NC State bowl projections: Where the Wolfpack stands after first 7 games

After winning four of its first seven games, NC State just needs two victories in its final five to reach the postseason for the 11th time in the last 12 seasons under coach Dave Doeren. Although the Pack has to face off with Pitt, No. 12 Georgia Tech, No. 2 Miami, Florida State and UNC, there is a path to another season of bowl eligibility in Raleigh. 

While the Wolfpack has work to do, many national pundits project the program to find a way to reach six or more wins down the stretch to make a bowl. NC State was picked to play in six different postseason games, including the Birmingham, Cure, Duke’s Mayo, Gasparilla, Fenway and Military Bowls this week.

Athlon Sports projected the Pack to play in the Birmingham Bowl against Mississippi State (Dec. 29, 2 p.m.). Although NC State hasn’t played in that particular bowl, the program has 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). 

ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura, meanwhile, picked the Wolfpack to play against East Carolina in the StaffDNA Cure Bowl (Orlando, Fla. on Dec. 17 at 5:30 p.m.). It would be the second meeting between the two programs this season, while it would also mark the second straight year playing against the Pirates to cap the season after the Wolfpack lost the Military Bowl 26-21 last December. 

Speaking of the Military Bowl, CBS Sports projected NC State to make its second straight trip to that postseason game. Although unlikely, the Wolfpack was scheduled against Navy in Annapolis, Md., on Dec. 27 with an 11 a.m. kickoff. 

The Athletic elected to slot NC State in the Gasparilla Bowl (Tampa, Fla., on Dec. 19 at 3:30 p.m.) against USF, while ESPN’s Mark Schlabach projected the Wolfpack to the Fenway Bowl (Boston, Dec. 27 at 2:15 p.m.) against Memphis.

Rounding out this week’s projections was USA Today, which slotted the Wolfpack in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Charlotte, Jan. 2 at 8 p.m.) against South Carolina. It would be the Pack’s second appearance in the Mayo Bowl under Doeren after the team lost 16-12 to Maryland in the 2022 iteration 

But in order to reach a bowl, NC State will likely have to win at Pitt next weekend to have wiggle room to play within its last four games. The following three contests look like the Wolfpack will be a significant underdog before the regular season finale against a skidding UNC squad led by Bill Belichick. 

If NC State fails to reach six wins this season, it would mark the first such occurrence since the team went 4-8 (1-7 ACC) in 2019.

The Pack has appeared in nine bowl games (qualified for 10, but the 2021 Holiday Bowl was canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests within UCLA’s program) under Doeren, but NC State has not won in the postseason since it beat Arizona State 52-31 in the 2017 Sun Bowl.

NC State has also played in the Belk, Gator, Independence and Pop-Tarts Bowls during Doeren’s tenure.