NC State football learns 2025 bowl game destination. Where the Pack is headed
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- NC State will play Memphis in the Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa on Dec. 19
- Coach Dave Doeren has guided NC State to 11 bowl appearances in 13 years
- Memphis will be led by new head coach Charles Huff after Ryan Silverfield’s departure
N.C. State football secured an extra game for the 2025 season when it defeated Florida State in Week 13 of the regular season. It found out on Sunday where it’s headed for that final contest.
The Wolfpack (7-5, 4-4 ACC) will play against Memphis in the Gasparilla Bowl on Dec. 19 at 2:30 p.m. in Tampa, Florida. N.C. State has not played in this iteration of the bowl, but it appeared in the bowl in 2014. At the time, it was the St. Petersburg Bowl and held in St. Petersburg, Florida.
“Our staff and team are very excited about playing in a great bowl in the beautiful city of Tampa,” N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren said in a statement. “We appreciate the opportunity and are looking forward to a great game.”
This is the second straight season that N.C. State will face a team from the American. Last season, the Wolfpack lost to East Carolina, 26-21, in the Military Bowl.
Doeren has led the team to 11 bowl game appearance in 13 seasons and six straight. Doeren’s teams are 3-6 in bowl games. It did not play in the 2021 Holiday Bowl after UCLA backed out due to Covid-19. One of the Wolfpack’s wins came in the 2014 bowl game, when it defeated Central Florida, 34-27.
Its last bowl win took place in 2017, when the Wolfpack defeated Arizona State, 52-31, in the Sun Bowl.
N.C. State started the season with four straight wins and ended the season with a strong finish. It won three of its last four games, including an upset over then-undefeated Georgia Tech at home. It also beat FSU and North Carolina in that stretch. The middle of the Wolfpack’s season, however, featured several rocky games. It lost at Duke (45-33), Notre Dame (35-7) and Pittsburgh (53-34). It also fell to Virginia Tech at home (23-21).
Prior to the team’s win over Florida State, players said reaching bowl eligibility remained a goal for the program.
“I want to make a bowl. We want to make a bowl,” fifth-year defensive Travali Price said on Nov. 18. “I think it’s very important that we do that and at least go out with a bang; a bowl win.”
Memphis finished the season 8-4 overall and 4-4 in the American. Head coach Ryan Silverfield was hired by Arkansas after Sam Pittman’s midseason termination. Memphis hired Charles Huff as his replacement, but Tigers defensive backs Reggie Howard, however, was named interim head coach and is expected to coach the bowl game.
The Tigers finished the season on a three-game losing streak, which included losses to Tulane, East Carolina and Navy. N.C. State beat ECU 24-17 in the season opener.
Huff coached at Southern Miss this season, leading the Golden Eagles to a 7-5 record. He was 32-20 at Marshall from 2021-24 with three straight bowl qualifications and the first Sun Belt championship in program history. It was also the first conference championship in 10 years. He left Marshall after contract disputes with the school. Former N.C. State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson took over the Thundering Herd.
This story was originally published December 7, 2025 at 5:28 PM with the headline "NC State football learns 2025 bowl game destination. Where the Pack is headed."
