NC State Head Coach Dave Doeren met with the media for his weekly press conference on Monday. You can watch it here, or check out the bulleted breakdown below.

• Starting off with the game against Clemson, it was a hard-fought game.
  • Our guys were excited and practiced well.
  • It was a 4-quarter game.
  • As you watch the film and study what happened, they made a few more plays than we did, we made a few more mistakes than they did, and really that’s what it came down to.
  • When you go back to our game with them a year ago that we won, it was kind of a role reversal.
    • We made some catches.
    • Emeka Emezie made a 1-handed catch in the end zone, and Devin Carter made a back-shoulder catch.
    • This year, it was the other way around, and we had our opportunities.
    • You’ve got to give Clemson’s players credit. They made some great plays.
    • We had 2 turnovers that led to 10 points for them, and we dropped 2 interceptions:
      • The one right before the half would have prevented a score…they scored a couple plays later…and the other, Aydan White dropped might have been a pick six; there was nobody on that side of the field.
    • We had a running into the punter penalty that led to 3 points, so there were a lot of points that were put on the board on plays that we were a part of.
    • Not to discredit Clemson, they beat us in that game, but we definitely led to that by beating ourselves.
    • That’s the biggest thing when you lose a game like that is that it comes down to a few plays.
    • Sometimes, you make them, and in this case they did. That’s how you lose a game on the road.
  • Their crowd was very, very impressive, and it’s a factor when you have a D-line like they do, with the pass rush they have.
    • Where cadence usually is an offense’s friend, in a game like that, everyone is getting off on the ball instead of on the cadence.
    • Sometimes, their D-line was better at it than our O-line, and now you’re behind trying to protect on a pass rush.
    • You can see why they’ve won so many home games in a row.
    • It’s definitely an awesome environment to play in, and crowd noise for them is a huge weapon.
  • From a positive standpoint on offense…
    • Thayer Thomas had a really good football game for us.
    • We were 100 percent scoring in the red zone.
    • We were 100 percent on our short-yardage and goal-line plays, which was improved.
    • They opened the game with a drive for a score, and we opened the game with an answer with a drive for a score.
      • Both were long, sustained drives by both teams.
      • It’s weird to be in a game where there’s only 1 possession each in one quarter with these 2 long drives.
  • Negatives…
    • We had 2 pre-snap penalties, and 1 of them really hurt us at the end of a game on a snap that became a fumble.
    • We had 2 turnovers.
    • We didn’t have enough explosive plays which you can credit to Clemson’s defense.
      • We only had 5, and it’s hard to score enough points with drives that have to be sustained, sustained, and sustained in a place like that.
  • Defensive positives…
    • Our defense battled and kept us in the game.
    • Our 3rd-down defense, for the most part, was on point and played hard.
  • Defensive negatives…
    • At times we just started pressing and not trying to do our job but trying to do someone else’s.
      • Inevitably when you do that, you make mistakes.
    • They had too many explosive plays.
      • They had 11 to our 5, and so that’s an area we lost.
    • Didn’t create a takeaway and had 2 critical opportunities in the game.
      • Just those two plays alone, if Devan Boykin has his, that’s 1 touchdown off the board, and if Aydan White catches his and scores, that’s a 14-point swing in a game that we lost by 10 points.
      • Plays like that, you have to make in games like that, particularly when you’re on the road.
  • Special teams
    • Really proud of Chris Dunn.
      • This was a game a year ago where he had his worst moment in his career.
      • This was a game that he had circled, and to come back and kick the ball the way he did, nail a 49-yard field goal, and be perfect on all his attempts.
    • The biggest disappointing thing for me in the game special teams wise, and it’s been an area that’s helped us win games, and not that it killed us but the penalty that extended a drive on a running into the punter was very costly.
      • It led to a field goal.
    • Our kicker on kickoffs, Collin Smith, and our punter, Shane McDonough, and our missile coverage, Darryl Jones was really a bright spot covering punts and had a couple solo tackles.
• There’s a lot to play for.
  • We’ve got 8 weeks and 7 games, and that’s kind of how we’ve broken it down.
    • We’ve got a 7-game season here. As you know, the landscape of college football changes dramatically every week. Every single week. And so it’s a 1 week at a time deal.
• This week we play a really good Florida State team, the most impressive Florida State team that we have played in a long time.
  • Coach Mike Norvell and his staff deserve a lot of credit for the turnaround they’ve had down there.
  • They signed 13 players from the portal.
  • They’re a much older team.
  • The guys who weren’t portal guys are guys who have been with them now for 3 years and have bought in. They understand the scheme and expectation.
