Updating NC State’s bowl projections after win at UNC
NC State needed one more win to qualify for its fifth straight bowl, and the Wolfpack picked it up in the 35-30 season-finale victory at UNC on Saturday afternoon. Now that the Pack has six wins, it is guaranteed to play in a postseason contest within the next month.
The Wolfpack (6-6, 3-5 ACC) has been projected to play in six different bowls, according to various national media outlets, including the Birmingham, Detroit, Gasparilla, First Responder, Pinstripe and Independence Bowls.
Athlon Sports placed the Pack in the Birmingham Bowl against Arkansas on Dec. 27 at Protective Stadium. NC State has previously 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).
While a return to Birmingham is an option, so is the Gasparilla Bowl. ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach both put the Wolfpack in that bowl, which is set for Dec. 20 in Tampa, Fla. Bonagura believed NC State would face Oklahoma in the game, while Schlabach had the Pack playing against Vanderbilt.
NC State has played in the Gasparilla Bowl, which was called the Hall of Fame Bowl at the time, to cap the 1994 season — a 42-7 loss to Michigan.
Action Network and USA Today NC State in the First Responder Bowl, which is set for on Jan. 3 at SMU’s Gerald J. Ford Stadium. The Pack would face UTSA in the former’s projection, while the latter outlet put West Virginia on the opposing sideline.
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CBS Sports, meanwhile, placed the Wolfpack in the Independence Bowl against Army. The game would be played at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, La., on Dec. 28. NC State coach Dave Doeren guided the Pack to this bowl during the 2016 season, a 41-17 win over Vanderbilt.
College Football Network projected NC State to face Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl, which is set for Dec. 28 at Yankee Stadium, while Sporting News put the Wolfpack in the Detroit Bowl against Toledo on Dec. 26 at Ford Field.
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 Wolfpack lost to Kansas State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl last season.
NC State has also played in the Belk, Duke’s Mayo, Gator, Independence, and St. Petersburg Bowls during Doeren’s tenure.
