Dave Doeren Looking For First Quality Win at NC State

Tomorrow Dave Doeren has the opportunity to pick up his first quality win as the NC State head football coach.

With 1 game left in his 4th season in Raleigh, Doeren has 0 victories over a team from a Power 5 conference that went on to finish the season with a winning record. That number could be 1 if Wake Forest beats Boston College this weekend, to finish the season 7-5.

If Doeren can lead the Wolfpack into Chapel Hill and pull off an upset tomorrow, that number could be 2.

Some might look at a statistic like this and point to the fact that NC State plays Florida St. and Clemson every season. There would be some clout to that sentiment, if the Wolfpack had made a habit of beating the other Power 5 teams that finished with winning records.

2013 Losses to Power 5 Schools with Winning Records
Syracuse (7-6) – 24-10
FSU (14-0) – 49-17
UNC (7-6) – 27-19
Duke (10-4) – 38-20
Boston College (7-6) – 38-21
Maryland (7-6) – 41-21

2014 Losses to Power 5 Schools with Winning Records
FSU (13-1) – 56-41
Clemson (10-3) – 41-0
Boston College (7-6) – 30-14
Louisville (9-4) – 30-18
Georgia Tech (11-3) – 56-23

2015 Losses to Power 5 Schools with Winning Records
Louisville (8-5) – 20-13
Virginia Tech (7-6) – 27-13
Clemson (14-1) – 56-41
FSU (10-3) – 34-17
UNC (11-3) – 45-34
Mississippi St. (9-4) – 51-28

2016 Losses to Power 5 Schools with Winning Records
Clemson (10-1) – 24-17
Louisville (9-2) – 54-13
FSU (8-3) – 24-20
Miami (7-4) – 27-13

UNC heads into tomorrow’s game with an 8-3 record, and a Wolfpack victory over their rival on the road would signify the most significant win of the Dave Doeren era. You could even justify calling it the 1st quality win.

There is a lot of shade being thrown at Doeren these days, and if he’d like to get some glimmers of sunlight, he desperately needs to show that he can beat a team with a winning record tomorrow in UNC.