During the altercation, an ECU player shoved an NC State player from behind, and the NC State player's helmet hit the ref in the face.

The fight on the field between players from N.C. State and ECU took place with 33 seconds remaining, after a late interception sealed a comeback win in the Military Bowl for the Pirates.

NC State entered the Military Bowl looking to snap its four straight bowl loss streak against in-state foe East Carolina. But instead of completing another fourth-quarter comeback, the Wolfpack lost 26-21 after the Pirates won on an 86-yard rushing touchdown with 1:33 to play.

In the final minute of East Carolina’s 26-21 win over North Carolina State, the two teams got into a fight that sparked eight ejections, as The Athletic ‘s Chris Vannini noted. During the brouhaha, one of the officials took a helmet to the face and walked away with a bloody injury under one of his eyes.

Rahjai Harris broke free for an 86-yard touchdown run with 1:33 remaining, giving East Carolina a pulsating 26-21 victory over NC State in the Military Bowl in a game that descended into a wild brawl in the final minute.

Who says bowl games don't matter? Lot of in-state bragging rights on the line as NC State faces ECU in the Military Bowl in Annapolis, MD. NC State hasn't won a bowl game since 2017. The Wolfpack missing star receiver KC Concepcion who entered the transfer portal and defensive coordinator Tony Gibson who took the head coaching job at Marshall.

College football's bowl action went off the rails in the Military Bowl with a late-game brawl between ECU and NC State.

NC State and ECU play on Saturday, Dec. 28 at 5:45 p.m. The bowl is held at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.

East Carolina rallied for a 26-21 victory over NC State in the Military Bowl, but the win was overshadowed by a wild brawl in the final minute that resulted in eight ejections.