Dave Doeren: "Everyone Was Upset"
NC State head coach Dave Doeren spoke briefly with the media after arriving back to the Murphy Center from San Diego. Check out what he had to say.
NOTE: Click the link below for the audio.
Dave Doeren Audio File
What have the emotions been like since you’ve found out?
Not playing the game hurt, but not playing the game because the team we’re playing didn’t tell us what was going on and backed out right before the kick hurt worse. If we would have known they were having all these issues and this may happen so give us a chance to find an opponent, that’s just what it is. It wasn’t handled like that.
It hurts we didn’t play, but it hurts more we kind of feel like we got stabbed in the back on that deal. To be that far from home, our kids not be able to be with their families on Christmas, and lose a game because a team doesn’t want to do things right.
It’s tough. Guys handled it about the best they could. Everyone was upset, including me, and like I told them, there are some things in life not fair and there’s not a lot you can say in those situations other than don’t take things for granted.
You’ve said you’re going to claim a 10th win. What are your thoughts on that and the NCAA came out and said it wouldn’t be officially marked as that. What are your thoughts on that situation?
The NCAA stands for No Clue At All in my opinion. I don't really care what they say about it. For our guys, we took a roster of guys down there who had zero COVID issues, practiced everyday, and did everything right. They didn’t get a chance to play the game. As far as I’m concerned, we did beat them. They couldn’t even get to the field.
You can say what you want, but if you look at the College Football Playoff definition of what's going to happen if that happens in one of their games, that team is forfeiting. I feel like we're following the same guidelines those bowl games are going to follow.
How much does that fuel the fire for next season?
The guys coming back will be very motivated and this will add to the chip on their shoulder probably. We have a lot of time between now and then. This was a fun team to coach.
I look forward to the guys coming back for sure and we still have to find some decisions on some of the guys, see where that’s at. We have a lot of momentum going into next season.
What were the talks like with the players not returning?
It was more just telling them we love them and thanking them for what they did for the program... how much we're excited to see the next phase of what they have.