  • They’re playing really fast.
  • Offensively, it’s what you would think when you turn on film against Florida State.
    • They usually have tremendously good skill players, and they do.
    • Their receivers can all run, and they’ve got a 6’7″ receiver, Johnny Wilson, on the outside.
    • The tight end, Markeston Douglas, is a great player.
    • Their O-line is playing better.
      • That’s been an area where they’ve struggled in the past, and they’re playing much better on the O-line.
    • They’re very balanced. They’re averaging 200 yards plus in rushing.
  • Defensively, they’re fast.
    • They don’t do a lot, but they do it well.
    • Their D-line is active. Jared Verse, the transfer defensive end, is in the backfield making plays, blocking kicks.
    • They do play a lot of press coverage on the outside.
      • Not always, but they play a lot of it and force you to make contact catches and get off of bump-and-runs.
    • They’re well coached on special teams.
      • John Papuchis is a really good football coach for them.
      • They’ve blocked 2 kicks.
        • They’re a point extra in field goal blocks.
      • Their returners are the same guys playing on offense who make plays.
• I’m excited to play. I’m excited to get back in Carter-Finley Stadium and play in front of our fans.
  • It’s Educator Appreciation Day, so we get to praise the teachers who have helped us in our lives.
  • I know for all of us on this call and that will be listening to it there’s somebody like that.
  • I will ask you to reach out and say thanks to someone along the way who helped you or may be helping one of your sons or grandsons.
  • It’s a profession that is very underpaid and very difficult.
  • It’s definitely a profession that deserves a lot of ‘thank yous’ when they can get them.
• From our team standpoint, we’re partnering with Hilinski’s Hope Foundation for College Football Mental Health week, eliminating the stigma and increasing mental health resources for universities and colleges.
  • We’re fortunate here. We have a great partnership with our mental health team, and Ariane Smith Machin who works with football does a tremendous job.
  • I know Grant Gibson, Tim McKay and Cory Durden are going to be a part of handing out things to our players after we have practice the next couple of days.
  • It’s something that I think used to be looked at as a weakness or a stigma, and now to us and to those who are involved in this, it’s about bringing awareness and understanding. It’s another resource that can help you grow.
  • We don’t just need help physically, but we need help mentally. It’s something that people should take advantage of if they’re not.
  • There’s a lot of people coming out of COVID, as we all know, who are suffering with mental health illnesses, so we’re trying to bring awareness to that.
  • Last year Emeka Emezie did a lot of that with our team with the Hilinski Foundation, and we’re continuing that this year.
• Lastly, this is just an opportunity to respond.
  • In life, you find out who you are when you’re knocked down.
  • It’s easy to be who everybody wants you to be when things are good, but the best way to get over that feeling is to go back to work, put your head down, and focus on what led to success earlier.
  • We know what the formula is for that here: It’s a great week of preparation and a great week of practice. A 1-0 mentality doesn’t mean that you get to celebrate with wins and linger with losses. You have a 24-hour window, and for us that window is over.
  • I’m excited about the opportunity to get back on the grass and in the meeting room with our players and our staff and go back to work against a really good Florida State team.
• FSU QB Jordan Travis has been injured both years [NC State has faced him].
  • He’s very athletic, 1st of all.
  • He can run run with the football.
  • Last year, I thought he was an athlete playing quarterback. This year, he’s a quarterback.
  • He’s throwing accurate passes. He’s reading coverage. He’s giving his receivers chances to make plays.
  • He’s moving around in the pocket extending plays, not just looking to run.
    • I think he scrambled to run whereas now he’s keeping his eyes downfield.
  • He’s playing really good football. Like most quarterbacks, the longer you play, the better you get. He’s got a lot more game reps now.
• Bryson Speas is a Swiss Army knife for us.
  • He can play every position but center. He could probably play there if we moved him there.
  • He’s been rotating with Tim McKay and Anthony Belton.
  • In the game, we felt like we needed more help on the left side. It was a tough matchup at times. Sometimes, you get in that environment, and just having a more experienced guy helps.
    • Speas went in the game, handled the crowd noise better, and was having more success, so we rode with him.
  • I’ve said this to you guys before, but we look at all 3 of those guys as starters. It’s great to have the ability to rotate guys and have the ability to help when one guy is maybe not playing as good as he has been and have an answer for that. It’s nice to have that ability.
• That D-line is special for them [Clemson], really special.
  • We probably got a little impatient with the run game. When you get down by 2 possessions, that happens.
  • The game flow did that a little bit in the 2nd half.
