Which bowl game will NC State, North Carolina and Duke play in?

By Mark Bergin, WRAL senior multiplatform producer

Florida State (13-0, 8-0 ACC) defeated Louisville (10-3, 7-1 ACC) 16-6 on Saturday night in the ACC championship game to cap the regular season and start the college football bowl season. The Triangle's big three of North Carolina, Duke and NC State are all bowl eligible and look forward to one final game in the 2023 season.

We expect to hear bowl game selections announced throughout Sunday afternoon and will update this story accordingly.

Until then, here’s a look at which bowl bids NC State, North Carolina and Duke could accept.

NC State could play in the Orange Bowl, Pop-Tarts Bowl is more likely

There’s a small possibility NC State plays in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

NC State’s bowl destination is dependent on how well undefeated Florida State plays Saturday without star quarterback Jordan Travis. Junior quarterback Tate Rodemaker is starting in place of Travis, who suffered a season-ending leg injury on Nov. 18 against North Alabama.

NC State (9-3, 6-2 ACC) enters the weekend ranked No. 19 in the College Football Playoff rankings and No. 21 in the AP Top 25.

To play in the Orange Bowl, the Wolfpack would need Florida State to beat Louisville and make the CFP. Then, NC State would need to finish ahead of Louisville in the final CFP top 25. Wolfpack fans should root for the Seminoles to blow out the Cardinals, but even that might not be enough.

Louisville beat NC State 13-10 on Sept. 29 in Raleigh. It depends on how the CFP committee views that loss. NC State has played better on the back half of the season, winning six of its last seven games.

If the Seminoles lose to the Cardinals, they would likely not make the CFP, and they would play in the Orange Bowl.

The Orange Bowl this year pits the top ACC school not in the CFP against a team from the Big Ten or SEC. Notre Dame is also eligible to play in the Orange Bowl.

If NC State does not make the Orange Bowl, many prognosticators are predicting the Wolfpack will play in the inaugural Pop-Tarts Bowl on Dec. 28 in Orlando. The Big 12 is the other conference with tie-ins to the Pop-Tarts Bowl.

That game has previously had several other sponsors:

• Blockbuster (1990–1993)
• Carquest (1994–1997)
• MicronPC (1998–2000)
• Florida Tourism (2001)
• Mazda (2002–2003)
• Champs Sports (2004–2011)
• Russell Athletic (2012–2016)
• Camping World (2017–2019)
• Kellogg's (2020–2022)

If NC State wins its bowl game, it will mark only the second time the Wolfpack have 10 wins or more in a season. NC State went 11-3 in 2002.

Hungry for a Wolfpack bowl victory? The Pop-Tarts Bowl will feature the first edible mascot, the company announced Monday. The winner of the matchup will celebrate by eating a very large toaster treat. No word yet on what flavor it will be.

There are reports that Pop-Tarts representatives have been at several Kansas State games in recent weeks. The Big 12 representative in the Pop-Tarts Bowl is likely Kansas State (8-4, 6-3 Big 12) unless Oklahoma State expresses interest in playing in Florida. West Virginia (8-4, 6-3 Big 12) is also a possibility.

The Gator Bowl is also a possibility for the Wolfpack.

Will Drake Maye play in North Carolina’s bowl game?

So much has changed for the Tar Heels after they won their first six games of the season, and reached No. 10 in the AP Top 25. Since then, North Carolina (8-4, 4-4 ACC) has lost four of its last six games.

With North Carolina out of the CFP running weeks ago, there isn’t much upside for star quarterback Drake Maye to play in his team’s bowl game considering he is likely to be among the top selections in the 2024 NFL Draft.

There isn’t much Maye could do to improve his draft stock for NFL teams.

After the blowout loss to rival NC State on Saturday, Maye said that he hadn’t made up his mind on whether to play in the bowl game. However, his future isn’t worth risking injury in a meaningless bowl game considering he appeared to have a hobbled ankle late against the Wolfpack. There was a collective sigh of relief when he finished out the game.

A major injury could cause Maye to fall out of the first round of the NFL Draft and would cost him tens of millions of dollars.

If Maye opts out, Tar Heels fans could get an extended look at backup quarterback Conner Harrell. In 2024, Harrell is expected to compete for the Tar Heels’ starting quarterback position with transfer Max Johnson.

Another thing worth watching is to see which other North Carolina players decide to play, including star wide receiver Tez Walker.

Walker could choose not to play to protect himself from an injury in preparation for the 2024 NFL Draft; he could play in the bowl and leave for the NFL afterwards; or he could return to Chapel Hill for the 2024 season.

Walker is not expected to be a first-round pick if he enters the 2024 NFL Draft.

As for which bowl game North Carolina will play in, a possibility is the Gator Bowl on Dec. 29 in Jacksonville, Florida. Several pundits have North Carolina projected to play Tennessee (8-4, 4-4 SEC).

Duke football faces changes in coaching staff, QB position before bowl game

Whichever bowl game Duke plays in, the Blue Devils will look different without head coach Mike Elko and quarterback Riley Leonard.

Duke athletics director Nina King said associate head coach and running backs coach Trooper Taylor would work as the interim coach while the school searches for Elko’s replacement.

Elko accepted the head-coaching position at Texas A&M.

Duke (7-5, 4-4 ACC) will play in its second consecutive bowl game for the first time since 2017-2018.

Quickly finding the correct replacement for Elko is probably more important than the outcome of any bowl game for the future of the program, especially considering the fall transfer portal will be open from Dec. 4, 2023-Jan. 2, 2024.

Leonard, who hasn’t played since Oct. 28 due to ankle and toe injuries, announced earlier this week he is leaving Duke. The Blue Devils went 3-2 without Leonard as their starter.

Backup Henry Belin IV has hardly played due to an upper-body injury. Freshman quarterback Grayson Loftis is 2-2 as the team’s starter.

Whoever ends up becoming Duke’s new coach will need to sort out what to do at quarterback for the 2024 season.

Possibilities for which bowl game Duke could play in:

• Dec. 27: Duke’s Mayo Bowl: ACC vs. SEC
• Dec. 28: Pinstripe Bowl: ACC vs. Big Ten
• Dec. 29: Sun Bowl: ACC vs. PAC-12

Here are a few possible bowl opponents Duke could face:

• Kentucky (7-5, 3-5 SEC) in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl
• Rutgers (6-6, 3-6 Big Ten) in the Pinstripe Bowl
• USC (7-5, 5-4 PAC-12) in the Sun Bowl