NC State selected to play in Gasparilla Bowl, to face Memphis

After a week of waiting around for its postseason landing spot following its 42-19 win over UNC, NC State is headed to the Gasparilla Bowl, the ACC announced Sunday afternoon.

The Wolfpack will face Memphis, which is without its coach after Ryan Silverfield accepted the job at Arkansas at Raymond James Stadium on Dec. 19 at 2:30 p.m.

This marks the second such time the Pack has played in this particular bowl after it earned a 34-27 win over UCF in 2014 as it was called the St. Petersburg Bowl at the time. Former NC State quarterback Jacoby Brissett was named the MVP of that game after throwing for 262 yards with a touchdown in the victory inside Tropicana Field, home of MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays.

NC State, which went 7-5 as it closed the season with a 3-1 record in November, is headed to its sixth consecutive bowl game under coach Dave Doeren, the longest such streak guided by one coach in program history.

Memphis, meanwhile, went 8-4 with a 4-4 record in the American Conference as it dropped its last three games of the campaign. The Tigers, which opened the year 6-0, lost to UAB in upset fashion on Oct. 18 before it fell to Tulane, East Carolina and Navy to close the regular season.

In total, 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) since Doeren arrived in Raleigh in 2013, but NC State has not won in the postseason since it beat Arizona State 52-31 in the 2017 Sun Bowl. The Wolfpack most recently lost the 2024 Military Bowl to ECU in 26-21 fashion at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium.

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

This story will be updated.