Wolfpack staying close to home. NC State selected to Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte
N.C. State is headed to the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte to face Maryland, which should rekindle memories of ACC games of the past.
Like many bowl teams, the Wolfpack (8-4) will have to sort through who will and won’t play in the Dec. 30 game at Bank of America Stadium, which will have a noon start.
Some Pack players could enter the NCAA transfer portal. Others with NFL potential could decide to sit it out.
And which quarterback will the Pack start in the bowl? Ben Finley or MJ Morris, who should be healthy after a late-season injury kept him out of the past two games?
Offensive coordinator Tim Beck has taken he job as head coach at Coastal Carolina, it was announced Sunday. NCSU coach Dave Doeren said running backs coach Kurt Roper, a former offensive coordinator, would handle the play-calling in the bowl.
The Wolfpack finished No. 23 in the final College Football Playoff poll — earning Doeren a $50,000 bonus — and was ranked No. 25 in the newly released AP Top 25 poll.
“This is a great opportunity for us to play in front of Wolfpack Nation one more time this season,” Doeren said in a statement. “With the number of players we have from the state of North Carolina and the surrounding areas, it gives our players’ families and friends an opportunity to travel to a great town for a great bowl.”
The game against the Terrapins reunites two former — and often fierce — ACC football rivals. The Pack and Terps last played in the 2013 season, in the final game of Doeren’s first at NCSU, and Maryland taking a 41-21 win.
The Terrapins left the ACC and were in the Big Ten the next season, memories of their rivalry with the Wolfpack soon beginning to fade.
Some Maryland fans still gloat over the fact Wolfpack quarterback Philip Rivers could not beat the Terps. Pack fans remember the amazing comeback in November 2011, when N.C. State trailed 41-14 in the second half at Carter-Finley Stadium, then reeled off 42 consecutive points for a 56-41 win.
Older fans will recall the duels between Pack coach Lou Holtz and Maryland’s Jerry Claiborne, or Dick Sheridan and the Terps’ Bobby Ross. The overall series record is 33-33-4.
Maryland finished 7-5 this season, going 4-5 in the Big Ten. The Terps pushed Michigan in their September game, losing 34-27.
Maryland trailed Ohio State 33-30 deep into the fourth quarter of their Nov. 19 game before the Buckeyes pulled away for a final 43-30 win.
It will mark N.C. State’s fourth appearance in the bowl game in Charlotte, and its first since 2015.
The Pack shut out South Florida 14-0 in 2005, edged Louisville 31-24 in 2011 and then was smacked 51-28 by Mississippi State and Dak Prescott in 2015.
The bowl has had several names through the years as sponsorships differed: Continental Tire, Meineke Car Care Center, Belk and now Duke’s Mayo.
This story was originally published December 4, 2022 at 4:02 PM.
