kansas State’s first-ever bowl trip to the state of Florida.
Kansas State will face the Wolfpack from NC State. This season, NC State finished just outside the conference championship picture in the ACC behind Florida State and Louisville. Finishing in third place in the league with a 9-3 record. The three losses came to Notre Dame, Louisville and Duke.
NC State is led by sixth-year quarterback Brennan Armstrong, who transferred from Virginia prior to the 2023 season. Since returning from a mid-season injury, Armstrong has led the Wolfpack on a five-game winning streak that began with a victory over Clemson.
K-State has never faced an ACC school in the 24 previous bowl games they have played in. This will also be the first meeting ever between Kansas State and NC State.
Kansas State will be missing key players from their 8-4 season when they suit up in Orlando. Most notably, quarterback Will Howard entered the transfer portal after the season concluded. Thus, true freshman Avery Johnson is in line to start behind center for the Wildcats. Johnson is likely to be the only available quarterback for Kansas State after reserves Jake Rubley and Adryan Lara also entered the portal.
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The Wildcats will also be without starting corner Will Lee and 600-yard rusher Treshaun Ward, as both also entered the portal.
Under Chris Klieman, Kansas State is 1-2 in bowl games. With losses to Navy in the Liberty Bowl and last season’s loss to Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. The lone win came against LSU in the Texas Bowl in the 2021 season.
The 2023 Pop-Tarts Bowl will be played on December 28th at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. The game will kick at 4:45 PM Central Time and be televised on ESPN. This will be the 25th bowl game in school history.
