2015 Belk Bowl, Mississippi State vs. NC State: Date, time, location and more

The 14th edition of the Belk Bowl is set and the fifth edition since Belk took over as the title sponsor, eliminating the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

Belk, a Charlotte-based department store, acquired title sponsorship rights in 2011, taking over for Meineke, although it was Continental Tire that originally sponsored the bowl.

Previously, the Belk Bowl featured matchups of the ACC and American Athletic Conference, but the SEC took over for the AAC in 2014. In the first Belk Bowl featuring an SEC team, Georgia ran all over Louisville in 2014 with Nick Chubb racking up 266 rushing yards in a 37-14 victory.

Here is everything you need to know to get ready for this year’s Belk Bowl:

Date and time: Wednesday, Dec. 30, 3:30 p.m. ET

TV channel: ESPN

Location: Charlotte, N.C.

Stadium: Bank of America Stadium, 73,298

Last year’s score: Georgia 37, Louisville 14

Last year’s attendance: 45,671

Last year’s TV rating: 3.8

Last year’s payout for each school: $1.7 million

Team with the most all-time appearances: North Carolina, 4

Team with the most all-time wins: Virginia, Boston College and NC State, 2

Mississippi State was unable to replicate its success from last season, but historically, this was a pretty good season for the Bulldogs, as they were able to stay out of last place in a loaded SEC West, while also knocking off Arkansas and Auburn. The Bulldogs did benefit from a weak non-conference schedule, with no power conference opponents, and weak crossover games from the East Division, against Missouri and Kentucky.

The offense was still impressive, led by quarterback Dak Prescott. The Bulldogs put up 51 points against Arkansas and went a streak of four straight games putting up at least 31, including against the strong Missouri defense. However, against some tougher opponents, the offense often disappeared.

That often left things up to the defense, which, like the offense, struggled against better opponents. At eight wins, Mississippi State didn’t overachieve or underachieve, but the Bulldogs still finished with a fine season.

Last bowl game: 2014 Orange Bowl (49-34 loss to Georgia Tech)

All-time bowl record: 10-8

Head coach’s bowl record: Dan Mullen is 3-2 in bowl games, all with Mississippi State.

NC State was largely anonymous in ACC play this year, beating the teams it should beat and losing to the teams it should lose to. The Wolfpack had arguably the weakest non-conference schedule in the country, failing to play a single power-conference team en route to beating Troy, Old Dominion, South Alabama and Eastern Kentucky.

However, NC State did put a scare in may ACC contenders. They were leading Clemson, but lost, 56-41. Ditto against Florida State, before falling, 34-17. They also played North Carolina relatively close, before losing the finale, 45-34. The offense is the common thread that has kept the Wolfpack in games, and it’s led by the very unheralded Jacoby Brissett.

The problem is, defense is also important in college football, and the defense has never been able to hold on in upset attempts. If NC State is to pick up an eighth win, the defense is going to have to play well enough to complement the offense.

Last bowl game: 2014 St. Petersburg Bowl (34-27 win over UCF)

All-time bowl record: 15-12-1

Head coach’s bowl record: Dave Doeren is 2-0 in bowl games. He is 1-0 with NC State and 1-0 with Northern Illinois.