2023 Pop-Tarts Bowl
The 2023 Pop-Tarts Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 28, 2023, at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The 34th annual Pop-Tarts Bowl featured [2023 2023 NC State Wolfpack football team|NC State Wolfpack football team|NC State] from the Atlantic Coast Conference and [2023 2023 Kansas State Wildcats football team|Kansas State Wildcats football team|Kansas State] from the Big 12 Conference. The bowl was ranked 9th in the fbs, the game began at approximately 5:45 p.m. EST and was aired on ESPN. The Pop-Tarts Bowl was one of the 2023–24 bowl games concluding the 2023 FBS football season. The bowl game's title sponsor was Kellanova through their Pop-Tarts brand.
Teams
Consistent with conference tie-ins, the bowl featured the NC State Wolfpack of the Atlantic Coast Conference against the Kansas State Wildcats of the Big 12 Conference.This was the first time that NC State and Kansas State played each other.
NC State Wolfpack
The Wolfpack entered the game with a 9–3 record, having finished in third place in the conference and 18th in the College Football Playoff rankings.This was NC State's sixth Pop-Tarts Bowl, tying Miami (FL) for the most appearances in the game. The Wolfpack had a 3–2 record in prior editions of the game, most recently appearing in the 2010 Champs Sports Bowl, which they won.
Kansas State Wildcats
The Wildcats entered the game with an 8–4 record, tied for fourth place in their conference and 25th in the College Football Playoff rankings.This was Kansas State's first Pop-Tarts Bowl.