The 2016 season concludes for NC State with a chance to end the year with a winning record. NC State (6-6) plays Vanderbilt (6-6) at 5 p.m. in the Camping World Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La. The Wolfpacker editors Matt Carter and Jacey Zembal offer their predictions on how the game will turn out:
Matt Carter
When these two teams played four years ago, NC State’s motivation level was next to none. They were playing for a coaching staff that literally spent part of their bowl preparations packing boxes in their respective offices. The coach that mattered, a recently hired Dave Doeren, was watching the game with the media in the press box, also literally.
So unsurprisingly, a flat Wolfpack squad did not fare well against what was then a surging Vanderbilt program under James Franklin. A lot has changed between that Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tenn., and this Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La. Doeren is in his fourth year at the helm, taking the Pack to its third straight bowl game. Franklin is now at Penn State, and Derek Mason is in charge of the Commodores, who are back in a bowl for the first time after a two-year drought. There are also few memories on this Wolfpack squad from the game. Only a handful of fifth-year seniors are on the team, and none of them were primary players on that NC State squad.
This year’s team also should have plenty of motivation. It is a chance to cap a season with back-to-back feel-good moments: beating archrival UNC on the road and then winning a bowl. NC State did that two years ago, and it has a golden opportunity to repeat that. On paper, the matchup against Vanderbilt is a good one for NC State.
Prediction: NC State 28, Vanderbilt 23
Jacey Zembal
Bowl games can a lot of times be more psychological than anything.
What is the motivation? Did a team lose its coaches? Houston blows out Florida State last year in a huge moment for the program, and then the Cougars get blitzed by San Diego State last week as an obvious impact of what happens when there is drama in a program after losing coach Tom Herman.
NC State appears to be in a good place mentally going into the Independence Bowl. The Wolfpack flirted with not becoming bowl eligible, but the win over North Carolina is a massive weight off the shoulders of the players. Motivation is simple, nobody wants to tell their friends they went 6-7 this season, and the coaches obviously are pushing for momentum going into the offseason. Giving up Christmas is part of the gig of being a college football player, but even going to Shreveport gives it a feel of a business trip with little distractions.
NC State and Vanderbilt are similar in so many ways with offenses built around veteran running backs, game managers at quarterbacks and each has a key player on defense that help make big plays. NCSU junior defensive end Bradley Chubb and Vanderbilt junior inside linebacker Zach Cunningham are both leaders for their units.
The Wolfpack do appear to be more physical and teams have run the ball against the Commodores, most notably Auburn and Missouri. I’m sure NC State will have a few trick plays after 12 bowl game practices. One distinct area where Vandy has an edge is at kicker. Junior Tommy Openshaw went 14 of 17 on field goals with a long of 52.
Prediction: NC State 24, Vanderbilt 20
