Birmingham, AL (Sports Network) - A couple of teams playing at their highest level duel in the 2008 Papajohns.com Bowl, as the NC State Wolfpack meet the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in Birmingham.

After a 2-6 start to the season, including a four-game losing skid, the Wolfpack was left for dead. The team though, rallied behind one another and ripped off four consecutive wins to end the regular-season and earn its first bowl bid since 2005.

"We are honored to have been invited to compete in the Papajohns.com Bowl and feel that it is an excellent way to end an exciting season for NC State," said head coach Tom O'Brien. "Our football team has worked extremely hard to earn a chance to play in this game."

This is NC State's first bowl appearance under second-year coach O'Brien and its first since defeating South Florida in the 2005 Meineke Bowl. The Wolfpack is 12-10-1 all-time in the postseason and it has won its last three bowl games.

As for Rutgers, it had one of the biggest turnarounds this season and enters the postseason riding a six-game winning streak. With the late run, the Knights finished 7-5 during the regular-season and became just the seventh team in NCAA history to make a bowl game after starting out 1-5.

"It's exciting to be going to our fourth consecutive bowl game and having the opportunity for this program to continue to move in the right direction," said head coach Greg Schiano. "We are excited to be playing in the PapaJohns.com Bowl. To be playing football after game 12 is a great achievement anytime, especially the way this season started."

Overall, this is the Knights' fifth appearance in a bowl game, having gone an even 2-2 in their prior showings. Rutgers has won each of its last two postseason appearances, including a 52-30 triumph over Ball Sate in last season's International Bowl.

This game will represent the first-ever meeting between Rutgers and NC State on the gridiron.

The Wolfpack's offense got going late in the season and enters the postseason average 23.5 ppg and 326.3 total ypg. The unit hasn't had a ton of success rushing the ball, averaging a modest 125.5 ppg, but has fared well in passing for 200.8 ypg. After winning the starting job, quarterback Russell Wilson excelled for NC State and earned ACC Rookie of the Year honors by throwing for 16 touchdowns against only one interception in 252 attempts. The redshirt freshman, who also earned First-Team All-ACC honors, has thrown for 1,769 yards in 10 appearances and he has even proven dangerous with his legs, rushing for 342 yards and four more scores. Owen Spencer emerged as Wilson's top target in the passing game, as he leads NC State with 29 catches for 626 yards and four touchdowns. Another weapon NC State will surely utilize is tailback Andre Brown, who can do a little bit of everything. Brown not only leads the team with 728 yards and six touchdowns on the ground, but he also ranks second on the club with 28 catches, to go with 305 receiving yards and two more scores.

NC State has been up and down on defense this season and it is currently allowing 26.1 ppg and 387.1 total ypg. The unit has shown vulnerability to both the pass (242.8 ypg) and run (144.2 ypg), but has compensated for some of those yards by forcing 27 turnovers, including 17 interceptions. The defense hasn't had a ton of success bringing down opposing quarterbacks, but has had some, generating 23 sacks on the campaign. Willie Young is the team's top pass rusher, with 6.5 sacks and 11 TFLs, and he also has 54 tackles to his credit. Nate Irving has also enjoyed a solid season for the Wolfpack, as he has recorded 73 tackles and a team-high four interceptions despite missing three games.

After a slow start to the season, Rutgers' offense came alive in a big way down the stretch, averaging a healthy 46.2 ppg over its last five games of the regular-season. Quarterback Mike Teel played a big part in the team's success down the stretch, throwing for 1,929 yards and 20 touchdowns in his last six games. Included in that run was a school-record 447-yard, seven-touchdown performance in the club's regular-season finale against Louisville. Teel, who has thrown for 3,099 yards, is just 56 yards shy of breaking Ryan Hart's single-season school-record set in 2004. The biggest beneficiary of Teel's success is Kenny Britt, who rewrote the record books for a wideout at Rutgers. The talented Britt ranks among the top receivers in the nation, making 81 catches for 1,252 yards and six touchdowns in 11 games.

Defensively, Rutgers has been on top of its game all season long and is holding foes to only 18.5 ppg. The unit has really fared well against the pass, allowing only 184.9 ypg and nine touchdowns through the air, while notching 28 sacks. Against the run, the Knights have had a little trouble in giving up 139.0 ypg, but their biggest issues have been a lack of takeaways, forcing only 17 turnovers. Kevin Malast leads this defense in tackles with 96, while Ryan D'Imperio checks in with 88 stops, 11 TFLs and 4.5 sacks. Pete Tverdov is another player that could make a big impact in this game after posting 13 TFLs and four sacks during the regular-season.