Updating NC State’s bowl projections after Duke loss
After NC State dropped its final home game of the season to Duke, the Wolfpack remains one win away from bowl eligibility. And the team’s postseason projections took a hit after its most recent 29-19 loss to the Blue Devils.
Action Network’s Brett McMurphy projected NC State to square off with Texas Tech in the Birmingham Bowl, which is set for Dec. 27 at Protective Stadium. The Wolfpack has played in a bowl hosted in Birmingham, Ala., twice in program history — the 1990 All-American Bowl (a 31-27 win over Southern Miss) and the 2008 PapaJohns.com Bowl (a 29-23 loss to Rutgers).
ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura, meanwhile, believed the Wolfpack would play Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl. The game is set for Dec. 27 and will be played at TCU’s Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. NC State would become the first ACC team to play in the bowl since Pitt lost to Houston in 2014. Air Force beat James Madison in last season’s iteration of the contest.
Athlon Sports, CBS Sports and ESPN’s Mark Schlabach did not include NC State in this week’s bowl projections, signaling that the outlets do not believe the Wolfpack will win any of its final two games to reach bowl eligibility.
The Pack could become bowl eligible as a 5-7 team, should it lose its final two games, if there are not enough teams to fill out the postseason. The remaining bowl games would select from the highest-rated 5-7 teams based on academic progress ratings, which NC State is currently tied for 24th on.
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If NC State missed the postseason, it would mark the first time since 2019 that the Pack did not qualify for a bowl game and just the third time under coach Dave Doeren in his 12 seasons at the helm of the program.
The Pack has appeared in eight bowl games under Doeren, but NC State has not won in the postseason since it beat Arizona State 52-31 in the 2017 Sun Bowl. The Pack lost to Kansas State 28-19 in the Pop-Tarts Bowl last season.
The Wolfpack has also played in the Duke’s Mayo, Gator, Independence, Belk and St. Petersburg Bowls during Doeren’s tenure.
