4 North Carolina Teams Learn Their Postseason Fate

On Sunday, NC State, Appalachian State, Wake Forest, and UNC-Chapel Hill all learned which bowl game their team will be taking part in over the next few weeks.

The Wolfpack accepted a bid to play in the Camping World Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana on December 26th. State will face off against SEC foe Vanderbilt. Ironically, the Commodores beat the Pack in their final game before the start of the Dave Doeren era in 2013.

This will mark NC State’s third consecutive bowl trip under Doeren in his four years in Raleigh.

“We are thankful for the opportunity to play in the Independence Bowl,” said Doeren. “I’m proud of our team for achieving this goal. We are looking forward to playing a great opponent from the SEC conference.”

Appalachian State will be making a familiar trip, as they head back to the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama on December 17th against Toledo. App won the same bowl game last season, defeating Ohio in their first season at the FBS level.

In just two years at college football’s highest level, Scott Satterfield’s Mountaineers have won 20 games, and were crowned champions of the Sun Belt Conference this season.

“[We’re] very excited to be going bowling for our second straight year, and it’s the third year in a row we’re bowl eligible,” Satterfield said. “That’s exciting for our program, our players, our fans. Going back to the Camellia Bowl, we had a great experience last year going to our first bowl game. It was new to everyone, and I thought they treated us great down there.”

Wake Forest will face-off against the American Athletic Conference champions, 23rd ranked Temple, in the Military Bowl in Annapolis, Maryland on December 27th. This will be the Demon Deacons first bowl trip in five years, thanks to a six-win season in head coach Dave Clawson’s third season in Winston-Salem.

“We couldn’t be more excited to be playing in the Military Bowl,” Clawson said. “We were there with Bowling Green in 2012. (Military Bowl Executive Director) Steve Beck and his staff do an outstanding job. Washington D.C. is a beautiful place to be around Christmas.”

UNC-Chapel Hill will travel the farthest of any North Carolina team, as the Tar Heels will head to the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas on December 30th against 18th ranked Stanford. This will be the Heels fourth trip to the Sun Bowl, where the have compiled a record of 2-2.

“We’re excited to represent the University of North Carolina and the Atlantic Coast Conference in the Sun Bowl, a game with so much history going back more than 80 years,” Coach Larry Fedora said. “Our team is looking forward to a terrific experience in El Paso with the opportunity to finish the season with positive momentum.”