2005 Meineke Car Care Bowl

2005 Meineke Car Care Bowl
1234 Total
South Florida 0000 0
NC State 01400 14
DateDecember 31, 2005
Season2005
StadiumBank of America Stadium
LocationCharlotte, North Carolina
MVPLB Stephen Tulloch (NC State)
RefereeDennis Lipski (Big Ten)
Attendance57,937[1]
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN2
AnnouncersEric Collins
Andre Ware
Meineke Car Care Bowl
 < 2004 2006

The 2005 Meineke Car Care Bowl featured the South Florida Bulls and the NC State Wolfpack. The game was the fourth edition to this bowl game, as well as the first shutout in the game's history. The game was played on Saturday, December 31, 2005, and kickoff was at 11:00 AM EST. It remained the only shutout South Florida ever suffered, until November 12, 2009 when South Florida lost to Rutgers 31–0 for its first shutout in South Florida's regular season. South Florida was in its first bowl in program history.

The game was a defensive slugfest the entire way through. Quarterback Marcus Stone threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Brian Clark to put NC State up 7–0. With 19 seconds left in the half, Andre Brown scored on a 1-yard touchdown run. South Florida had scoring chances, but did not capitalize on any. They lost two fumbles and one interception in the end zone.

NC State capped a marvelous finish, finishing at 7–5, after starting the season 2–4. South Florida finished the game with 295 yards of total offense, including 118 rushing yards by Andre Hall. Overall, NC State's defense played magnificently. Stephen Tulloch was named the game's MVP by recording 15 tackles, three sacks, and one forced fumble.