Dave Doeren Talks With Media Before FSU

Head Coach Dave Doeren met with the Media after practice today one final time before NC State heads down to Florida State for their first ACC game. The video is below, and a bulleted breakdown is underneath.

On FSU’s 1st Quarter success tempts you to take ball on coin toss…

• It’s a discussion that we’ll have.
  • We look at conditions first, to see if there’s weather or wind or any of those things. Obviously, they’ve been really good.
• The advantage of being out there on defense is that if you get the stop, you get better field position usually on your 1st possession, and then you gain a possession coming out in the 3rd quarter.
• We’ve been really good at having a momentum play at the end of the 2nd quarter and then having the ball back in the 3rd.

On how many snaps QB Bailey Hockman will play…

• Well, we’ll just have to see how much he’s out there to answer that question.

On why FSU is good in the 1st…

• Defenses are not used to the speed they play at.
• People catch up as the game goes on.
• Great skill. Have to be ready for their speed.

Learning from WVU on the road…

• Didn’t have great sideline energy.
  • You go from having 150 teammates to 72 this week.
• Obviously the crowd’s against you.
• This is just a young team, and there wasn’t a calming James Smith-Williams or Nick McCloud.
• I had to learn from that, we have to educate our guys better about the road.
• Not that I’m glad we lost that game, I’m not, but I’m glad we had the opportunity to go on the road before we start conference play and play in a place like that.

On FSU already having played 3 ACC games…

• It’s unique.
• They opened with Boise State as well, so they’ve had a good schedule.
• I think next year we open with an ACC game, if I’m not mistaken, on a Thursday night.
  • I don’t know who it is yet. That’s out of my control, as you know.
• Having the state fair here kind of makes our scheduling unique as well, because we don’t play home games for that window.
  • It pushes people front and backwards on our schedule.