Dave Doeren: "We Played a Team That Doesn't Beat Itself"
NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media following the Wolfpack's 24-3 road loss to No. 17 Duke Saturday evening.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Doeren’s press conference.
Opening Statement
We knew, going into that game, we would not win if we weren't disciplined, and we weren’t, We played a team that doesn't beat itself, and that was step one. We had to go out there and just play a clean game, and we didn't do that. We helped them way too much. We were just completely inefficient with dropped passes and penalties. Over time, the defense started pressing, tried to do other people's jobs, and gave up some big plays. We’ve got to give Duke credit; they outplayed us. They out-coached us. It always starts with me, and our guys have got to play better. We’ve got to be tougher. There's really nothing you can say. They outplayed us, and they out-coached us. It just wasn't good enough.
On Jordan Waters’ 83-yard touchdown run and Jalon Calhoun’s 69-yard touchdown reception…
In the run, we were in a blitz, and one of the guys coming was supposed to slow down on the edge when he gets run away. He didn't. [Calhoun] beat us on a double move. That was one of the big plays. Again, [it comes down to] technique. There was another big run on the goal line. We were blitzing, and we're coming off the edge with the chase, and we were supposed to have a linebacker pull out and didn’t. We just didn’t execute, man. This is a game where 11 guys have got to do their jobs, do it with technique, and do it for the right reasons, for their brothers. We started the game well with a great field goal, and then we had some momentum go the other way, and the offense… just penalty after penalty, drop after drop. It was dysfunctional in the first half. I thought we came in, and guys had a good look in their eye. We were pissed off. They said a bunch of good things, and didn't go out on the field and get it done. That’s the bottom line.
On trying to make Henry Belin, IV’s first start harder…
Well, we obviously didn't do it well enough. We weren’t sure who was going to play. We didn't really have a plan based on which quarterback was going to be in there because you're talking about high school film on two of the three guys. It was just doing what we do: try to mix it up, some pressures, some coverage, man, zone… You've got to make plays. I don't really feel like the quarterback was the reason we lost the game. He did enough good things for them, but there were a lot of other things that won the game for them, in my opinion.
On generating more explosive plays…
It depends on what you're doing. If it’s a pass play, we've got to give M.J. [Morris] a chance protection-wise to help out and give him time. We didn't catch the football. That’s the other part of it. We had a couple of guys who had opportunities down the field, and they just didn't connect. Anthony [Smith] had a diving catch, and those kind of plays, if you want to win games, you’ve got to go make, and we've got to make our layups. There are little things that move the chains. Five-yard penalties make it first-and-15. Drops on first-and-10 [make it] second-and-10 instead of second-and-five or second-and-three. It's just an efficiency thing. It's hard, as a play caller, to be in second-and-15. There’s a lot we’ve got to fix.
On chasing Duke with how well its defense has played.
They’re a very good defense, and they played Clemson and Notre Dame, two good offenses, and they’d given up only 11 points per game. Playing catchup was very challenging, particularly when we're down to scores coming out of the half. I thought, “Hey, let's just go score here on the first drive, make it a one-possession game.” We don’t, and then they score on the first play. It creates a three-score differential right there, and they're milking the clock. They're taking their time which is smart on their part. It made it challenging to get back in the game.
On Payton Wilson’s comments on the team needing to get tougher and the bye week coming at an opportune time…
Seven straight [games] is a lot. It's the latest I've had a bye as a head coach, so it's definitely coming at the right time. There's a lot of things. Mentally, we need a break. Physically, we need a break. We’ve got a lot of film to study and look at, and we need to look at personnel. We need to really look at who's going to play the hardest and put those guys out there. We’re going to play as hard as they can and give them an opportunity to win.