The Grinch, Ebeneezer Scrooge and college football in North Carolina—no three things have been responsible for the death of more holiday joy.
This year, East Carolina was the lone team from the state to record a bowl win, and it came at the expense of another North Carolina team—NC State. The Old North State went 1-3 in its postseason appearances, with three other teams not even earning a bowl berth. Oh, and five of the seven teams, including ECU, have replaced their coaches.
This isn’t a mere one-year blip, either. Since the 2020 season, North Carolina has managed just one bowl win three times in five years. Compare that to the five years prior, when the state had multiple bowl winners every year.
North Carolina’s seven FBS teams have a combined 8-12 bowl record from 2020 to 2024. From 2015 to 2019, it was 14-7. As if the fall from a .667 winning percentage to .400 wasn’t bad enough, the state also saw fewer teams even qualify for bowls. A total of 15 teams missed out on the postseason over that five-year span, one more than in the previous five years, and that’s with the number of bowl games climbing steadily—from 41 games (meaning spots for 82 teams) in 2015 to 46 games (and room for 92) this year.
What’s the reason for the recent bowl futility? It’s easy to point the finger at NIL money and the transfer portal, which have contributed to a rich-get-richer trend across the sport. While the SEC and Big Ten bullies are throwing around money to attract the top talent, the “sleeping giant” programs in our state are being fleeced.
The problem with that is that the Lilliputians also seem to be having a field day. Look at seven programs long considered college football doormats, assuming they were considered at all—Kansas, Oregon State, Rice, Tulane, Ohio, UAB and South Alabama. They’ve combined to go 11-9 in bowls the last five seasons, after making just 10 combined bowls in the previous five-year span from 2015-2019. Plus, Oregon State is the team that lured away Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy in the transfer portal, prior to the Blue Devils’ bowl game.
To fend off charges that we cherry-picked seven teams that happened to be on the upswing, seven other never-weres—Iowa State, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Rutgers, Western Kentucky, UNLV and Middle Tennessee—combined to go 12-7 in bowls over the last five years.
The Grinch and Scrooge ended up being redemption stories. Can football in N.C. change its ways and make us happy with the arrival of the holidays again?
Who appears to be best-positioned to break North Carolina’s statewide breakfast cereal trend and stop going soggy in the bowl? Here’s a team-by-team look.
Duke: The Blue Devils got pounded by Ole Miss in the Gator Bowl, losing 52-20 in a game that wasn’t that close. However, that game was the only real blemish on Manny Diaz’s first year with the Blue Devils. His defensive scheme work and recruiting prowess has Duke poised as the team to beat in the state and the most likely to become a national factor in the near future.
UNC: The scoffing was loud when it became clear that the Tar Heels-Bill Belichick match wasn’t just a publicity stunt. However, Belichick appears to be posed to have a big immediate impact. With a sharply increased NIL budget, the Heels have been active in the transfer portal and are still bringing in NFL talent to pad the coaching and support staff in Chapel Hill.
East Carolina: The state’s lone bowl victor opens 2025 against the team it topped in the Military Bowl—NC State. With its top talent returning and a full offseason for interim-turned-permanent coach Blake Harrell to implement his system, look for an even bigger win by ECU in that game.
Wake Forest: The Deacs have been quietly rebuilding under new coach Jake Dickert. Wake has already brought in 20 transfers, including more than a half dozen from Dickert’s old team, Washington State. Of course, the change in offensive schemes has also caused Wake to lose some top talent via the portal, most notably receivers Donavon Greene and Deuce Alexander and center Luke Petitbon. Still, Wake is ranked in the lower regions of the Top 25 nationally in most rankings of transfer classes.
NC State: Dave Doeren replaced both coordinators following the bowl loss, in a move that is generally considered the last-ditch effort to avoid a firing. It may have merely bought Doeren another 12 months, unless the Pack shows significant improvement in 2025.
App State: The Mountaineers lost quarterback Joey Aguilar and receiver Kaedin Robinson in the portal. App is bringing in transfer quarterbacks from LSU and Iowa State, but it’s still going to be tough to weather the losses.
Charlotte: The 49ers added a pair of Triangle backup quarterbacks in Conner Harrell and Grayson Loftis. They started games for UNC and Duke respectively over the last couple seasons but were never “the man” entering the year. It’s a start, but Charlotte has a long way to go.
