UNC is a hot bowl prospect, but what about N.C. State?
Dec 1, 2008
In talking to bowl officials, and this much was clear – North Carolina is a hot commodity.
But this much is also clear – N.C. State deserves a bowl bid, more so than many of the other ACC schools that finished with more wins.
Carolina doesn’t have to be worried about being passed over. The Champs Bowl in Orlando, which has the fourth pick among ACC schools, has a clear interest in UNC.
So does the Meineke Car Care Bowl, the bowl in Charlotte that is quickly gaining remarkable clout. It wasn’t long ago that spending a Saturday in Charlotte was no cause for celebration. You just didn’t use “fun” and “Charlotte” in the same sentence, unless you were saying, “Let’s leave Charlotte and do something fun.”
But Charlotte’s downtown has taken off, and the Meineke Car Care Bowl with it. Charlotte is an easy trip from most parts of the ACC, and has become a great time.
The Champs bowl appears eager to take UNC. If Carolina lands there, that’s a huge boost forward for the program.
I can’t see UNC falling further than the Meineke. In talking to Will Webb, the bowl’s executive director, on Sunday, it was obvious the impact UNC made when light blue fans piled into the stadium for a game with Boston College in 2004. In this economy, bowls may be more likely to go for a school that is sure to sell tickets, and that wouldn’t be an issue for Carolina in Charlotte.
But what of N.C. State? The ACC has tie-ins with nine bowls, but the league has 10 teams eligible. Nine have winning records, and of course NCSU is 6-6. An NCAA rule prohibits a conference from sending a six-win team to a bowl ahead of a seven-win team, so State may have to squeeze in as an at-large team in a different bowl.
For example, two ESPN writers have projected N.C. State playing Ball State in the Motor City Bowl because the Big Ten wouldn’t have enough teams to qualify for that bowl.
N.C. State has played superbly in the second half of the season, losing tough games to Boston College, Florida State and Maryland before reeling off four straight. In the last four games, quarterback Russell Wilson threw eight touchdown throws and no interceptions.
The Wolfpack ground game has been daunting, with Andre Brown and Jamelle Eugene sharing the load, and State’s defense is a different unit with a healthy Nate Irving on the field.
Better days are ahead for State under Tom O’Brien. This year’s second-half run has energized fans and made Wolfpack fans want to see more.
Now comes the irony – the team that swept the state and proclaimed itself State Champion may be banished to a distant bowl when the bids go out next Sunday.
It’s hard to be sympathetic for a six-win team screaming for a bowl. But given the way the Wolfpack has played, that doesn’t feel right.
