The 2023 Pop-Tarts Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 28, 2023, at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The 34th annual Pop-Tarts Bowl (although the first under that name) featured NC State from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and Kansas State from the Big 12 Conference. The bowl was ranked 9th in the fbs, the game began at approximately 5:45 p.m. EST and was aired on ESPN.[4][5] The Pop-Tarts Bowl was one of the 2023–24 bowl games concluding the 2023 FBS football season. The bowl game's title sponsor was Kellanova (formerly Kellogg's) through their Pop-Tarts brand.
Teams
Consistent with conference tie-ins, the bowl featured the NC State Wolfpack of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) against the Kansas State Wildcats of the Big 12 Conference.
This was the first time that NC State and Kansas State played each other.[6]
NC State Wolfpack
The Wolfpack entered the game with a 9–3 record (6–2 in the ACC), having finished in third place in the conference and 18th in the College Football Playoff rankings.
This was NC State's sixth Pop-Tarts Bowl, tying Miami (FL) for the most appearances in the game. The Wolfpack had a 3–2 record in prior editions of the game, most recently appearing in the 2010 Champs Sports Bowl (when the bowl was played under that name), which they won.
Kansas State Wildcats
The Wildcats entered the game with an 8–4 record (6–3 in the Big 12), tied for fourth place in their conference and 25th in the College Football Playoff rankings.
This was Kansas State's first Pop-Tarts Bowl.
Game summary
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 18 NC State | 0 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 19 |
| No. 25 Kansas State | 7 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
at Camping World Stadium • Orlando, Florida
- Date: Thursday, December 28, 2023
- Game time: 5:45 p.m. EST
- Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 61 °F (16 °C) • Wind: 7 mph (11 km/h) W
- Game attendance: 31,111
- Referee: Larry Smith
- TV announcers (ESPN): Anish Shroff (play-by-play), Andre Ware (analyst), and Paul Carcaterra (sideline)
- Box score
| Game information |
|---|
|
Statistics
| Statistics | NCSU | KSU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 17 | 22 |
| Plays–yards | 62–399 | 71–435 |
| Rushes–yards | 33–235 | 40–257 |
| Passing yards | 164 | 178 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 14–29–1 | 14–31–0 |
| Time of possession | 29:06 | 30:54 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| NC State | Passing | Brennan Armstrong | 14/28, 164 yards, INT |
| Rushing | Brennan Armstrong | 17 carries, 121 yards, TD | |
| Receiving | Kevin Concepcion | 7 catches, 72 yards | |
| Kansas State | Passing | Avery Johnson | 14/31, 178 yards, 2 TD |
| Rushing | DJ Giddens | 28 carries, 151 yards, TD | |
| Receiving | Jayce Brown | 5 catches, 52 yards, TD |
References
- ^ @DScottFritchen (December 29, 2023). "The moment Avery Johnson is named Pop-Tarts Bowl MVP" (Tweet). Retrieved December 28, 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ Parks, James (December 11, 2023). "College football bowl schedule, game odds, point spreads for 2023-24". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
- ^ Austro, Ben (December 3, 2023). "2023-24 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
- ^ Straka, Dean (May 31, 2023). "2023-24 college football bowl schedule, games, dates, locations, kickoff times, TV channels". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
- ^ Lewis, Barry. "2023-24 College Football Bowl Schedule, Dates, Times Announced". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
- ^ "Winsipedia – North Carolina State Wolfpack vs. Kansas State Wildcats". Winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
External links
- Game statistics at statbroadcast.com