NC State will aim for its 10th win of the season against UCLA in the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 28 in San Diego, Calif., on FOX television.
With Clemson getting picked by Orlando, Fla., bowl, NC State slid into the slot in the Holiday Bowl. NCSU (9-3) has only won more than nine games once in school history, going 11-3 in 2002. The Wolfpack also found Sunday they finished No. 18 in the country in the final college football playoff poll.
"Our team is very excited about heading to California and the Holiday Bowl," NC State coach Dave Doeren said. "This team has accomplished so much this year and I'm happy that they will be rewarded by playing in a great town and in a great bowl."
What they’ll face in UCLA (8-4) is a ground-oriented attack under coach Chip Kelly. The resume for Kelly took off when he was the offensive coordinator at Oregon from 2007-08, and then took over for Mike Bellotti from 2009-2012. He went 46-7 overall and 33-3 in the Pac-10/Pac-12) with the Ducks playing for the national title in 2010.
Kelly was hired by the Philadelphia Eagles and went 20-12 his first two years, but then it fell back to 6-9 in 2015 and was fired. He was quickly hired by the San Francisco 49ers, but went 2-14 in 2016 and was fired again.
Kelly took over at UCLA and the rebuild was bumpy and recruiting success was modest. He did inherit current senior starting quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who was the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in the country in the country by Rivals.com in the class of 2018. Top receiver Kyle Phillips was another key recruit he inherited.
Kelly’s first full recruiting class was ranked No. 44 by Rivals.com in the class of 2019. The class of 2020 was a little bit better at No. 37 in the nation, and was No. 34 nationally in the class of 2021. What helped was the transfer of Michigan running back Zach Charbonnet, who returned home. The Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian High product was No. 60 nationally in the class of 2019, and the No. 4 running back in the country.
The one-two-three punch of Thompson-Robinson, Charbonnet and Phillips lead the offense. The Bruins averaged 36.5 points per game on offense.
Thompson-Robinson has gone through growing pains, but he has passed for 2,409 yards, 21 touchdowns and six interceptions, and rushed 130 times for 609 yards and nine scores.
Charbonnet, a junior, has rushed 202 times for 1,137 yards and 13 scores, and has caught 24 passes for 197 yards. He has topped 100 yards in seven different games. Former Duke running back Brittain Brown has added 616 yards and seven scores in his second season at UCLA.
Wide receiver Phillips has caught 59 passers for 739 yards and 10 touchdowns. He topped 100 yards and two touchdowns against Stanford and Fresno State.
Tight end Greg Dulcich is also a factor. The 6-4, 245-pound junior has caught 43 passes for 725 yards and five touchdowns this season. He had nine catches for 136 yards against Arizona State.
The defense allowed 26.8 points per game this season.
Fifth-year senior defensive back Qwuantrezz Knight had a team-high 66 tackles, plus 8.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Fifth-year senior linebacker Jordan Genmark Heath was right behind with 55 tackles and 3.5 sacks this season.
Follow on Twitter:
@NCStateRivals or @JaceyZembal
Subscribe for free on YouTube:
For Jacey Zembal or The Wolfpack Central
Like on Facebook:
