🔄 Update — Dec. 7, 9:45 p.m.: App State Accepts Birmingham Bowl Bid
Appalachian State (5-7) has been added to North Carolina’s bowl slate after accepting an invitation to the JLab Birmingham Bowl, where the Mountaineers will face long-time rival Georgia Southern on Dec. 29 in Birmingham (2 p.m. ET, ESPN). This unexpected matchup comes after multiple teams reportedly declined the bowl’s invitation to be Georgia Southern’s opponent.
Duke’s ACC championship wasn’t enough to move the College Football Playoff committee to invite them into the 12-team field, but the Blue Devils aren’t done playing football in 2025. NC State, Wake Forest, East Carolina and Appalachian State will also take the field one more time this season.
Once the CFP bracket was unveiled Sunday afternoon, the rest of the bowl picture fell into place. Here’s where North Carolina’s four bowl-eligible teams are headed:
⭐ Duke — Sun Bowl vs. Arizona State
Fresh off its dramatic 27-20 overtime win against Virginia in the ACC Championship Game, Duke (8-5) is headed to the 2025 Sun Bowl, where the Blue Devils will face Arizona State (8-4) out of the Big 12. The matchup is set for Wednesday, Dec. 31 at 2 p.m. ET in El Paso (CBS).
The bowl bid caps a historic season for Duke, which claimed its first outright conference championship since 1962 and first ever in the championship-game era. Despite winning the league, the Blue Devils missed the College Football Playoff, falling outside being among the top five conference champions needed for an automatic berth.
The Sun Bowl appearance will be Duke’s fourth straight postseason trip and its second under head coach Manny Diaz. The game also brings a bit of history: Duke and Arizona State last met in the 2014 Sun Bowl, a 36-31 thriller won by the Sun Devils.
⭐ NC State — Gasparilla Bowl vs. Memphis
NC State (7-5) is headed to a bowl game for the sixth straight year and will face Memphis in the Gasparilla Bowl on Friday, Dec. 19 at 2:30 p.m. ET at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa (ESPN). The Wolfpack received the bid Sunday afternoon, adding another postseason chapter in head coach Dave Doeren’s 13-year tenure.
This marks NC State’s 11th bowl appearance in 13 seasons under Doeren, who became the program’s all-time winningest coach in 2023 and owns a 94-70 record in Raleigh. The Wolfpack have dropped their last five postseason games, however.
The matchup offers another opportunity for NC State to close the season on a high note and secure an eighth win before turning the page to 2026.
⭐ Wake Forest — Duke’s Mayo Bowl vs. Mississippi State
Wake Forest (8-4) is returning to bowl season for the eighth time in the last 10 years and will head back to familiar territory: the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte. The Demon Deacons and first-year coach Jake Dickert have accepted a bid to face Mississippi State on Jan. 2 at 8 p.m. ET at Bank of America Stadium (ESPN), marking their second appearance in the game and their fourth bowl matchup against an SEC opponent.
Charlotte has become a home away from home for Wake Forest. The Deacons have played more neutral-site games there than anywhere else outside Winston-Salem, and four of their last 11 bowl trips have been to Bank of America Stadium. Wake Forest is 15-12 all-time in Queen City games, including memorable Belk Bowl wins in 2007 and 2017.
Wake Forest has reached the postseason with unprecedented consistency — eight of the program’s 18 all-time bowl appearances have come in the last decade, with an 11-6 overall bowl record and a 5-2 mark in the CFP era. The Deacons also enter this matchup with recent success against the SEC, including a 2022 Gasparilla Bowl win over Missouri.
This year’s Duke’s Mayo Bowl will be just the second meeting between Wake Forest and Mississippi State and the first since the 2011 Music City Bowl.
⭐ East Carolina — Military Bowl vs. Pittsburgh
East Carolina (8-4, 6-2 American) is headed back to Annapolis with a chance to defend its Military Bowl crown. The Pirates, who defeated NC State 26-21 in last year’s game, have accepted an invitation to face Pittsburgh (8-4) on Dec. 27 at 11 a.m. ET at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
This marks ECU’s third Military Bowl trip and its third bowl appearance in the last four seasons. The Pirates under coach Blake Harrell head into postseason play having won five of their last six regular-season games, surging late to secure their spot.
East Carolina’s other Military Bowl appearance came in 2010 — a 50-21 loss to Maryland when the Terps still played in the ACC. The looming matchup with Pitt gives ECU another opportunity to measure itself against an ACC opponent in a bowl setting.
⭐ App State — Birmingham Bowl vs. Georgia Southern
App State (5-7) has accepted a late-breaking invitation to the JLab Birmingham Bowl, giving the Mountaineers their ninth bowl appearance in 11 postseason-eligible seasons. The Mountaineers will face familiar Sun Belt rival Georgia Southern on Dec. 29 at 2 p.m. ET at Protective Stadium in Birmingham (ESPN), a rematch of their 25-23 thriller earlier this year, won by the Eagles.
Despite finishing under .500 in the standings, App State was considered a strong candidate for an at-large bowl slot after multiple close losses — four defeats came by a combined 15 points — and the Birmingham Bowl turned to the Mountaineers after several teams reportedly declined the invitation. First-year head coach Dowell Loggains and Director of Athletics Doug Gillin both emphasized the value of extra practices and the chance to showcase the App State brand on a national stage.
This marks the Mountaineers’ first postseason meeting with Georgia Southern since both programs moved from the FCS ranks a decade ago, adding an unexpected rivalry twist to the late-December bowl schedule.
What’s Next for North Carolina Teams
In the end, five of North Carolina’s seven FBS college football teams earned bowl eligibility in 2025. Duke, NC State, East Carolina and Appalachian State will play their bowl games before the New Year, while Wake Forest will close out the 2025 campaign with a Jan. 2, 2026 date in Charlotte.
Follow NC Football News over the next month as we preview all of the bowl games involving North Carolina teams as well as other college football headlines from across the Old North State.
