NC State learns its 2024 bowl destination. The Wolfpack is facing a familiar opponent
The United States Naval Academy is about to host a longstanding North Carolina rivalry.
N.C. State football is headed to the Military Bowl in Annapolis, Maryland, where it will face in-state rival East Carolina.
The Pack and Pirates are set to play at 5:45 p.m. on Dec. 28.
“We are excited to be headed to the Military Bowl and to compete in an event that benefits our nation’s current and former service members,” head coach Dave Doeren said in a statement. “We appreciate the Military Bowl Foundation for inviting us and are looking forward to a great game.”
The bowl game is especially meaningful for the Doeren family. Doeren’s father served in the Navy and his wife’s father served in the Army. Their grandparents served in the military, and the Wolfpack has a thriving ROTC program. The team also hosts Military Appreciation Day every season.
“With all the branches in the military that are present in North Carolina and the representation that’s here on game day for them,” Doeren said before the Stanford game, “It’s a true honor to support them and recognize them, for how they fight for our country, for what they do to keep us where we are and to have them present the way that we do in our state.”
The Wolfpack (6-6, 3-5 ACC) achieved bowl eligibility by defeating North Carolina in a 35-30 regular-season finale thriller. It lost three games by one possession, including a one-point heartbreaker at Georgia Tech.
Meanwhile, the Pirates (7-5, 5-3 American Athletic Conference) earned bowl eligibility on Nov. 14 when they defeated Tulsa on the road, 38-31, in a nail-biter. The team started the season 3-4 before Mike Houston was fired midseason. ECU is 4-1 under Blake Harrell. Harrell was promoted from interim to full-time head coach on Nov. 27.
N.C. State leads the all-time series against ECU, 19-13, and has won three straight meetings. The last win took place on Sept. 3, 2022, when the Pack defeated the Pirates, 21-20, in Greenville in the season opener.
The Wolfpack’s series dates back to 1970. The two teams have played once in a bowl game, when ECU won the 1992 Peach Bowl, 37-34.
The Wolfpack has qualified for 10 bowl games under Doeren, including five in a row. It is 3-5 in bowl game appearances during Doeren’s tenure. N.C. State did not play in the 2021 Holiday Bowl after UCLA withdrew from the bowl game due to COVID-19 protocol and an alternate opponent was unavailable.
N.C. State is seeking its first bowl game win since 2017, when it defeated Arizona State, 52-31, in the Sun Bowl.
Three of the last four bowl appearances have been determined by nine points or fewer. N.C. State’s closest loss took place in the 2021 Gator Bowl, as part of the 2020 COVID season, against Kentucky. The Wildcats defeated the Wolfpack, 23-21.
East Carolina was selected for the bowl game twice. It was slated to play Boston College in 2020, but the game was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. It lost to Maryland, 51-20, in 2010 under former head coach Ruffin McNeil. McNeil now serves as a special assistant to Doeren.
The two teams are also set to face off in the 2025 season opener at Carter-Finley Stadium on Aug. 30.
