Birmingham tops State's wish list

N.C. State doesn't have a choice but the Wolfpack would prefer to play in the PapaJohns.com Bowl against a Big East opponent.

N.C. State and the ACC officials are working with the Birmingham, Ala. bowl to land an at-large bid  in the Dec. 29th game, according to league and N.C. State sources.

The bowl works on three levels for the Wolfpack (6-6):

• Site

The
site is the only available at-large bowl spot within relatively reasonable driving distance (550 miles from Raleigh) for Wolfpack fans, with Shreveport, La., Houston and Detroit as the other possible destinations.

• Date

The date (Dec. 29) allows for more practice time, three days more than the Motor City (Dec. 26) and allows fans to stay home for the Christmas holiday and travel after.

• Opponent

The Big East team on the other side, UConn, West Virginia, Rutgers and maybe even Louisville are possibilities, is the only potential opponent from a BCS conference.

The Motor City Bowl would definitely be the Mid-American Conference champion, either Ball State or Buffalo.

The
Independence Bowl, which will fill the other side with an at-large bid, would potentially be Louisiana Tech (WAC) or Louisiana-Lafayette (Sun Belt).

The Texas Bowl would be a Conference USA opponent.

By playing a Big East team, N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien would have a degree of familiarity and it could make an impact with recruiting in the Northeast.

N.C. State needs help to get to the PapaJohns. Troy (7-4) needs to beat Arkansas State (6-5) to win the Sun Belt Conference and open the at-large spot in the bowl.

If Troy, which is an 11-point favorite, wins at home, the Trojans would win the Sun Belt. If they lose, Arkansas State wins the Sun Belt and the PapaJohns would be contractually obligated to take the Trojans.