NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A season that started with so much hope for N.C. State ended in the worst-case scenario on Monday in the Music City Bowl.

Vanderbilt turned five turnovers into a 38-24 win over N.C. State for its seventh straight win of the season and third bowl win in program history.

Under interim coach Dana Bible, N.C. State (7-6) was sloppy and undisciplined, racking up turnovers and penalties to close the season with the same way it started — a loss to an SEC team.

N.C. State's football team will end up on the same field as James Franklin after all.

The Wolfpack will face Franklin's Vanderbilt team in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 31 (noon, ESPN) in Nashville, Tenn.

N.C. State athletic director Debbie Yow has described Franklin as a "good friend" and previously hired him at Maryland. Early speculation after Tom O'Brien was fired focused on Franklin but Yow eliminated him from the process a week ago and hired Dave Doeren from Northern Illinois on Saturday night.

Debbie Yow described Vanderbilt coach James Franklin as a "good friend" on Sunday, in the press conference to announce Tom O'Brien's dismissal.

Yow mentioned how she had hired Franklin at Maryland, she also name-dropped Franklin's wife and the cost of Vanderbilt's indoor practice facility. Yow said she had texted Franklin on Saturday but the N.C. State athletic director said the Vanderbilt coach would not be in contention for the vacant Wolfpack job.

"He's not a candidate for this job," Yow said Sunday. "He's in the midst of doing something special there."

Now that Notre Dame’s in the fold, a coup of staggering proportions for the ACC and comissioner John Swofford, assuring the relevance of the conference long into the future, if it was ever really in doubt, the only question left is who’s No. 16?

With 14 teams for football and 15 overall once Notre Dame joins -- and NBC’s football megadeal with the Fighting Irish expires in 2015, so mark that date on the calendar -- the ACC is going to need one more team to balance out the conference at some point down the road.

Connecticut was mentioned back when Syracuse and Pittsburgh were invited aboard, but there are two schools that fit the ACC far better, both athletically and academically. One would be easy: Rutgers. Another would require some behind-the-scenes maneuvering on the par of the Notre Dame move: Vanderbilt.

RALEIGH — N.C. State owed Vanderbilt one after Saturday night. The Wolfpack got a win back from the Commodores on Sunday.

The Wolfpack bounced back from a crushing loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday night with a 6-5 win on Sunday at Doak Field. The same teams will meet for a third time tonight (7 p.m.) with the winner moving on to face Florida, the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, in the Super Regional.

N.C. State (42-18) kept its season alive with some clutch hitting by second baseman Matt Bergquist, who knocked in the winning run in the eighth inning. Bergquist, a junior, began the day with a .197 batting average. His single to right scored Brett Austin to break a 5-5 with the Commodores.

In State's 17-5 win over UNC-Wilmington earlier on Sunday, Bergquist went 3-for-5 with a home run, his first of the season, and six RBI. His batting average after two games on Sunday rose 25 points, to .222.

The Wolfpack scored six runs in three ACC tournament games but exploded for 47 runs in four NCAA tournament games.

The Pack's offense had no trouble finding runs early against the Commodores. State took a 5-3 lead into the seventh inning with single runs in the first, fourth and fifth innings. Trea Turner's two-run home run put two up in the third.

Pack designated hitter Ryan Mathews hit his ninth homer in 14 games to give State a 1-0 advantage in the first. Turner's homer kept carrying and carrying until leftfielder Jack Lupo ran out of room. Bergquist, who led off the inning with a walk, scored on Turner's fifth homer of the season to give State a 3-0 lead.

Vandy got on the board with an RBI-double by first baseman Conrad Gregor in the top of the fourth.

Starter Anthony Tzamtzis did not get out of the third inning in his previous two starts, ACC losses to Florida State and Wake Forest, but worked the first five innings without too much trouble.

But the Commodores rallied for two runs each in the sixth and seventh innings against Tzamtzis. Mike Yastrzemski tripled to drive in a run and scored in the sixth to cut State's lead to 5-3.

The Commodores evened the game in the seventh, and chased Tzamtzis, with a pair of manufactured runs. Connor Castellano, who scored the game-winning run on Saturday, singled and scored after a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch.

Kemp walked, stole second, advanced on a fielder's choice and scored on an RBI-double by Anthony Gomez, to even the game at 5-5.

Vandy had no more comeback magic, though. Ryan Wilkins worked the final two innings, giving up only one hit, to give the Wolfpack the win.

Behind blistering shooting, Duke punched its ticket to the Sweet 16 for the 14th time in 15 years.

Sophomore Haley Peters scored a career-high 25 points and five Blue Devils finished in double digits as No. 2 seed and sixth-ranked Duke blasted No. 7 seed Vanderbilt for an 96-80 victory on Tuesday night in the second round of the Fresno Region of the NCAA Women’s Tournament.

“They were all in and all ready to go,” Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “This team is going to Fresno, they deserve to go to Fresno and we’ve got to keep it going.”

Duke will play either No. 3 seed St. John’s or sixth seed Oklahoma in a regional semifinal on Saturday. Find a full game story here.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Vanderbilt officials say the ACC has filed a formal complaint for one of its members with the Southeastern Conference involving the Commodores' football team.

Vice chancellor David Williams said in a statement Wednesday that the SEC informed Vanderbilt of the complaint.

"We are complying with SEC and Vanderbilt procedures and are conducting an investigation on the matter," Williams said.

RALEIGH – N.C. State women’s basketball coach Kellie Harper grew up a Vanderbilt football fan. Her mother lives in Tennessee and still roots for the Commodores.

But State’s coach put childhood allegiances aside on Sunday as her team knocked off No. 20 Vanderbilt with a 66-59 victory at Reynolds Coliseum. 

“Merry Christmas,” Harper said to the announced crowd of 2,132 after the Wolfpack (7-3) escaped with an upset win over the previously undefeated Commodores (10-1).

Hot North Carolina pitching will face equally hot Vanderbilt hitting in the opening College World Series game for the two teams this weekend.

The Tar Heels (50-14) have been led by pitchers Patrick Johnson (13-1) and Kent Emanuel (8-1) through Regional and Super Regional play.