NC State, ECU to square off in Military Bowl in Annapolis :: WRALSportsFan.com
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NC State, ECU to square off in Military Bowl in Annapolis :: WRALSportsFan.com

Posted on by Matthew Reynolds

By Louis Fernandez, WRAL Sports

In-state rivals NC State and East Carolina will meet in back-to-back football games to close the 2024 season and begin the 2025 campaign.

The Wolfpack and Pirates were selected to play in the Dec. 28 Military Bowl, the bowl announced Sunday. Kickoff is set for 5:45 p.m. in Annapolis, MD at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

The teams are scheduled to meet Aug. 30 at Carter-Finley Stadium to ope the 2025 season.

NC State finished the season with a 6-6 record, beating rival North Carolina on the road to become bowl eligible in the final game of the regular season.

“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,” NC State head coach Dave Doeren said. “We appreciate the Military Bowl Foundation for inviting us and are looking forward to a great game.”

NC State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson accepted the head-coaching position at Marshall on Sunday.

The Pirates finished the season at 7-5, winning four of its last five games. ECU fired head coach Mike Houston after losing to Army in October and named defensive coordinator Blake Harrell as the interim head coach.

Harrell was promoted to full-time head coach on Nov. 27.

NC State and ECU have played each other 32 times. The Wolfpack have a 19-13 advantage in the series and have won three straight games, a dramatic 21-20 win to start the 2022 season in Greenville.

This isn’t the first time the two North Carolina squads have faced each other in a bowl game.

On Jan. 1, 1992, No. 21 NC State clashed with No. 12 East Carolina in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. NC State led 34-17 in the fourth quarter after a 52-yard Ledel George touchdown pass to Charles Davenport, but Jeff Blake added three touchdowns, two through the air and one on the ground, to give the Pirates the lead and the win, 37-34.

NC State has played in 35 bowls as a program, going 17-17-1 in those games. The Wolfpack is 3-5 in eight bowl games played under Doeren.

While the team qualified for the Holiday Bowl in the 2021 season, a significant number of positive COVID tests resulted in the game being canceled. NC State’s last bowl win came in 2017 against Arizona State in the Sun Bowl.

ECU has played in 17 bowl games as a program, going 8-9 in those games. This will be just the second bowl game the Pirates have played in since 2014. ECU beat Coastal Carolina in the Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 27, 2022.

Source: wralsportsfan.com