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The North Carolina State Wolfpack and the Vanderbilt Commodores are set to square off in the 41st Camping World Independence Bowl, set for Monday, December 26, with kickoff at 4 p.m. CT.

The matchup between the Atlantic Coast Conference and Southeastern Conference foes marks the second time in three seasons the two conferences have faced off in the Camping World Independence Bowl. Tickets are available and can be purchased by calling the Bowl office at (318) 221-0712 or toll free at (888) 414-BOWL, or online through Ticketmaster by clicking here.

“We’re thrilled to have such great representatives from the ACC and the SEC,” 2016 Camping World Independence Bowl chairman Eric Barkley said. “This is the first time for both programs to participate in our Bowl, and we’re excited because both the Wolfpack and the Commodores finished their seasons strong to become bowl eligible.”

North Carolina State (6-6, 3-5) is led by fourth-year head coach Dave Doeren, who has led the Wolfpack to bowl games in three-consecutive seasons.

The Wolfpack are led offensively by senior running back Matthew Dayes, who carried the ball 240 times for 1,119 yards and 10 touchdowns, while finishing fourth on the team with 31 receptions for 258 yards. His rushing yardage total was third in the ACC, leading to his selection as second-team All-ACC.

Sophomore quarterback Ryan Finley completed 224 of 372 passes on the season for 2,824 yards and 15 touchdowns. He distributed the ball well, as five players had 410 yards receiving or more, led by Stephen Louis’ 657. Six players recorded 26 or more receptions, led by 49 from Jaylen Samuels. Freshman Kelvin Harmon led the way with five touchdown grabs.

Junior safety Josh Jones paced the defense in tackles with 106, finishing tied for sixth in the ACC. He also broke up eight passes and intercepted two, tied with corner Jack Tocho for the team lead.

Up front, junior Bradley Chubb continually wreaked havoc, finishing second in the ACC with 21 tackles for loss, and tied for fifth in the conference with 9.5 sacks. As a unit, the Wolfpack were tops in the ACC in rush defense, allowing just 104.7 yards per game.

This is the first appearance in the Camping World Independence Bowl for North Carolina State, and with the appearance, it becomes the 11th member of the ACC to make an appearance in the Independence Bowl, and the ninth as a member of the conference.

Vanderbilt (6-6, 3-5) is led by third-year head coach Derek Mason, who is leading the Commodores to their first bowl appearance since the 2013 season.

Junior running back Ralph Webb has been a stalwart for the Vanderbilt offense, finishing fourth in the SEC with 1,172 yards on 229 attempts, 12 of which went for touchdowns.

Sophomore quarterback Kyle Shurmur exploded in the final two games of the season, throwing for a combined 689 yards and four touchdowns in victories against Ole Miss and Tennessee to reach bowl eligibility. On the season, he threw for 2,251 yards and nine touchdowns.

Defensively, the Commodores are led by junior linebacker Zach Cunningham, who led the SEC with 119 tackles, including 16.5 for loss. He also racked up four fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and one blocked field goal.

This is also Vanderbilt’s first appearance in the Camping World Independence Bowl, and it also marks the 11th member of the SEC to make an appearance in Shreveport, and the ninth as a member of the SEC.

This is the third time in five years both participating teams are making their first appearances in the Independence Bowl.

This is the third meeting all-time between North Carolina State and Vanderbilt, and the first since Vanderbilt defeated State in the 2012 Music City Bowl.

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Wolfer96
Wolfer96
7 years ago

Hard to imagine that many State fans will be going to Shreveport for a bowl game?

NC State Football

Former NC State Running Back Jordan Houston Signs with Marshall

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Former NC State Running Back Jordan Houston has officially transferred to Marshall for his final year of eligibility. NC State played Marshall this past season, but Houston didn’t play against the Thundering Herd, because he had already opted to redshirt the remainder of the season.

After playing in three games this past season, Houston opted to redshirt the remainder of the season (despite the fact that he was the starter at the time), giving him the ability to transfer with one year of eligibility remaining.

Houston played in 51 games for NC State over 5 years on the field, rushing for 1,392 yards (4.3 yards per carry) and 6 touchdowns. He also caught 60 passes for 398 yards and 1 touchdown.

Houston was a 3-Star prospect in NC State’s 2019 recruiting class out of Flint High School in Oakton, Virginia.

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NC State Football

Philip Rivers will Finally be Enshrined in the NC State Hall of Fame in April

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Wolfpack legend Philip Rivers will finally be inducted into the NC State Hall of Fame on April 20th!

Rivers was elected into the Hall of Fame back in 2013 (2nd year of the NC State Hall of Fame), but he has deferred his enshrinement over the years due to time constraints.

 

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Rivers pretty much owns every NC State record for Quarterbacks, and still has the most Career Passing Yards and Passes Completed in ACC history, and he ranks 3rd in Touchdown Passes. Rivers was the ACC Rookie of the Year in 2000, and the ACC Player of the Year in 2003.

You can buy your tickets here.

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NC State Football

DJ Burns Had a Word for Wolfpack Fans After Winning the ACC Championship

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When NC State’s DJ Burns was giving his acceptance speech after receiving the 2024 ACC Tournament MVP Award, Burns had the following quote to say when asked what he wanted to say to the fans.

“I’m going to keep it real simple. Thank you to the ones who’ve been consistent throughout the ride, and welcome back everybody else.”

Burns’ words struck a chord.

Throughout much of this season, it was embarrassing to see all the empty seats in PNC Arena.

As the Wolfpack lost 7 of their final 9 regular season games, it was clear that this team wasn’t just losing games, but they were also losing much of the fanbase.

It’s clear from Burns’ words that the empty seats were noticed, and so were the words of fans online.

NC State finished the regular season 10th, and much of the fanbase was frustrated, and rightfully so.

But, frustrated doesn’t have to mean giving up.

‘Never giving up’ is kind of supposed to be NC State’s thing.

The words of Jimmy V reverberate throughout the history of NC State basketball.

This team didn’t always put W’s in the Win column this season, and it wasn’t always an easy watch, but never for a moment were these players not playing as hard as they could for their school, one another, and their coach.

They never gave up.

Fans have a right to be frustrated, but you can still show up for a team, even when they struggle, because that’s what loyal fans do. When players wear a jersey with NC State across the chest, and they don’t give up, their fans shouldn’t either.

NC State fans aren’t known to be fair weather fans. Let’s not get in the business of leading our players to think we are.

But, like Burns said, whether you’ve been along for the ride all season or not, it’s time to hop on.

 

 

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NC State Football

WATCH: PackInsider’s 2023 Sean Brown Highlight Reel

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This past season was a breakout season for Junior Safety, now turned Linebacker, Sean Brown.

This past season, Brown started in 11 of the 13 games that he played in, and ranked 3rd on the team in tackles (66) and pass breakups (5). He also had 5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions and 1 forced fumble. Brown’s PFF Grade of 63.7 ranked 13th on the team. His Tackling Grade of 86.6 ranked 2nd on the team behind Payton Wilson.

As you will notice in our Highlight Reel ABOVE, Brown lived in the box, and is a very ferocious tackler. He will fit right in at Linebacker next year for the Wolfpack.

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