N.C. State ticket sales for the Tangerine Bowl were inching along through the early portion of this week. As of Tuesday, N.C. State had sold about 3,000 tickets for the Dec. 22 matchup against Kansas (6-6), athletics director Lee Fowler said earlier this week.
N.C. State was allotted 12,500 tickets for the Orlando, Fla., bowl game.
N.C. State was encouraging fans to buy their tickets online at gopack.com. Tickets also may be purchased online at fcsbowls.com or by calling 865-1510 or (800) 310-7225. Tickets are $45, $40 for students.
The priority seating deadline for Wolfpack Club members is Dec. 10.
Three UNC seniors will play in the 65th Blue Gray All-Star Classic on Christmas Day in Troy, Ala.
Offensive guard Jupiter Wilson, tight end Bobby Blizzard and defensive back/kick returner Michael Waddell will play for the Gray team, which will be coached on defense by UNC coach John Bunting.
“I’m excited for Jupiter, Bobby and Michael,” Bunting said. “All three of those players deserve a chance to showcase their skills to a national audience.
“Jupiter had a strong senior season, Michael is one of the best return men in the country and Bobby is still one of the top tight ends in the ACC despite struggling this year with illness and injury.”
Maryland and West Virginia fans who have not secured tickets to the Gator Bowl may have to watch the New Year’s Day game on television.
The bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., sold out Thursday, Gator Bowl President Rick Catlett said.
West Virginia had requested a third allotment of 4,000 tickets, but bowl officials could only give the No. 21 Mountaineers 2,500.
West Virginia sold nearly 21,000 tickets while No. 24 Maryland sold more than 17,000.
Catlett said this is the fastest the Gator Bowl has sold out since 1989, when Clemson defeated West Virginia 27-7. The 1989 game set a Gator Bowl attendance record of 82,911.
There won’t be any leather helmets or single-bar facemasks on the field today as Wofford takes on Western Kentucky in the Division I-AA quarterfinals. But the game certainly should have an old-school feel.
The Hilltoppers (9-3) threw the ball just 10 times last week — six below their average — in their 45-7 win against Jacksonville State despite facing one of the worst passing defense teams in the nation, and the Terriers’ option attack averages just eight passes a game and didn’t complete either of its two tries in last week’s 31-10 win over North Carolina A&T.
“Passing is a good thing, but running the ball is a safer thing,” Wofford fullback J.R. McNair said.
The key matchup today, may be how Western Kentucky’s defense handles Wofford’s unusual offense.
The Terriers’ wingbone sets harken back to a half-century ago, long before coaches had ever heard of the West Coast offense and quarterbacks ran first and passed later.
