Star power doesn't hurt

N.C. State, Rutgers make for intriguing matchup in Papajohns.com Bowl

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- N.C. State will step onto Legion Field with the first-team All-ACC quarterback and a four-game winning streak.

Rutgers brings six straight wins and a budding reputation as a Big East power to the opposite sideline today for its meeting with the Wolfpack.

The Papajohns.com Bowl won't often get a more attractive matchup than this.

"To have two of the hotter teams in the country coming in is definitely a coup for us," said bowl sales and marketing manager Bo Kerr.

In its third year, the bowl was fortunate to land two teams that have finished strong, matching BCS conference members for the first time. Despite a struggling economy that supposedly has people cutting back on travel, bowl executive director Mark Meadows predicts a crowd in the 34,000 to 39,000 range for the game, which will begin at 3 p.m. EST.

Fans of N.C. State (6-6), whose administrators were delighted to land an at-large bowl bid within one day's driving distance of Raleigh, are expected to account for 9,000 to 10,000 fans. The bowl's attendance record, set last season for Cincinnati's win over Southern Mississippi, is 35,258.

"Our matchup is as good or better than a lot of bowls that have been around for a long, long time," Meadows said. "We're excited."

Comparing the bowl to more established lower-tier games shows how fortunate the bowl in Birmingham is. The Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Miss., matched non-BCS schools Northern Illinois and Louisiana Tech on Sunday.

On the day after Christmas, the Motor City Bowl had Florida Atlantic traveling to Detroit to meet Central Michigan in another meeting of non-BCS schools. The bowl in Birmingham selected Rutgers (7-5) for its Big East tie-in but didn't get to choose a team from the SEC because that conference didn't get enough teams bowl eligible to fill all its slots.

That paved the way for State's at-large bid and a meeting of teams with national name recognition and high-profile quarterbacks.

Senior Mike Teel has thrown for 20 touchdowns with four interceptions during the six-game winning streak as Rutgers suddenly has developed a high-powered passing game. While going 25-12 from 2006-08, the Scarlet Knights relied heavily on tailback Ray Rice, who rushed for 4,926 yards during that period.

In the first half of this season, nobody filled the leadership role of Rice, who's in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens. Teel threw eight interceptions with three touchdown passes as Rutgers stumbled to a 1-5 start.

An offensive line that lost three NFL-caliber players from the previous season also struggled at first.

"When you finally take a deep breath and settle down, the offensive line continues to get better," Teel said. "And I play smarter, the receivers play better. Everything comes together."

N.C. State started 2-6 as redshirt freshman quarterback Russell Wilson suffered a concussion and a shoulder injury that limited his early progress. But after Wilson grew more comfortable and the Wolfpack overcame injuries that crippled its defense, the team reeled off four wins in a row.

Wilson became the first freshman to be named the first-team All-ACC quarterback. The ACC rookie of the year is an intriguing story because he also plays baseball for the Wolfpack.

He provides the bowl with some star power to market to the local fan base and the television audience, which is important to this bowl.

ESPN owns it along with five other bowl games, including the new St. Pete Bowl in Florida.

N.C. State and Rutgers, which should capture interest in the huge New York City-area market, would seem likely to bring the bowl its best TV ratings yet. Until Birmingham can land in-state powers Alabama or Auburn with its SEC tie-in and perhaps fill Legion Field, it's difficult to envision a better scenario for this bowl at this time than N.C. State vs. Rutgers.

"I've seen people in the hotels, people in the community, they're really excited," said N.C. State cornerback Jeremy Gray, who is from nearby Opelika, Ala. "For our two teams to be here and having two great teams playing, a lot of people can't wait to see this game."