The final month of the college football regular season is upon us, with multiple teams in the state on the verge of bowl eligibility.
However, while some teams are looking like locks for postseason play, a couple others are staring at some real thin odds.
Here’s how each of the NC teams are looking in terms of bowl eligibility:
Duke (4-1 ACC, 5-3)
The Blue Devils are one of four North Carolina based teams who sit just a single win away from bowl eligibility.
After a slow start to the year, Duke has tightened up to become far and away the state’s best team and a 46-45 win over the Clemson Tigers on Saturday only further cements that claim.
With a game against the UConn Huskies on deck, the Blue Devils have to feel pretty confident with their chances of getting that next win, but the team is also still in the hunt for a conference championship berth as well.
Duke will face UConn, Virginia, UNC and Wake Forest to close out the season.
The Blue Devils have an 8-9 all-time record in bowl games, having last qualified for one last season (Gator Bowl).
Wake Forest (2-3 ACC, 5-3)
New coach Jake Dickert looks to have the Demon Deacons back on track.
Wake Forest has already outperformed their prior two seasons’ records and now sit just one game away from bowl eligibility.
The Demon Deacons have an 11-6 record all-time in bowl games, having last competed in the Gasparilla Bowl in 2022.
Wake Forest will face Virginia, UNC, Delaware and Duke to end the year.
NC State (2-3 ACC, 5-4)
What seemed like an outside shot for the program just a few weeks ago now seems like a real possibility after the team’s big win over Georgia Tech this past weekend.
NC State was staring down a gauntlet of ranked opponents to end their year, but with one already knocked off, there’s potential there to potentially continue to do some damage.
The Wolfpack will face Miami, FSU and UNC to end the season.
NC State has an all-time record of 17-18-1 in bowl games and the program has lost in each of their last five postseason appearances.
ECU (3-1 AAC, 5-3)
The Pirates round out the group of NC teams who are just a single win away from bowl eligibility and they have to feel pretty confident about their chances with the 1-7 Charlotte 49ers up next on the schedule.
ECU has picked up multiple key wins in Blake Harrell’s first full season and they still have a few more opportunities coming up as well.
The Pirates will face Charlotte, Memphis, UTSA and Florida Atlantic to end the year.
ECU has an 11-11 record all-time in bowl games and has won each of their last two bowl appearances (Birmingham Bowl – 2022; Military Bowl – 2024)
App State (1-3 SBC, 4-4)
It’s been tough sledding for the Mountaineers in coach Dowell Loggains first season in Boone.
App State has performed well in their non-conference slate but have struggled against other Sun Belt squads so far.
The Mountaineers need two more wins for bowl eligibility and so will need a pair of victories over any combination of Georgia Southern, James Madison, Marshall or Arkansas State.
App State has an overall bowl record of 7-1 and last qualified for the postseason in 2023 (Cure Bowl).
UNC (1-3 ACC, 3-5)
There’s no question that Chapel Bill has not lived up to the preseason hype this year, but UNC looks to be turning a corner.
The team has really started to play better as of late, especially on defense, and just this weekend, the Tar Heels snapped a four-game losing streak with a 27-10 win over Syracuse.
UNC needs three more wins on the season to have a shot at a bowl game this year and they have a good chance for one coming up with Stanford next on the schedule.
However, the Tar Heels end the year with Wake Forest, Duke and NC State all in succession, so they’re going to have to really lock in if they want to play in this year’s postseason.
UNC has an all-time bowl record of 15-22 but have lost each of their last five consecutive postseason appearances.
Charlotte (0-5 AAC, 1-7)
Things have been pretty abysmal in the Queen City for the 49ers this season as the program has posted just a single win on the year and have been outscored 298-140.
The program is in its first year under new coach Tim Albin and just last month, the university fired athletic director Mike Hill.
While they haven’t mathematically been eliminated yet, there’s a better chance of pigs flying than Charlotte competing in a meaningful game this year.
Charlotte has qualified for the postseason just once in program history (2019).
