CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Maryland Terrapins are the champions of the Duke’s Mayo Bowl after defeating N.C. State 16-12 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.  

Nathan Ritter, an N.C. State fan, attended the school in Raleigh from 1977 to 1981. 

“I follow the Wolfpack very closely,” Ritter said.

Ritter was also the kicker of the N.C. State football team when the Wolfpack won its last ACC Championship.

“We won the 1979 ACC Championship when I was there. I played with a lot of good players, I was very blessed,” Ritter said. 

He remembers getting nervous before games. 

“I knew games I was probably going to do some kicking. You always have to be ready. It was a lot of exciting times,” Ritter added. 

Watching the game from the stands now, he can relate to what players go through. 

“It still gets your heart pumping,” Ritter said. 

He drove from High Point on Friday morning to support his alma mater. 

“We travel well. The Wolfpack always has, but it’s nice to have it close by,” Ritter said. 

Bryan Lee and his family are also glad the bowl game was within driving distance. 

“We are here to watch Maryland get a bowl victory,” Lee said. 

The Maryland Terrapins fans who are from Florida come to Beech Mountain in North Carolina for the holidays.

“We’ve been waiting for Maryland to get into the bowl game in Charlotte, the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, for a long time so we can enjoy while we are here for the holidays,” Lee added.

While Ritter and Lee are rooting for different teams, they say the game experience is hard to beat. 

“The fans, the players, the Wolfpack experience. We are in there together and pulling for our Pack,” Ritter said. 

Nearly 35,000 tickets to the game were sold. Some fans stayed in Charlotte overnight Thursday or planned to stay for New Year’s Eve festivities.

In Uptown, the celebration starts at 8 p.m. and includes music and fireworks.