The 2010 Champs Sports Bowl was a
college football bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivi ...
that was played on December 28, 2010. The game matched up the
West Virginia Mountaineers
The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent West Virginia University, an American university located in Morgantown, West Virginia. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I. The Mou ...
from the
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...
versus the
NC State Wolfpack from the
Atlantic Coast Conference. The game was scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. ET kickoff at
Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium in
Orlando, Florida.
Background
West Virginia entered the game with a 9-3 record along with being co-champions of the
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...
. The Mountaineers were hurt in their quest for the Big East's BCS bid with October losses to
UConn
The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from ...
and
Syracuse. WVU's strength was in their defense, which ranked 2nd nationally in points allowed and 3rd in yards allowed. The Mountaineers have appeared in eight straight bowl games and were defeated in last year's
Gator Bowl by Florida State 33-21. West Virginia has played in the bowl on two previous occasions, in 1995 and 1997, when it was known as the
Carquest Bowl and was played in Miami.
NC State entered the bowl with an overall record of 8-4. The Wolfpack attempted to win a bowl game for the first time in coach Tom O’Brien’s four seasons in Raleigh. NC State played in the
Papajohns.com Bowl in his second season but lost to
Rutgers
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and w ...
, 29-23. The strength of the Wolfpack was in their passing game, ranked number 19 in the country. NC State has appeared in the bowl three previous times, first in 1998 when the game was known as the MicornPC Bowl and was played in
Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
, and then in 2001 and 2003 when it was played in Orlando but was called the Tangerine Bowl.
The two schools have played each other nine times previously, with WVU holding a 5-4 advantage, though they have not played since 1979. This was the third time that they have played in a bowl game, having played in the 1972 and 1975
Peach Bowl
The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Atlanta, Georgia since December 1968. Since 1997, it has been sponsored by Chick-fil-A and is officially known as the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. From 2006 to 2013, it was officially ...
s. The bowl series between NC State and West Virginia is split, 1-1: the Wolfpack won the 1972 contest 49-13, and the Mountaineers won 13-10 in 1975.
Game Summary
Scoring
Statistics
References
{{NC State Wolfpack bowl game navbox
Champs Sports Bowl
The Pop-Tarts Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that is played in Orlando, Florida, at Camping World Stadium. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group which also organizes the Citrus Bowl and the Florida Classic ...
Cheez-It Bowl
West Virginia Mountaineers football bowl games
NC State Wolfpack football bowl games
American football in Orlando, Florida
Champs Sports Bowl
The Pop-Tarts Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that is played in Orlando, Florida, at Camping World Stadium. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group which also organizes the Citrus Bowl and the Florida Classic ...
2010s in Orlando, Florida