North Carolina State accepted an invitation Tuesday to represent the Atlantic Coast Conference in the Tangerine Bowl, but the Wolfpack will have to wait at least a few more days to find out which Big 12 Conference football team it will play in the Dec. 22 game at Orlando, Fla.

N.C. State likely will meet either Kansas University or Colorado, but bowl officials reiterated that no announcement was expected until the weekend.

“The Big 12 has asked us to wait until the end of the regular season to see how everything shakes out,” bowl spokesman Dan Pearson said. “They want everyone that’s bowl eligible to have a fair chance. We’re going to move as soon as we’re able to.”

Tangerine Bowl officials were able to fill half their pairing Tuesday after the Gator Bowl took Maryland as its ACC team, and the Peach Bowl selected Clemson.

Kansas (6-6 overall, 3-5 Big 12) earned bowl eligibility Saturday with a 36-7 victory over Iowa State in its season finale, but Colorado (5-6, 3-4) could become the ninth Big 12 team to become eligible if the Buffaloes defeat Nebraska (8-3, 4-3) Friday at Boulder, Colo.

If CU loses, are the Jayhawks a lock for Orlando?

“Barring any other deals, that’s a fairly safe assumption,” Pearson said. “I would add that even if Colorado wins, Kansas is certainly in the picture with us.”

The Jayhawks haven’t played in a bowl game in the lower 48 states since a 10-0 loss to Mississippi State in the 1981 Hall of Fame Bowl at Birmingham, Ala. Kansas played in the 1992 Aloha Bowl in Hawaii and again in 1995 but hasn’t been to the postseason since. That lack of bowl tradition actually might work in the Jayhawks’ favor.

“The feeling of the committee is that because Kansas hasn’t played in a mainland bowl in a number of years, their fans would be excited with the possibility of playing a bowl on the mainland and playing in Florida,” Pearson said.

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Colorado, on the other hand, has played in bowl games in 15 of the past 18 seasons and had won back-to-back Big 12 North titles before taking a step backward this season.

Pearson said the bowl committee had concerns about how many Buffs fans would travel after what was considered a disappointing season by CU standards.

KU coach Mark Mangino, meanwhile, is confident Jayhawk fans will hit the road during the holidays.

“Our fans have already expressed they are excited we will be playing a bowl game on the mainland,” he said. “I think our fans will respond very well. We have terrific fans here. We have about 30,000 loyal, dedicated fans. We have fans that sit in cold weather and sit in downpours of rain. The only thing I wish is that those 30,000 die-hards are blessed with the financial means to go to a bowl game and support our team. I hope that’s the case, because they are truly loyal and dedicated to KU football and our players.”

Pearson said an announcement could be made Saturday or Sunday after Missouri plays host to Iowa State in the final Big 12 game of the regular season Saturday at Columbia, Mo. He also said it was possible Tangerine Bowl officials would ask the Big 12 to allow them to make an invitation Friday after the Colorado game.

“As soon as possible we’ll convene our selection committee and ask them to vote,” Pearson said.

Another possible destination for Kansas could be the Fort Worth Bowl, which will match a Big 12 team with an opponent from Conference USA. The Dec. 23 game has a payout of $800,000 per team, compared with $750,000 for the Tangerine Bowl.

The Jayhawks likely would have more fan support in Fort Worth, Texas. According to the KU Alumni Association, Kansas has 11,402 alumni in Texas, including 1,411 in Fort Worth and 3,367 in Dallas. KU has 4,636 alumni in Florida, including 788 in Orlando.

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Noting N.C. State: Clemson (8-4) edged N.C. State (7-5) for the ACC’s spot in the Peach Bowl by winning its last three games, while the Wolfpack suffered back-to-back losses to Florida State and Maryland. … North Carolina State played in the 2001 Tangerine Bowl, suffering a 34-19 loss to Pittsburgh. … N.C. State is 2-1 in bowl games under coach Chuck Amato, including last year’s Gator Bowl win over Notre Dame. Amato was an N.C. State assistant to Lou Holtz when the Wolfpack defeated KU 31-18 in the 1973 Liberty Bowl. … Quarterback Philip Rivers is the ACC’s all-time leader in passing and total offense, and ranks on the NCAA’s all-time passing list.

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TV info: The Tangerine Bowl will kick off at 4:30 p.m. Dec. 22 in Orlando. The game will be broadcast on ESPN. The Fort Worth Bowl is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Dec. 23 and also will be shown on ESPN.

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Web mistake: Georgia Tech’s 29-17 loss at Virginia ended the Yellow Jackets’ chances of representing the ACC in the Tangerine Bowl, but Tech’s logo appeared on the bowl’s official Web site — www.fcsbowls.com — Sunday night in the ACC’s slot. The mistake was later corrected.

“Our Web master got a little bit ahead because we were going to invite Georgia Tech if they won,” Pearson told the Associated Press. “He pressed the wrong button or something.”