I’m proud, are you?

I’ve heard some people, well, whining about our loss today. Doom and gloom, whoa is me, the sky is falling, what if this, what if that…

Well, sorry folks, but we LOST! Scoreboard.

That said, I am proud of the way the Wolfpack finished the season winning 4 straight. I’m proud of Russell Wilson becoming a big time college QB. I’m proud of TOB being TOB.

I’m not proud of our recievers dropping too many passes. I’m not proud of Harrison Beck. In fact, that is my lone quarrel with TOB this season, why did we play Beck 3 straight series? He’s a turnover waiting to happen.

I’m proud of my Wolfpack. We lost our best player and still had a chance to win in the last minute of the game. Things are looking bright here in Raleigh and I choose to focus on all the good things that are happening with this program than trying to find something to complain about. I can’t wait until next season!

Thursday quick hits

Hit 1: What do the players get out of going to bowls, other than the experience? Swag of course! Here’s what one source lists for State’s upcoming trip: PapaJohns.com Bowl (N.C. State vs. Rutgers)
Gifts: Pure Digital Flip mini-camcorder, Sony noise-canceling headphones, Knit cap, Ogio bag.
See an extensive list of bowl swag here: http://soxanddawgs.com

Hit 2: N.C. State has sold just under 3,000 of its allotment of 10,000 tickets for the bowl. School officials are offering an opportunity for N.C. State fans who can’t make the trip to support the school by purchasing tickets to be donated to the Big Brothers/Big Sisters charity in Birmingham.

Tickets are $40 and can be purchased at 919-865-1510 or gopack.com.

Wolfpack to play Rutgers in Papajohns.com Bowl

Confirming widespread speculation over this weekend, it is official: N.C. State has accepted an invitation to play in the Papajohns.com Bowl on Dec. 29 in Birmingham, Ala.

The Sporting News is reporting that “after finishing the season with six straight wins, Rutgers on Sunday accepted a bid to play in the PapaJohns.com Bowl on Dec. 29.”

The game was supposed to match the Big East against the SEC, but the SEC didn’t have enough bowl-eligible teams to fill all its bowl slots.

Rutgers is just the seventh team in NCAA history to play in a bowl game after starting the season 1-5. They also are one of five teams from a BCS conference to have a current winning streak of six games or more.

TSW non-Exclusive!

All internet sources of any consequence are projecting NC State to play in the PapaJohns.com Bowl.

Jon Solomon of The Birmingham News is reporting that:

Troy’s win Saturday night has shifted the sights of the Papajohns.com Bowl directly on N.C. State to fill its SEC slot against a Big East team, likely Rutgers.

With Troy headed to the New Orleans Bowl as the Sun Belt Conference champion, the Papajohns.com Bowl clearly prefers 6-6 N.C. State as its at-large team. But everything is on hold until two at-large teams with seven wins or more – Louisiana Tech (7-5) and Western Michigan (9-3) – are officially placed into games.

“Obviously, we’d love to have N.C. State,” said Chris Turner, senior director of programming and events of ESPN Regional TV, which owns the Papajohns.com Bowl. “It’s our understanding they want to come and at some point it’s up to the NCAA to allow that to occur.”

The bowl website doesn’t look like it’s had any new or pertinent information in a while. Here is the link though! PapaJohns.com Bowl

Is it time to mark Dec 26 on your calendar?

It’s looking like it. Although, I would use pencil until we hear something official.

All indicators seem to point towards a Dec. 26 trip to the Motor City Bowl in Detroit Michigan to challenge Ball State of the MAC. State would occupy the Big Ten No. 7 spot which that conference is unable to fulfill.

Quick Hits:
1) The U.S. Army All-American Bowl Selection Committee has narrowed down their nominees to six finalists for the prestigious 2009 U.S. Army Player of the Year Award. This short list includes Xavier Nixon (Jack Britt High School, Fayetteville, N.C.). Nixon, considered by recruiters nationwide as the top offensive linemen in the country, has quick feet and excellent technique. Nixon has narrowed down his college choices to Clemson, Florida, LSU, Miami, North Carolina, N.C. State, Notre Dame, South Carolina, and West Virginia.
2) NC State has landed a major target as Roswell (NM) New Mexico Military Institute defensive tackle Nathan Mageo has committed to the Wolfpack. Rated a three-star prospect by Scout.com, Mageo had been committed to Hawaii before visiting NC State this past weekend.

The Waiting Game

With six wins, N.C. State is eligible to play in a bowl game for the first time in three seasons. State is technically eligible for any of the ACC’s bowl slots except the Orange Bowl or an at-large slot in a non-ACC affiliated bowl.

Charlotte, with the Meineke Car Care Bowl on Dec. 27, and Washington, with the inaugural EagleBank Bowl on Dec. 20, are prime targets for State’s postseason.

In other conference news…

The ACC won the season-ending ACC/SEC Challenge 3-1.

Go ahead and look it up. Other than Florida waxing Florida State (and Florida is waxing everyone at this point), it was a good day for the conference.

(That adds to a 3-3 record against the SEC earlier in the year, which is certainly solid).

When the rankings come out later today, the ACC should have its first top-15 team since the preseason (Georgia Tech), and Boston College might even join the Yellow Jackets there.

Oh, and there’s 10 bowl-eligible teams, and the conference has the enviable task of trying to find a postseason home for all of the programs.