2025 Gasparilla Bowl

2025 Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl
17th Gasparilla Bowl
Postgame award ceremony
1234Total
Memphis 07007
NC State 14170031
DateDecember 19, 2025
Season2025
StadiumRaymond James Stadium
LocationTampa, Florida
MVPCaden Fordham, LB, NC State
FavoriteNC State by 3.5
RefereeNolan Dumas (Mountain West)
Attendance13,336[1]
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN
AnnouncersAnish Shroff (play-by-play), Andre Ware (analyst), and Paul Carcaterra (sideline)
Gasparilla Bowl
 ← 2024  2026 → 

The 2025 Gasparilla Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 19, 2025, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The 17th annual Gasparilla Bowl game began at 2:32 p.m. EST and aired on ESPN.[2][3] The Gasparilla Bowl was one of the 2025–26 bowl games concluding the 2025 FBS football season. The game was sponsored by mortgage loan company Union Home Mortgage, and was officially known as the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl.

The 2025 Gasparilla Bowl featured the Memphis Tigers (8–4) from the American Conference and the NC State Wolfpack (7–5) from the Atlantic Coast Conference. NC State beat Memphis by a score of 31–7.[4]

Teams

This was the first meeting between Memphis and NC State.[5]

Memphis Tigers

Memphis opened their season with six consecutive wins. After a loss to UAB in mid-October, the Tigers won their next two games and had an 8–1 record at the end of October. They then lost their final three regular-season games to enter the Gasparilla Bowl with an 8–4 record.[6]

For the bowl, Memphis was led by interim head coach Reggie Howard, appointed following the departure of Ryan Silverfield, who was hired by the Arkansas Razorbacks.[7]

NC State Wolfpack

NC State opened their regular season with three consecutive wins. They then lost five of their next seven games and had a 5–5 record at mid-November. The Wolfpack won their final two regular-season games to enter the Gasparilla Bow with a 7–5 record.[8]

Game summary

2025 Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Memphis 0 7 007
NC State 14 17 0031

at Raymond James StadiumTampa, Florida

  • Date: Friday, December 19, 2025
  • Game time: 2:30 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 77 °F (25 °C) • Wind: 10 mph (16 km/h) East
  • Game attendance: 13,336
  • Referee: Nolan Dumas
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Anish Shroff (play-by-play), Andre Ware (analyst), and Paul Carcaterra (sideline)
  • Box score

Statistics

Statistics MEM NCSU
First downs 17 17
Plays–yards 70–303 59–337
Rushes–yards 36–149 33–116
Passing yards 154 221
Passing: compattint 20–34–1 14–26–0
Time of possession 33:38 26:36
Team Category Player Statistics
Memphis Passing Brendon Lewis 14/25, 106 yards, TD, INT
Rushing Jamari Hawkins 9 carries, 65 yards
Receiving Khyair Spain 4 receptions, 32 yards, TD
NC State Passing CJ Bailey 14/25, 221 yards, 2 TD
Rushing Jayden Scott 19 carries, 108 yards
Receiving Wesley Grimes 3 receptions, 48 yards, TD

References

  1. ^ "NC State 31-7 Memphis". ESPN.com. December 19, 2025. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  2. ^ "2025-26 College Football Playoff schedule, dates, TV channel, sites". NCAA.com. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  3. ^ "College Football Bowl Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  4. ^ Dylan, Jonah (December 19, 2025). "Memphis Football Falls to NC State in Gasparilla Bowl to End 2025 Season". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
  5. ^ "Memphis vs. North Carolina State football series history games list". winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  6. ^ "Memphis Tigers". ESPN.com. 2025. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  7. ^ Ubben, David; Baker, Matt (November 30, 2025). "Arkansas hiring Memphis' Ryan Silverfield as head coach after winless SEC campaign: Sources". The Athletic. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-11-30.
  8. ^ "NC State Wolfpack". ESPN.com. 2025. Retrieved December 19, 2025.