Connect with us

NC State Football

What East Carolina Head Coach Mike Houston had to say About NC State in His Presser

Published

2 years ago

on

Earlier this week East Carolina Head Coach Mike Houston had a lot to say about the NC State football team his Pirates are facing in the season opener this Saturday in his weekly press conference. You can watch the press conference above, or check out a few of the noteworthy remarks related to his opinion on NC State below:

“Obviously, a challenging matchup in the opener with a highly ranked NC State team. I think it’s the highest ranked NC State team in school history for the preseason and there’s a reason for that. Coach Doeren has done a great job developing that roster and they had a great year last year. The bulk of their team is coming back, one of the top quarterbacks in the country and one of the top defenses in the country. It’s going to be a challenging matchup, but one that we’re excited about.”

Houston stated the obvious, that preparing for this team is vastly different than preparing for the matchup against the Wolfpack in 2019.

“There’s not really a good comparison. We were outmanned on that day in 2019 and we kind of knew that going into the season, you can only do so much in the six months, you’ve got to develop as much as you can with what you have. It was a spotlight on where our program was at that time in comparison to NC State’s. Now, I think that there’s been a lot of work done in recruiting, development, and growth. There’s a handful of guys that were on that field for that game in 2019 that are going to be on the field Saturday and seeing how they’ve grown and seeing how the program has grown, it’s a different program. Now, with that being said, I think NC State’s program is a different program that is arguably the best team in the ACC this year. I watched a lot of ACC games this summer, I’ve seen the bulk of the conference and what NC State had last year and what they’ve got coming back, as we prepared for them. They have to feel that they have a realistic chance of winning the conference championship. We’ve got a good football team; I have no doubt about that. We have a big challenge Saturday and one that we’re excited about.”

Houston is fully aware of NC State Quarterback Devin Leary’s abilities.

“I think that his decision making to go along with his arm talent, he’s got a very strong arm, he’s a good athlete and runs very well. He doesn’t make a lot of big mistakes, 35 touchdowns to five interceptions last year. He’s not only a talented athlete, but he’s a really good quarterback. You look at a couple of guys we faced last year, whether it was Grant Wells at Marshall, who I thought was one of the better quarterbacks we saw year, or Desmond Ridder at Cincinnati who was a high round draft pick. I think he’s kind of in that same level as far as the player he is, and then you put that with all the weapons that he has around him. They’ve done a great job with either developing players or getting transfers and giving him a lot of viable options to go to. It’s going to be a great challenge on Saturday to defend him.”

Related Topics:

Matthew is Publisher and Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He is also the Lead Pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

1 Comment
Subscribe
Notify of
1 Comment
newest
oldest most Upvoted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Papajohn
Papajohn
1 year ago

Solid presser, coach. Said all the stuff coaches should say.

0

NC State Football

Does the Addition of the UVA Series Equal the Elimination of NC State’s Series with App St.?

Published

2 days ago

on

May 17, 2024

By

Earlier this week it was announced that NC State and Virginia would play one another in a home-and-home series, with the Wolfpack hosting in 2025, and the Cavaliers hosting in 2026.

Prior to the announcement, NC State already had their non-conference slate booked for both of those seasons.

As a result of the addition of the Virginia series, a previously scheduled non-conference game from each season would need to be dropped. While it hasn’t been officially announced by the school, Joe Giglio and David Glenn seem to think that the series with Appalachian State is going to be dropped.

It would make the most sense, considering the Mountaineers were the only opponent the Wolfpack was scheduled to play in both 2025 and 2026. It would also make sense, considering the fact that ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips isn’t a fan of ACC teams playing Group of 5 schools on the road.

I will tell you this much. The Mountaineer faithful certainly believe NC State is dropping the series with App State, and it just takes a little scrolling on X (formerly Twitter) to get a read on their feelings on the situation.

This situation brings to mind the bill that has been proposed in the North Carolina House of Representatives that would force NC State and UNC to play App St., ECU and UNC Charlotte in Football, Men’s Basketball and Women’s Basketball.

If the addition of UVA means the elimination of App St. on NC State’s schedule, what are your thoughts? Share in the comments.

Continue Reading

NC State Football

CBS Sports Ranks Dave Doeren as 1 of the Top-20 Coaches in College Football

Published

2 days ago

on

May 16, 2024

By

CBS Sports released their Top-25 Power 4 Coaches in College Football, and NC State’s Dave Doeren came in at #16. Heading into last season, he went into the season ranked #25.

16) Dave Doeren: The NC State coach finally gets some overdue credit. He’s always hovered around the bottom of our top 25 or just outside it, and now he finds himself firmly entrenched in it thanks to all the changes at the top. Coaches who take mid-tier programs and overachieve never get enough credit, in my estimation, and the consistency Doeren has established at NC State — where he spent most of his time in a division with Clemson and Florida State — is one of the most impressive things any coach in the country has done. I’m glad to see Doeren getting closer to the top 15. 2023 rank: 25 (+9) (CBS Sports)

Numerous CBS Sports’ analysts voted in the poll, and Tom Fornelli actually ranked Doeren #8.

ACC Coaches that made the Top-25

3. Dabo Swinney (Clemson)

8. Mike Norvell (FSU)

16. Dave Doeren (NC State)

19. Jeff Brohm (Louisville)

Continue Reading

NC State Football

NC State vs. Tennessee Kickoff Time & TV Network Revealed

Published

4 days ago

on

May 15, 2024

By

Kickoff time and TV Channel details have been revealed for NC State and Tennessee’s game in the Duke Mayo Classic in Week 2 of next season.

The game will be a primetime game on Saturday 7th, at 7:30pm on ABC.

Image

This game has the makings to be a Top-25 matchup.

Here’s a look at some of the Way-Too-Early Preseason rankings for the Wolfpack and the Volunteers:

Action Network: NC State #24/Tennessee #17

ON3: NC State #22/Tennessee #15

247: NC State #21/Tennessee #11

ESPN: NC State #17/Tennessee #15

DraftKings released their way-too-early odds for the game, and Tennessee is currently a 5.5-point favorite.

Here’s the deal, as NC State fans, if we want to be a big time Football program, NC State fans need to gobble up tickets to this game. Let’s do our part and make sure that Bank of America Stadium is painted RED. Buy Tickets HERE.

Continue Reading

NC State Football

NC State and UVA Agree to Home-and-Home Non-Conference Games

Published

4 days ago

on

May 15, 2024

By

NC State announced this morning that the Wolfpack and UVA will play in a home-and-home non-conference series, with the game in 2025 being in Raleigh, and the game in 2026 being in Charlottesville.

Image

To reiterate, despite the fact that both teams are in the ACC, these games are considered non-conference games, and won’t count toward conference records. This is similar to what UNC and Wake Forest did a few years back.

Here’s what’s interesting about the addition of these games in 2025 and 2026. Prior to the announcement, NC State already had 4 non-conference games scheduled for both years.

It would be my assumption that one of the previously scheduled non-conference games for each season will not take place now.

Continue Reading