NC State Football
Pack’s Second Half Surge Stuns Georgia Southern
Jacoby Brissett’s 3 second half TD’s lead the Pack past Georgia Southern in dramatic fashion 24-23.
Wolfpack fans everywhere had their excuses and rants queued up and ready by the time halftime rolled around. This was the year Doeren and the Pack started their rebuilding process, but after 2 quarters State trailed Georgia Southern 17-3.
Maybe it was nerves, maybe it was conservative play calling with a new QB, or maybe it just took this group a little time to gel. Whatever it was, it wore off after halftime. Jacoby Brissett, the guy who has been dubbed the savior of what was an anemic offense just a year ago, didn’t seem to have the antidote early on. At halftime he was 10-18 for 78yds and an interception.
Midway through the 3rd quarter as it seemed this game was getting away from the Woflpack, things started to click for Brissett. It seemed like as soon as the coaches really opened things up for him and let him rip, he took control. He hit guys in stride, slipped passes into tight spaces, and looked poised while doing so. The transfer from Florida connected on 3 TDs in the second half, the last being a game winner over the top with some nice touch to Matt Dayes.
While the offense was the big talk during the postgame, the defense deserves some credit too. They looked pretty soft at times in the first half, but when they needed to step up and get stops they did, and that was a huge part of this victory.
A win like this is gigantic. I know a lot of fans are probably thinking State should have blown out Georgia Southern, but a win is a win. These guys weren’t that bad. They are a good team and really confuse defenses with a lot of misdirection. The Pack showed the ability to adjust, the ability to fight back and the ability to finish. These are all key things for a young team. This was a big victory for this teams confidence and a very important outing for Jacoby Brissett. He’s now got his first win under his belt and also a new fan favorite.
This game might not have gone the way many fans had hoped, but the lessons learned can’t be replicated and will go a long way for this young team.
‘Our Take’
– This team showed a lot of fight today. Honestly, they looked pretty bad early on and you could really feel the pre-game excitement drain pretty quickly when Georgia Southern took that halftime lead. But the people calling for Doeren’s head on twitter are nuts. This is O’Brien’s mess he’s cleaning up. Years of poor recruiting, lack of true athletes and low expectations have taken it’s toll on this program. It’s going to take a LOT more than a patchwork recruiting class (from last year) and a group of freshmen (this year’s class) to turn this thing around. This isn’t going to happen overnight and might not even happen this season, but it’s important to look for positive steps in this process….today you saw one.
– Hopefully Doeren’s learned that Brissett gets real confident when you just let him grip and rip. When they got down and had to throw, you saw Jacoby really get into a rhythm. Maybe he was nervous early on, but it just seemed like the play calling didn’t allow him to get going. In the 2nd half it was pretty obvious that if State was going to win it was going to be up to Brissett and he really stepped up. He just looked good back there. Nice footwork, quick release, confident in his reads…it just all seemed to be there. He has the zip and accuracy that had been advertised and he put it on display as he lead the Pack to victory. Huge game for State, but even bigger game for Jacoby Brissett’s career.
– Looks like Bo Hines is for real. The freshman wideout caught 9 balls for 85 yards, and while he didn’t get in the endzone today, it’s obvious that he already has great chemistry with Brissett. Outside of Hines, State really didn’t get much from their receivers. Not to say that they dropped a lot of balls, because they didn’t but we would have liked to see more from Valdes-Scantling (25yds) and Underwood (who didn’t even catch a pass). Instead, it was Matt Dayes picking up the slack out of the backfield. The sophomore RB was Brissett’s second favorite target, catching 6 balls for 70 yds and a game winning TD.
NC State has signed Dave Doeren to a 2-year extension, but the extension comes with a raise. Doeren’s base salary in 2023 was $5.02 million.
According to Brian Murphy of WRALSports Fan, Doeren’s salary in 2024 will be $5.5 million, and it will increase by $125,000 each year of the contract. He can earn $1.325 million in academic and athletic performance bonuses on an annual basis.
Below is a breakdown of the bonus structure.
The bonus structure is the same as it was in his previous contract (see above), but the section entitled “Playoff” has been updated as follows:
Former NC State Wide Receiver Julian Gray has committed to play for Liberty next year.
This past season, Gray had career highs in receptions (16) and receiving yards (170). He ranked 4th on the team in receptions, and 7th on the team in receiving yards.
Gray has served as NC State’s primary Kickoff Returner the past two seasons, averaging 24.9 yards per return. This past year, he averaged 26.0 yards per carry, which ranked 3rd in the ACC, and 11th nationally. It stands as the 5th best single-season average in school history.
Back in 2021, ON3 ranked Gray as a 4-star prospect, the #197 overall player nationally, and the #13 player in the state of North Carolina.
Gray has 2 more years of eligibility remaining.
NC State has had 23 players enter the Transfer Portal
DT Nick Campbell
WR Julian Gray – Liberty
RB Delbert Mimms III – Eastern Michigan
TE Fred Seabrough
Nickel Cecil Powell – Troy
WR Christopher Scott – Austin Peay
OL Jaleel Davis – Florida International
WR Josh Crabtree – Murray St.
OL Lyndon Cooper – Pitt
WR Terrell Timmons – Colorado
LB Torren Wright – Temple
NT C.J. Clark – Miami
QB MJ Morris – Maryland
S Jakeen Harris – UNC
TE Cedd Seabrough – West Georgia
WR Porter Rooks – Eastern Michigan
DB Nate Evans – Delaware
LB Daejuan Thompson
RB Jordan Houston – Marshall
RB Michael Allen – UNLV
DB Darius Edmundson – UNC-Pembroke
WR Anthony Smith – East Carolina
TE Christopher Toudle – Western Michigan
NC State and Head Football Coach Dave Doeren have agreed to a 2-year extension, keeping him under contract through the 2029 season.
🚨 New contract for the Leader of the Pack! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/4Qj5o8NQv6
— NC State Football (@PackFootball) April 26, 2024
There is something to be said with consistency and stability. Dave Doeren is entering his 12th season at NC State, which ties him for the 6th longest tenure in College Football.
The details of the contract have not been released, and I will break them down when they are revealed, but his annual salary before was $5.02 million.
Here’s what the bonus structure was for Doeren and his assistants prior to today’s extension.
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