Updating NC State’s bowl projections going into Georgia Tech matchup
NC State is one win away from bowl eligibility with two games left on its regular season schedule, looking to make its fifth straight postseason appearance.
While the Wolfpack will need to beat Georgia Tech or North Carolina to guarantee its spot in a bowl, NC State has been projected to play in an eclectic group of postseason contests going into its midweek game against the Yellow Jackets.
ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura believes that the Wolfpack will play Navy in the Lockheed Martin 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.
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach, meanwhile, slotted NC State against Cincinnati in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl, which is set for Jan. 3 at SMU’s Gerald J. Ford Stadium.
While those two games are an option, so is the Gasparilla Bowl, according to USA Today. The outlet slotted the Pack against USF on Dec. 20 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. The Pack played in this bowl, which was called the Hall of Fame Bowl at the time, to cap the 1994 season — a 42-7 loss to Michigan.
Rounding out this week’s bowl projections was Sports Illustrated’s pick for NC State to square off with Northern Illinois again in the Bahamas Bowl. That contest is set for Jan. 4 at Nassau’s Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium.
Action Network, CBS Sports and The Athletic did not include NC State in this week’s bowl projections, signaling that the outlet does not believe the Wolfpack will win any of its final two games to reach bowl eligibility.
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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.
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.
