NC State head coach Dave Doeren answered questions on the weekly ACC Media Teleconference before the Wolfpack’s matchup against Florida State this Saturday. Here’s the transcript:

DAVE DOEREN: Excited to be coming home. Play our Homecoming Game this week. Good to be back at Raleigh and the Carter-Finley. Coming off of a tough loss and one where there was a lot of offense by both teams. Weren’t able to make some plays, some key plays on third down defensively and had some costly penalties, things that we’ve had to work on extremely hard through the week with our guys. A lot of positives in the game, too. I thought there were some guys that played their first football for us with the injuries we sustained, and some good and some bad. Kelvin Harmon had a career game for us, and Ryan Finley obviously threw the football well. Germaine Pratt probably had the best defensive game of his career, and so things to work on. Things that we’ve got to continue to stay the course on and now an opportunity to do it against a hungry Florida State team. I know that’s coming off a tough loss; you know, has tremendous skill all over the football field and one of the most dynamic pass rushers in Burns on their defensive front. So be a great opportunity this week and a great environment.

Q. Did last night’s College Football Playoff rankings give an uplifting push to your team that’s come off some tough losses and maybe some validation to what you’ve done over the first half of the season?

DAVE DOEREN: You know, I haven’t asked them. Really just trying to win a game right now. There’s five games left and we’re still in a position to have a terrific season. That’s been our message. The biggest thing that we talk about is just earning where you end up. If we’re going to be a team that people are going to respect with rankings, then we’ve got to win games and this is the next opportunity. If they think that way about us on the outside, obviously that’s great from a public perspective, but we’ve got to win and we’ve got to do things the right way to earn the win.

Q. Who was your athletic idol growing up in Kansas and why?

DAVE DOEREN: George Brett probably. You know, at the time, my childhood there, the Royals were peaking and George Brett was kind of a community hero to a lot of people. He was just tough, gritty, hard working, and he was batting 400 pet, and all the kids in the city looked up to George, and probably still do. His relationship with the Royals is still standing. He’s just somebody everybody looked up to in the city.

Q. Talk about Akers, the running back from Florida State. How big is he and how difficult is he to take down when you get to the open field?

DAVE DOEREN: He’s a great back. He runs hard. He plays with an edge. He’s shifty and strong. He’s got all the tools and can run away from you. Presents a great challenge in the running game, for sure, when he’s back there.

Q. And you played against Blackman last year. When you played him last year he was a true freshman. Do you see a lot of development in him? This is going to be his first start of the year?

DAVE DOEREN: He won several games for them last year and got them in a Bowl game. He’s got a live arm. I think he’s a very energetic, charismatic guy, plays hard. He is mobile. I don’t think he’s a designed guy in the running game, but he definitely creates plays with his feet and keeps his eyes downfield. You respect his competitiveness and his arm strength more than anything.

Q. Earlier today Ryan Finley was one of two ACC players named as a finalist for the Campbell Trophy as top scholar athlete in the country. Can you tell us why he’s so deserving of this honor?

DAVE DOEREN: Yeah, thanks, Kevin. It’s a very elite honor. I’ve been through it with a couple other players, and it’s just an unbelievable representation of the total athlete, student and person. What’s unique about it to me is that it’s all levels of football. You know, from DIII all the way up to Division I. There’s some unbelievable people deserving of the attention, and for him to be involved in that says a lot about what Ryan’s accomplished as a student, with multiple degrees and as a football player, obviously when he’s done for our program on the field and then just the way he’s handled himself in our community. It’s a great honor for him and North Carolina State to be represented by the National Football Foundation. (ACC)