VIDEO: Dave Doeren’s Press Conference before UNC

NC State head coach met with the media today at his weekly press conference before Saturday’s game in Chapel Hill. The video is ABOVE, and a bulleted breakdown is BELOW.

• Proud of the effort and preparation we had last week. I felt like our guys invested a lot in themselves and their technique and the results were very good.
• We were able to play a lot of guys in that game and get them some meaningful game reps.
• Matt McKay came in and ran our offense at the end of the game. Did some really nice things.
• I thought Ryan (Finley) probably played his best game. Managed things well. Got us in the right calls. Gave guys chances to make plays.
• (Kelvin) Harmon, (Jakobi) Meyers, and Emeka (Emezie) played really good football games.
• Run game improved a lot throughout the game.  Didn’t start very fast, but as it went the guys did some good things adjusting to the way they were being played by Louisville.
• Bradbury played a really good game for us.
• We had 10 different offensive linemen play.
• We had two takeaways and really had a third. I guess we didn’t have replay available during the third quarter. That was a weird deal, but that definitely looked like a fumble.
• Limited explosive plays defensively.
• Went 21-0 in the third quarter to put them away, but there were a lot of things we left on the field, too.  We missed too many tackles and had a lot of guys unblocked in the backfield.  We left some TFL’s out there that we have to make.
• These games (NC State vs. UNC) are never about stats and records. Two close-by rivals.  I look forward to playing in this game, and I know they do the same.
• When you watch them (UNC) on film they have really good skill players.  Their running backs are very impressive. They run hard, break tackles, and are physical blockers.
• Their (UNC) wide receivers, Ratliff-Williams and Newsome, are big playmakers for them.
• They (UNC) have a lot of guys who have played in a lot of close games. They got a win last week and have five games where they lost by 10 points or less.
• They’ve (UNC) moved the ball on just about everybody defensively.
• They (UNC) know their scheme and are sound. I do think their defensive front is as good as I’ve seen it from them in awhile now that they are all playing again.
• UNC’s Holcomb makes a lot of tackles and Carney, Strowbridge, and Fox are disruptive players. Strowbridge is a young man we really wanted here coming out of high school.
• They have 30 sacks on the season, so it’s a good challenge for us on our protections and limiting their disruptions.
• (In best place compared to UNC) I don’t compare myself to anybody. My job is to make us as good as we can be here. If it ends up where we want to be, compared to them, that’s great. I just don’t want to be in a situation at NC State where I’m not doing everything I can to get us where we want to be. I don’t think comparisons get you there. If that’s where we are and they are, so be it, but it doesn’t have anything to do with my job.
• Everyone will tell you that you like winning rivalry games.  For this team, our best football has always been when it’s about us getting better. That’s all we’ll talk about.
• I’d say it was (victory over UNC in 2016 as a turning point in the program). I probably saved my job winning that game. I wouldn’t be standing here today probably if we didn’t win that game. Our momentum changed after that win for our program for sure.
• It’s a really important game for our fanbase. I just think it’s more meaningful because we are in the same city with some of their alumni. You bump into them all the time.
• We’ve played well in the two times we won over there and we played well here last year… it’s football, you have to prepare, practice, and go out and execute.
• I think in the first quarter they (Louisville) were getting downhill and we were a little lateral in some of the things we were doing (rushing the ball).  The first play of the game we weren’t off on the snap count. There was another play where our guard stepped on our center’s foot. We just didn’t execute and weren’t crisp in the run game early. We then started to do some different things. I think they got tired. I thought the coaches did a good job of coming up with other ways to run the football.
• Those two guys (Kelvin Harmon & Steph Louis) have kind of been hooked to the hip in the offseason training stuff. They just started doing all these things together to make each other elite and hold each other accountable. Kelvin saw how hard Steph worked when he was injured, and I think there’s a lot of respect for each other.