By Zachary McMahon-
The East Carolina Pirates played the NC State Wolfpack at the GoBowling.com MIlitary Bowl at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland on Saturday. The Wolfpack come in after a win over arch-rival UNC made them bowl-eligible with their sixth victory. The Pirates meanwhile came in with a 7-5 record.
This bowl has been played since 2008, and this is the Pirates second appearance, as in their first in the game’s third edition in Dec. 2010 and they got crushed by Maryland 51-20. Meanwhile, this is the first appearance for NC State in the bowl.
The Pirates ground game was strong for the entire game rushing for 326 rushing yards with three rushing touchdowns, including two from the QB Katin Houser, who also three for 147 yards and two picks.
The Wolfpack came back from a 20-7 deficit in the fourth quarter after two touchdown passes from CJ Bailey which made it a 21-20 lead.
However, Rahjai Harris scampered for a 86-yard rushing touchdown to make it 26-21 with a failed two-point conversion. Harris ran for 220 yards, which is the most since Baltimore Ravens Keaton Mitchell ran for 222 yards against Temple on Nov. 26, 2022. Harris’s run is the longest since former Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson ran for an 86-yard play on Sept. 11, 2004 against Wake Forest.
That would not matter as Dontavious Nash intercepted Houser to seal the victory for the Pirates. While the Pirates were kneeling down, a brawl broke out that got one of the referees a cut from under one of his eyes. Three players from the Pirates and five from the Wolfpack got ejected for the fight.
The loss for the Wolfpack made the ACC have a 1-9 record in bowl and playoff games, after Boston College, UNC, and Miami all losing their respective bowl games on Saturday. The only victory so far was Syracuse winning the Holiday Bowl against Washington State 52-35 on Friday.
Interestingly, these two teams will open up against each other in 2025 on Aug. 30 in Raleigh, NC.
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