By Louis Fernandez, WRAL Sports

East Carolina Pirates
NC State Wolfpack
ESPN | Saturday, December 28th 5:45 PM EST

Both NC State and East Carolina have played down the word “rivalry” leading up to their matchup in the Military Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 28. It’s hard not to look at the history between these two, the moments and the battles and think of it as anything else. These North Carolina football programs will try and end the season with one more win to end the 2024 season.

WHO: East Carolina vs. NC State

WHAT: Military Bowl

WHEN: Saturday, Dec. 28 at 5:45 p.m.

WHERE: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland

TV: ESPN

In a time where people try to discredit the importance of bowl games in a college football season, head coach Dave Doeren says that one win matters a lot.

“I want to be on that stage, there’s no question about it. It’s not about the opponent, it’s not. It’s about winning the bowl game and it helps momentum, but to me it’s more about closure,” Doeren said earlier this month. “For the season you were just in and finishing with an exclamation point.”

The Wolfpack ended the season with an exclamation point, snatching a sixth win and bowl eligibility, with a win in Chapel Hill against rival UNC. NC State won three of its final five games after starting the season 3-4.

Freshman quarterback CJ Bailey announced in December he would be returning to Raleigh for his sophomore season. On the offensive side of the ball, he’ll be joined by Justin Joly, Hollywood Smothers and Noah Rogers, to name a few. Bailey has already cemented his freshman season into the Wolfpack record books, next to names like Phillip Rivers and Russell Wilson. His 2,183 passing yards is second-most for a freshman in program history. His 14 passing touchdowns is third-most by a freshman in program history.

This is the 10th time NC State has been bowl eligible under head coach Dave Doeren. The Wolfpack are 3-5 in those games. In 2021, the Holiday Bowl against UCLA was canceled because of positive COVID-19 tests in the Bruins program. NC State’s last bowl win was in 2017 in the Sun Bowl against Arizona State.

Meanwhile for East Carolina, the Pirates have been on a tear since letting go of former head coach Mike Houston in October. Interim head coach Blake Harrell led the Pirates to four wins in its their final five games, the lone loss coming in the final game of the regular season against Navy. Harrell had the interim title removed and was named the full-time head coach shortly before the season ended.

“This is a tremendous honor to lead the East Carolina Football program,” Harrell said after being hired.

This is the third time since 2014 ECU has been bowl eligible. In 2021, the Pirates were selected to participate in the Military Bowl, but the game was canceled because of COVID-19. In 2022, East Carolina beat Coastal Carolina in the Birmingham Bowl.

“Representing our university in Annapolis and allowing our seniors one final opportunity to wear the Pirate uniform is something special. We look forward to the opportunity to face an ACC opponent and play one last game in front of Pirate Nation.”

In its four-game winning streak, ECU’s offense took a huge step forward, averaging 45.75 points per game. Former Michigan State quarterback Katin Houser started for the first time for the Pirates about halfway through the season. In ECU’s final five games of the season, Houser averaged 286.6 passing yards per game, threw 15 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.

NC State leads the series 19-13 all-time. The two teams have split the last six games. They have met once in a bowl game: a 37-34 ECU win in the 1992 Peach Bowl.

Source: wralsportsfan.com