  • Moving forward, we want to be more balanced than we were in that game.
  • Sometimes with RPOs, the ball goes where the ball goes.
    • It’s not because we didn’t want to hand it off, but the read told him to throw it.
    • Sometimes, those plays that are called are runs that are being called, but if we’re going to put a screen with a run and they don’t play it a certain way, then we’re going to throw it out there to the screen.
    • On the statline, it will look like we’re not running the football a whole lot, but that’s really not what is happening with the play call.
    • I think it’s a combination of a really good D-line, the RPO, how that played out, and us not being patient enough at times with running the ball.
• We were tired, 1st of all, yesterday.
  • We got home at 4 a.m.
  • That doesn’t help, but everyone was mad, frustrated, disappointed, and tired. By the end of it, they were ready to move on.
  • Today, I know they’ll have juice. They’ll be ready to practice, and our experience and leadership on this football team will help in a situation like this.
  • Last year, we had similar things. We lost a tough game by one to Miami, and we responded with one of our best games against Louisville the next week. It’s a team that knows how to do that.
  • We have our hands full. We have a really good team coming in here, but judging by how we’ve responded in tough situations in the past, I know this team will be ready to play on Saturday.
• We talked with the leadership council 1st and then the team. With Isaiah Moore, Devin Leary, Grant Gibson, Drake Thomas, that’s where you look 1st.
  • Within the position groups, there’s kids in each room that understand that the season is not defined by 1 game.
    • It is if you allow it to be, and it turns into multiple games.
  • There’s a lot of good things said in the room, and I know those guys will take it to heart. It’s a close group. There’s a good demeanor about them. There’s no concern on that side.
  • The concern is that we’re playing a great team this week. I don’t think it’s going to be whether or not we’re ready to play, but we’ve got to play good enough to win.
• Thayer Thomas is unique in what he’s done here.
  • If you really dig into his story and what he has done to his body since he got here, he was a 150ish pound guy.
    • We have pictures of him from five years ago now, but talk about a change physically; he deserves all the credit for that for the time and what he does on a daily basis from a recovery standpoint, what he does in the weight room, what he does on the jugs machine and in film study.
  • He’s very unique. He’s above the 1% line when it comes to his work ethic.
• It’s just connecting on more deep balls [next steps for Wide Receivers].
  • This isn’t all on them. We’re overthrowing balls, too.
  • It’s just getting that downfield production to being more consistent and putting the ball where they can catch it for Devin Leary.
  • It’s giving those guys the chance to go up and make plays, and when he does that, it’s going up and making the play.
  • We’ve had a pretty good history here since Kelvin Harmon to Emeka Emezie.
  • Devin Carter does a nice job going up for a deep ball. We win a lot of 50-50 balls here. We have for a while. We need to get back to that.
  • That’s not just on the receivers or tight ends or the backs. It’s the entire offense.
    • Give the quarterback a chance to make that throw, then make the throw and then go up and make the play. I think that’s the thing we can improve on.
  • We’re catching the ball underneath and are seeing some good yards after contact. The guys are blocking better than they have in the past.
  • It’s just being more explosive and connecting with them.
• I think some good, some bad [Devin Leary’s 1st 5 games].
  • There’s a multitude of things. It’s probably hard to put it into a couple of sentences.
  • He’s had some games where he’s really looked really good.
  • In this last game I thought he played really tough.
    • He took some shots in the Clemson game. He just kept battling. His toughness, his work ethic, he’s throwing the ball underneath and intermediate really well.
  • From a deep ball standpoint, we’ve got to get that a little tuned up.
  • I think the 1st game he was trying to be perfect, and after that he’s improved each week.
  • This last game I thought he did some really good things.
    • At times he just didn’t have a chance. Their pass rush was a factor in that game. I think you have to give them some credit there, too.
  • I’m excited about the direction he’s going. I think he’s really noticed some things that he can do. He’s looking at some little things.
  • His leadership has been awesome. So, I look forward to the next 7 games with him. It’s 1 week at a time.
• It was great for our program [national attention leading up to game]. It was earned.
  • That was a top-10 team against a top-5 team on national television, and it was a heck of a football game. It was. Let’s not forget that.
  • I’m proud of our staff, our players, and all that, but I’d rather win. I think it was great.
  • I think this team has earned respect. For the first time in my tenure here, I can say that.
  • Last year, we were ranked and lost a game by 1 point and dropped out of the Top 25. I think there is some respect for this team and what it can do, and now it’s just getting back on track.
    • In the Atlantic Division, that’s easier said than done.