Music City Bowl excited to host NC State

Music City Bowl president Scott Ramsey attended NC State's football practice on Saturday afternoon and presented the Wolfpack with the game's version of a key to the city. Not surprisingly for a game based in Nashville, it was a guitar.

After making his presentation to the team, Ramsey spoke with the media about what a unique situation this year's game is, with State playing under interim head coach Dana Bible.

"It is unique," he said. "I think that's a tough transition for any organization, let alone when you're trying to do all the bowl preparations. I think we're relying on Debbie [Yow]'s staff and Chris [Kingston] and coach [Dana Bible] and all that; they've really made it easy so far."

Another rare component of the contest is the Pack's opponent, Vanderbilt, which is located in Nashville.

"We'll see how it comes out, it's a little unique having the hometown team, and it's only the second time in our 15 year history that it has happened," he said. "We'll see how it goes. It's not something that we would like to do on a regular basis, but this year, it's just the way the selection process fell."

Despite what could be described as the odd circumstances surrounding the game, the Music City Bowl could not be more excited to host an NC State program that has a great reputation for bowl games. Ramsey noted that the reputation of the school and football program as a whole really stood out in the selection process.

"I think anytime that you're hosting a game and you've got a condensed time to plan the game, like we do in bowl games, you're always looking forward to having an organization that has a great reputation to work with, and players that really represent that University well," he said. "Secondly, we've always heard great things about the fan base. From Nashville's perspective, we're really proud of our city and enjoy showcasing it. It's a fan base that we haven't had a chance to host yet, so we're looking forward to showcasing Nashville to the Wolfpack fan base."