One day after its season abruptly came to a close as UCLA pulled out of the Holiday Bowl less than five hours before kickoff, the NC State football team was welcomed home by a cheering crowd of fans on Dec. 29.
Head coach Dave Doeren was the first to arrive, being greeted by a loud chorus of cheers, with the players following behind, passing through the crowd in front of the fountain outside the Murphy Center.
“It’s awesome; it says a lot about our fans,” Doeren said. “I know their empathy goes out to our young men and coaching staff. So one, it is great to be home and two, it is nice to come home and have a welcome like that.”
Redshirt junior center Grant Gibson carried the trophy with him as he passed through the crowd. According to ESPN’s Andrea Adelson, the trophy was presented to the team by Holiday Bowl officials and the University plans to count the bowl as its 10th win, despite NCAA regulations which would rule the game a no contest.
“Well, the NCAA stands for No Clue At All, in my opinion, so I don’t really care what they say about it,” Doeren said. “But for our guys, you know, like I said, we took a roster of guys down there that had 0 COVID issues, practiced every day, did everything right, and didn’t get a chance to play the game. And as far as I’m concerned, we did beat them. They couldn’t even get to the field. You can say whatever you want, but if you look at the College Football Playoff definition of what’s gonna happen if that happens in one of their games, that team’s forfeiting. So I feel like we’re following the same guidelines that those bowl games are gonna follow.”
The manner in which the game was called off, evoking memories of the baseball team’s exit from the 2021 College World Series, left fans disappointed.
“I was just disappointed because I’ve been to like all the home games this season, and I wanted the team to go out and show the nation that we were good and that we’re going to be good in the future too,” said JJ Malach, a second-year studying business administration. “And it was really disappointing, and I feel terrible for the guys. It’s a heartbreaking thing to happen, especially after the baseball team.”
NC State attempted to get a new opponent for the bowl, with Athletics Director Boo Corrigan reaching out to more than 10 teams, according to PackPride. Despite Corrigan’s efforts, no opponent could be found, and the bowl was officially canceled on the morning of Dec. 29.
“Boo’s response seemed really genuine, which I appreciate as a student,” Malach said. “It seems like they really tried to get people to come and find an opponent for us last minute, but I guess it didn’t work out. I appreciate the efforts as a student.”
The assembled crowd included recent graduates, current students and fans, including whole families. Ryan Pecaut, who graduated after this fall semester, said he came out to support the team and, “show them a little bit of love since they didn’t get to feel that in the stadium.”
After the team had all gone through the crowd, Doeren took to the mic and addressed the assembled crowd.
With its season ending in such shocking and ultimately unceremonious fashion, the Wolfpack’s large group of returning players will be even more motivated heading into next season.
“I think this will add to the chip on their shoulder probably,” Doeren said. “But we got a lot of time between now and then, you know? This was a fun team to coach. I look forward to the guys coming back for sure. And we’ve still got to find some decisions on some of the guys and see where that’s at, but we’ll have a lot of momentum going into the offseason.”
